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AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,

INCLUDING

ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, ann GEOLOGY.

(BEING A CONTINUATION OF TIIE © ANNALS 2 COMBINED WITH LOUDON AND

CHARLESWORTH’S ‘MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.’)

CONDUCTED BY :

PRIDEAUX JOHN SELBY, Esq., F.I.S.,

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JOHN EDWARD GRAY, Ph.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., V.P.Z.S. &c., 7

AND ‘

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sil

VOL. IX.—THIRD SERIES. ronan has

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LONDON:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS.

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1862.

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

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

ex economia in conservatione, proportione, renovatione, potentia majestatis elucet.

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

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

LINNZUS.

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

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

toutes ses opérations.” Bruckner, Théorie du Systeme Animal, Leyden, 1767.

bile, Pablo seen. woe) pLhe 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. Tayitor, Norwich, 1818.

CONTENTS OF VOL. IX.

(THIRD SERIES.]

NUMBER XLIX.

Observations on the Structure and Reproduction of Eleutheria,

Quatref. By Dr. A. KROHN ..........csccecscsacsscesnece Sauhowesncantatenie

II. On Hanburia, a Cucurbitaceous Genus from Mexico. By

IBERTHOUD SHEMANN EDD HS sate ccccvonscsncdeccced ecayyasedass Pe

III. On the Anatomy of Sacculina, with a Description of the

Species. By Joun ANDERSON, M.D. (Plate [.) ..0...cccecccseceeceeeee

IV. Descriptions of two new Species of Coleoptera from Angola.

By the Bardo po CasTELLO DE Patva, Professér de Botannica na

Academia Polytechnica do Porto ......ccesssesssssseccnccececsesecscoecccsens

V. On two new Rhynchophorous Insects from Angola, By T.

VERNON WOLLASTON: MUAcs MEG lS.) cocectencccsqccat@antascccatsecssccceses

VI. A Catalogue of the Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall. By the Rev. Toomas Hincks, B.A. (Plate VIL.) ......

VII. Further Observations on some novel Phases of Organic Life

at great Depths in the Sea. By Dr. G. C. WALLICH «.........ecseueee

VIII. Note on Myzotrichum chartarum (Kunze). By ARTHUR

i, Cuurca, 5.4. Oxon,, EVC;S. (Plate Vid ...ccccarapsecniconsceapess

IX. Observations on a Species of Pyenogon (Phowichilidium cocci-

neum, Johnston), with an attempt to explain the Order of its Develop-

ment. By Grorce Hopes. (Plates IV. & V.) ..seseeesseee egihsad¥ ees

X. Contributions to British Carcinology. By the Rev. ALFRED

Mere Norman, M.A.—II. On Species of Ostracoda new to Great

Britauds’* (Platee Tis G5 TLD.) scicce at. ccesdatwact deatge eeecadasaesicaeddatet.

XI. On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British

Museum. By Dr, ALBERT GUNTHER. (Plates IX. & X.) ...eccsesees

New Books :—General Outline of the Organization of the Animal

iv CONTENTS.

Page

Kingdom, and Manual of Comparative Anatomy, by Thomas

Rymer Jones, F.R.S., &c., &e.—Sketches of the Natural His-

tory of Ceylon, with Narratives and Anecdotes illustrative of the

Habits and Instincts of the Mammalia, Birds, Reptiles, Fishes,

Insects, &c., including a Monograph of the Elephant and a De-

scription of the modes of capturing and training it, by Sir

J. Emerson ‘Tennent, K.C.S., LL.D.—A History of British

Sessile-eyed Crustacea. By C. Spence Bate, F.L.S., and J. O.

Westwood, M.A., F.L.S. &. — .cecsscescees sual scahuesdevenadie cae

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ..... wcupedanarsae nataapivusesases COL

Investigations of the living Brachiopoda of the Mediterranean (First

Memoir : on Thecidium), by M. Lacaze Duthiers ; On a new Spe-

cies of Neotoma (N. ferruginea) from Guatemala, by R. F. Tomes

77-80

NUMBER L.

XIT. Anatomico-physiological Investigations on the Respiratory

Process ino Iusecis, +> By: H. : Rae ies 2d5. 23.23 cece thee tle asied wthekocss Sl

XIII. On Villaresia. By Joun Miers, F.R.S., F.LS. &c. «0... 107

XIV. Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley.

Coteoprera: Loneicornes. By H. W. Barus, sq. «....-seeeee 117

XV. On new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British

Museum. By Dr. ALBERT GUNTHER ..ecsaccseceseneees enesecesactens eos 12S

XVI. An Account of. two remarkable Crustacea of the Order

Cladocera. By W. LitusesorG. (Plate VIII.) ...ccccscscccsesseees 132

XVII. Note on the Ancient and Recent Natural History of Victoria.

By Freperick M‘Coy, Professor of Natural Science in the University

of Melbourne, and Director of the National Museum of Victoria, &e. 137

XVIII. On some new Species of Cylichnide, Bullide, and Phili-

nide, from the Seas of China and Japan. By ArTHuR ADAMs,

F.L.S. &e. SCCCCH Ee eeeFOSeSesEt eee seeeeseseeeeeeeesee SS Seite tree ea iy aa eeneeete 150

New Books: — Forest Creatures, by Charles Boner, Author of

‘Chamois-Hunting in the Mountains of Bavaria,’ &¢., &e.—

Report on the Geological Survey of the State of lowa, by James

Hall (State-Geologist) and J. D. Whitney (Chemist and Mine-

ralogist).—Second Report of a Geological Reconnoissance of

the Middle and Southern Counties of Arkansas, made during

the years 1859 and 1860, by David Dale Owen, Principal Geo-

logist; assisted by Robert Peter, Chemical Assistant, M. Leo

Lesquereux, Botanist, and Edward Cox, Assistant Geologist 161—172

CONTENTS,° Vv

Page

Proceedings of the Royal Society; Zoological Society ......... 173—185

Note on Physa acuta (Draparnaud), by the Rev. Alfred Merle Nor-

man, M.A.; On the Reproduction of Porpita, by M. Lacaze

Duthiers; On some Points in the Anatomy of the Apteryx

australis, by Prof. Hyrtl; On a gigantic Cuttle-fish found in the

Atlantic Ocean between Madeira and Teneriffe ............ 185—188

NUMBER LI.

XIX. On an apparently new Form of Holothuria. By Joun

ANDERSON, M.D... (Plate XL): : cccscccccesssvasdoonsedccstansdecsnede aneek 189

XX. Remarks on the Natural Order Bignoniacee. By BERTHOLD

SEEMANN, PhiDiy-EsL.S, cccovcescscevedssvcveews aecdedddlcccsvette Vivitadetedeve 192

XXI. Note on the Relationship of Cannabinacee. By BErTHOLD

SHEMUANING Et eor dr els Sock. coca da soargealsaaaiccistienisceisstcende seenickacosienacaese 199

XXII. A Catalogue of the Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall. By the Rev. Taomas Hincxs, B.A. (Plate XII.) ...... 200

XXIII. On the Fibrin and Latex of Vegetables, and on the Coagu-

lation of Fibrin without Evolution of Ammonia. By GrorGE GuL-

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

the Royal College of Surgeons .....cscssescssesarcetsanveces Age cepidesedccene 207

XXIV. On the Investigation of Microscopic Forms by means of

the Images which they furnish of External Objects. By Prof. O. N.

OGD; OF Troy, Ns Y.. sconces sastedzessonasaese Sadan shen seen dade men yeccdecsecaes 211

XXV. On Aiztoxicum and Bursinopetalum. By Joun MIERs,

PE Feg og) Ba, OCC sc aeuanleonscaveusacecnencs sesh sesdsetsssesunesatenasebsenseasas 214

XXVI. On some new Species of Acephalous Mollusca from the Sea

of Japan. By ArrHur Apams, F.L.S, &e, «0.00... Seadessedecesvsedenes 223

XXVII. On Vision in the Arthropoda. By Dr. H. Dor .«........ 230

Proceedings of the Royal Society; Zoological Society ......... 236—255

On some small Pits with which the Scales of certain Ophidia are

adorned, by J. Reimhardt; Note on Callithamnion Rothii, by G.

S. Brady; Vitality of the Seed of Fumaria muralis (Sonder) and

Hyoscyamus niger (L.), by the Rev. Alfred Merle Norman, M.A.;

Highly interesting Discovery of new Sauroid Remains; Disco-

very of Saurian Remains in the Keuper of the Jura; On the

general conditions of the Avicula contorta Beds, and on the con-

stitution of the Infra-Liassic stage, by Ant. Stoppani; Note on

Codium bursa, by Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &c.; Capture of Diodon

pennatum on the coast near Charmouth .........sse0e sesseee 209—260

vi CONTENTS.

Page

NUMBER LII.

XXVIII. On a new Fossil Reptile supposed to be furnished with

Feathers. By Prof. A. WAGNER of Munich ......... Ee eieeap seme cece 261

XXIX. On the Remains of Fish and Plants from the Upper Lime-

stone of the Permian Series of Durham.. By Jamzs W. Kirxsy ... 267

~ XXX. Observations on the Geographical Distribution of Fungi.

BYMUTS Pike PURVES: soeee cack odehes ea eoeere eer hei cae eee Séccustiatee 269

XXXI. On Goupia. By Jonn Miurs, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.......... 289

XXXII. On some new Species of Mollusca from Japan, By

MBTHUR ADAMS, FUSe5 Bibs ndscasoccecunsodadasedskebse feacd gecbacevaeeenna 295

XXXIII. Note on the Molluscan Fauna of Japan. By ARTHUR

ABER NEEs W alls GCs. as senn>asesaraavennsapasigns consanastoadsstcadttesenn mien 298

XXXIV. On a Species of Riippellia, and the Limits of the Bra-

CRUUT ELF, LIES STRAW soiasgsssacsnesrccccsinnescadbaanccheppangsu tenant ene 299

XXXV. A Catalogue of the Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall.. By the Rev. THoMAS HINCKS, B.A. .......ccccseceeeessneee 303

XXXVI. Note on the Temperature of the Female Python Sebe

during Incubation. By P. L. Scuater, Ph.D., F.R.S. ...ccceceeeeees 310

XXXVII. Descriptions of some New and Rare Zoophytes found on

the Coast of Northumberland. By JosHua ALDER, Esq. (Plates

AUT ARE Be KV.) vast. actadvans Seavedssbases Senccteceessscecensescaccaegenes 311

Higevitave of the- Zoological Society ; Royal Society; Royal Insti-

tution Bf Great Britain <niisseecsiassciace«sduasscstevccnast aitese 318—335

On the Reproduction of Red Coral, by M. de Lacaze Duthiers; On

the Polar Globules of the Ovum, and the Mode of their Produc-

tion, and on the Production of the Blastodermic Cells without

Segmentation of the Vitellus in some Articulata, by Charles

Robin; On the Young of Lezpoa ocellata, by Richard Schom-

burgk ; On a Hybrid Duck, by Alfred Newton, M.A., F.LS.,

¥.Z.S.; On a new Species of Finch, of the Genus Sycalis, from

Mexico, by Philip Lutley Sclater, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S. ... 335—340

NUMBER LIII.

XXXVIII. On the Calathi of the Canary Islands. By T. VERNON

WVORER STON, NLR ESS, ccs ceassccteacsind dace wares cas satenieetaraanee eens 341

XXXIX. On the Microscopie Life of the Island of St. Paul, in the

Southern Ocean. By Professor EHRENBERG .ecccsscsecssseeees estneea SOO

CONTENTS. “vil

: Page

_ XL. On the Archeopteryx lithographica, from the Lithographic

Slate of Solenhofen. By HERMANN VON MEYER .........cssceceees ». 366

XLI. Descriptions of newly discovered Spiders from the Island of

Madeira, . By JoHn BuacKwALt, FuL.S. 2... cscssssvccsesnsssseepesonneye 370

XLIE. On some new Thalassine sent from the Philippines by

M. Jagor, and on the Systematic Position of that Family. By Dr.

SWAN? toss coseseneseresssakccesdanscothostescavsveececsesestospaceeacavesVeuse 383

XLIII. Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley.

CoLreorTeRA: Loneicornes. By H.W. Bates, Esq. ............ 396

XLIV. On Antiaris Bennettii, a new Species of Upas-Tree from

Polynesia. By BERTHOLD SEEMANN, Ph.D., F.LAS. .......ccccseeeees 405

New Book :—Anahuac; or, Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and

Modern, by Edward B. Tylor .............008 Decandewedaaeses deevecuak@ 407

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ..secscsessssssssceeeesecceees 410—415

On the Arrangement ‘of Natural-History Collections, by Professor

L. Agassiz; On a New Genus of Lizards from Ceylon, by Dr. W.

PGGENS Conaececstectecsecncs baal SUcacntheupcvucy cus spentskanememanauee 415—420

NUMBER LIV.

XLV. On Ephedra. By Joun Miers, F.RS., F.LS. &e... v.10. 421

XLVI. Brief Diagnostic Characters of New Canarian Coleoptera.

By ty Venwoan WonrAsmons Mi: At. BULB. cetecssmcessevevunnsad oocaneees 437

XLVII. Notes on the Possibility of the Embryos of the Guinea-

Worm and so-called “Fungus-Disease” of India, respectively, entering

the Human Body through the Sudorific Ducts. By H. J. Carrer,

BPCHGDs cone ce escncaswnnesaesstnncscecaviondsesamsbakesiuchbyersvsthhies danyye aban 442

XLVIII. Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley.

CoLEorTERA: LoneicorNEs. By H.W. Barss, Esq. ............ 446

XLIX. Supplement to a Memoir on the Thalassine. By Dr.

SU DMUMEE Resa rastarce tiie cie'chn wan oddacaunmssssisinnswssieevcdes (iaacesseas'scasunsaveetere 459

L. On some new Coleoptera from Lizard Island, North-eastern

Australia. By Francis P. Pascon, F.L.S. &¢. ....0..cccscssecscccoons 461

LI. A Catalogue of the Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall. By the Rev. Tuomas Hincxs, B.A. (Plate XVI.) ...... 467

LII. On the supposed Bilateral Symmetry of the Ctenophora. By

FRITZ MULLER ......00008 SERMEMUe eve rUuchisessbavesbweny¢ss le csccescunucnsmees 475

vill CONTENTS. (Ee

Page

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ...ssssccecsssseeseeesseeesess 479-—486

On Mesczoic Forms of Life in Australia, by Prof. Owen; On the

Development of Actinotrecha branchiata, by Dr. A. Schneider

486, 487

JIndex @eeteseere Seeeeleseereesreeteseeeseetassere erteseene PCS e eet eesreesSeseeseetaes 488

PLATES IN VOL, IX.

Piate I. Anatomy of Sacculina.

itt New British Ostracoda.

TY: | Development of Phoxichilid:um coccineum. si

VI. Myxotrichum chartarum.

VII. New British Zoophytes.

VIII. Leptodora hyalina.—Bythotrephes longimanus.

IX. New Species of Snakes.

X. Rhamnophis eethiopissa.

XI. New British Species of Holothuria.

XI.

XIII. pNew British Zoophytes.

ALY.

XV. Development of Corymorpha nana.

XVI. New British Zoophytes.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES.]

we sassentssecessenn per litora spargite muscum,

Naiades, et circdm vitreos considite fontes ;

Pollice virgineo teneros hic carpite flores :

Floribus et pictum, dive, replete canistrum.

At vos, 0 Nymphe Cratcrides, ite sub undas ;

Ite, recurvato variata corallia trunco

Vellite muscosis e rupibus, et mihi conchas

Ferte, Dez pelagi, et pingui conchylia succo.”

N. Parthenii Giannettasii Ecl.1.

No. 49. JANUARY 1862.

I.— Observations on the Structure and Reproduction of Eleutheria,

Quatref.* By Dr. A. Krounf.

MR. HINCKS has recently communicated, in the ‘Annals and

Magazine of Natural History’ (3 ser. vol. vii. p. 73), some ex-

eeedingly valuable observations on Hleutheria, which are of

especial importance, because they finally solve the question

which has hitherto remained in suspense, as to the origin and

position of this remarkably beautiful Coelenteran. For although

Van Beneden and Dujardin had already raised many well-founded

objections against the opinion of its discoverer (who associated

Hleutheria with the Hydrina), recognized its relationship to the

Medusz, and conjectured that it originated from a Medusan or

Hydroid polype, the latter still remained to be discovered{. In

this Hincks has succeeded. .The parent stock on which Eleutheria

is produced as a bud belongs, according to Hincks, to the fa-

mily Coryniade, in which it represents a new genus and species

—Clavatella prolifera.

* A. de Quatrefages, Mém. sur l’Eleuthérie dichotome, nouveau genre

de Rayonné, voism des Hydres. Annales des Sci, Nat. 2 sGr. tome xviii.

p. 270.

+ Translated by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1861,

p. 157. a e.

+ Van Beneden, Bull. Acad. Brux. 1844, tome ii. p. 305; Dujardin,

Ann. Sci. Nat. 1848, 2 sér. tome xx. p. 370, and 1845, 3 sér. tome iy.

pr Sar:

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

2 Dr. A. Krohn on the Structure and

In May of the present year, during the last two weeks of my

stay in Nice, I had daily opportunities of examining Lleutheria.

It occurs there exclusively upon a delicate confervoid Alga, close

to the sca-shore, along that part which bears the name of Boule-

vard de l’Impératrice. It is to these observations that I am in-

debted for being enabled to fill up many gaps left in the me-

mois of both my predecessors.

The Eleutheria which is to be met with at Nice agrees in all

respects with that living on the Devonshire coast. As already

indicated by Hincks, it is distinguished from the H. dichotoma,

discovered near the Chausey Islands, by having only one of the

two branches into which each of the six arms divides furnished

with a button, abundantly beset with nematocysts ; whilst im

E. dichotoma, both branches of the arms are provided with a

button (pelote) of this kind. In size, the Hleutheria found at

Nice agrees with E. dichotoma, measuring, when the arms are

fully extended, 1:25 to 1°50 mill., of which 0°50 mill. goes to the

diameter of the body.

When a lively specimen of the Hleutheria is placed in a drop

of sea water on the object-plate, and examined under a suitable

magnifying power, it is seen immediately to move from the place

by means of its arms. We-are thus convinced that the progres-

sion is effected exclusively by the branches of the arms which are

furnished at their extremities with a sucker-like disk, which now

adhere to the support and then again quit their hold in variously

alternating order. The knobbed branches of the arms are only

seen curving to and fro. If, after a little time, the animal has

attached itself by all its arms, and remains for a time in this

condition, the branches furnished with an urticating button are

seen to extend themselves horizontally outwards, above the at-

tached branches on which the body rests as on so many feet, so

that they now look like direct continuations of the main stems

of thearms. The little animal then, to borrow a perfectly suit-

able comparison of Mr. Hincks, has the appearance of a very

minute Star-fish. If it be now detached from the object-plate

by means of needles, and turned ovér so that the buccal orifice

is directed towards the observer, it endeavours to get out of this

uncomfortable position, by bending the sucking-branch of one

or more of the arms towards the supporting surface, in order to

attach itself thereby. If it sueceed in this, it soon contrives to

to turn itself over and thus regain its previous position.

Consequently, whether the Kleutheria creeps upon a horizontal

plane, as in the case just cited, or, as in nature, upon the above-

mentioned Alga, which ramifies in every direction, the surface

of the body in which the mouth is pierced is always turned to-

wards its support. This surface is therefore to be indicated as

Reproduction of Eleutheria, Quatref. 3

the lower side (distal surface of Hincks), and the opposite and

more strongly arched surface as the back (proximal surface of

Tiincks) *,

The direction in which the furcation of the arms takes place

has been, if not overlooked, at least not indicated with sufficient

emphasis by Mr. Hincks. On careful examination, we shall

soon be convinced that the knobbed branch, on quitting the main

stem, stretches in a more or less inclined direction upwards and

outwards, and that furnished with the sucking-disk downwards ;

so that, when both come to stand in the same line, or, as is

usually said, cover each other, the angle of divergence stands

parallel or perpendicular to the axis of the body.

The mouth is often seen extending itself in the form of a cy-

lindrical tube, remarkable for its white colour ; and when this is

the case, the otherwise only moderately convex lower surface of

the body becomes more strongly inflated. This buccal tube,

however, which is bent to and fro like a proboscis, not unfre-

quently changes its form, sometimes assuming that of a short,

wide-mouthed funnel, or even becoming inflated into a spherical

shape. In this respect, therefore, it resembles the buccal cone of

the Hydroid polypes, to which, and no less to the so-called

stomachal peduncle of the Oceanide, it likewise corresponds

morphologically. When the tube is extended, however often it

may change its form, the mouth is always open; when the tube

is retracted, the mouth closes completely. By this arrangement,

the animal is evidently enabled to pick its food, which consists

partly of Diatomacez and partly of small Crustacea (Copepoda),

from the branchlets of the Alga. With regard to the lower surface

of the body, I will add here that its outer layer (ectoderm)

contains numerous nematocysts, which are entirely wanting on

the buccal tube and all other parts of the body, with the ex-

ception of the arms.

Mr. Hincks was unable to confirm Quatrefages’ statements as

to the structure of the eyes. They appeared to him to be mere

ageregations of pigment, without any trace of refractive media.

From my observations, I can only answer for the correctness of

those statements up to the assumption of a cornea, the existence

of which I must deny.

Even if we did not already know from Hincks that Eleutheria

originates from a Hydroid polype, the demonstration of a gas-

* T cannot allow it to pass unnoticed that these descriptions are by no

means in accordance with those of M. de Quatrefages. This naturalist

states that he observed that a specimen of E. dichotoma, placed on a glass

plate, always turned up the surface on which the mouth is situated, during

progression. In accordance herewith, this surface is regarded as the upper

one (or anterior), and the opposite as the lower (or posterior) ne

A Dr. A. Krohn on the Structure and

tro-vascular system, which, according to my investigations, is no

more wanting in it than in the umbrella-bearing Meduse, would

of itself suffice to remove every doubt as to its true nature and

position. This system is indeed much less developed than in

the Medusze which lead a pelagic existence, but it neverthe-

less consists, in accordance with the type, of radiating canals,

six in number, corresponding with the arms, and of an annular

vessel placed in the periphery of the body. The entire system

is to be regarded as a lacunar excavation of the inner body-stra-

tum (endoderm), which appears yellowish white by direct light,

and brownish yellow under the microscope*. The best mode of

obtaining a general view of this system is to bring the focus

first of all upon the dorsal surface of the body, and then gradu-

ally carry it deeper. It is then seen clearly that the six pro-

portionally very wide but extremely short radiating canals spring

from a sharply circumscribed discoid space occupying the bottom

of the cavity of the body or stomach, from which they curve

down along the radii corresponding with the arms, to open at

last at the periphery of the body, into the perceptibly narrower

annular vessel+. From the annular vessel a very narrow and

therefore very difficultly detectible canal is given off for each of

the arms; this, running down in the axis of the arm, divides

at the point of bifurcation into two branches, one of which pe-

netrates each branch of the arm and reaches to its extremity {.

In the axial canals of the arms, currents of a fiuid filled with

granules (chyle) may frequently be detected. They are un-

doubtedly produced by the play of vibratile cilia, the effects of

which may readily be recognized from the granules seen here

and there in rotatory or oscillatory movement. But they are

* The Eleutheria is indebted for its yellowish-white colour to the endo-

derm shining through the outer transparent layer (ectoderm). This colour

has its seat in numerous roundish corpuscles imbedded in the endoderm,

consisting, as already mentioned by Quatrefages, of an accumulation of

very small granules.

+ The above-mentioned discoid space is in all probability a shallow ex-

eavation of the bottom of the stomach, and may correspond to the chyle-

receptacle detected by Gegenbaur (Grundziige d. vergl. Anat. pp. 82, 84,

& 85) in several of the lower Medusie (Craspedota).

{ Thearms of Eleutheria agree im structure with those of most Hydrozoa

in their areolar or cellular tissue, the histological nature and physiolo-

gical signification of which do not appear to have been yet satisfactorily

ascertained. In Eleutheria, in which the axial canal extends through the

midst of this tissue, the brown corpuscles already mentioned are seated on

the compartments or cells immediately around tke canal, although in very

small quantity, from which we might be justified in regarding the entire

tissue as a peculiar modification of the endoderm. I found it necessary

to insert this remark here, because the views of M. Quatrefages as to the

structure of the arms, which are also followed by Hincks, differ from mine

in many particulars.

Reproduction of Eleutheria, Quatref. 5

hkewise evidently under the influence of the constantly changing

state of contraction of the arms themselves, and undergo many

deviations in consequence. In the other sections of the gastro-

vascular system similar currents are scarcely to be distinguished,

on account of the far closer approximation of the brown corpus-

cles already repeatedly mentioned. Still I saw them quite di-

stinctly in many parts of the annular vessel*.

Eleutheria propagates partly by eggs, and partly by buds.

_ The former of these modes of reproduction was observed by

Quatrefages, and recently confirmed by Hincks. I shall notice

it first.

The place of formation of the ova is the whole upper wall of

the body-cavity, or the dorsal surface. Here, between the ecto-

and endoderm, the ova are produced, and here they pass through

all the stages of development up to the maturity of the embryos.

The seat of the production of the ova is therefore at the same

time the brood-chamber. .

The youngest ova seen by me were met with in a not yet

fully mature individual, which contained about thirty of them.

The careful investigation of a few of them gave the following

results :—Some appeared to be of a rounded, and others of a

more oval form, but all were of the same size, which might be

about 7. mill. In the midst of the granular yelk, which ap-

peared dead white by direct light, an accumulation of rather large,

apparently solid corpuscles could be distinguished, intermixed

with rather smaller spherical vesicles, which had the aspect of

reddish-brown oil-drops. Each egg was surrounded by a delicate

envelope (chorion), separated from the yelk by a small interval.

Of the segmentation of the yelk I have only scen two of the

later phases,—namely, that known under the name of the mul-

berry-form, and one rather less advanced. In this latter stage

the yelk was already divided into numerous globules of segmen-

tation, but these were still comparatively large and marked off

from each other by sharp and here and there polygonal boundary-

lines. Each globule also appeared to contain the well-known

central nucleus. All the eggs engaged in segmentation were

considerably (almost two-thirds) larger than the egg-germs

above described.

The embryos contained in the same parent animal are for

the most part in dissimilar stages of development, which leads

to the conclusion that the ova are successively produced. Hence

as the number of embryos increases, and as the period of their

* Although I found it impossible to demonstrate the presence of cilia

in the gastro-vascular system, I recognized them most distinctly on the

inner wall of the body-cavity.. Here they appear as extremely fine and

comparatively long filaments, which, however, are much scattered.

6 Dr. A. Krohn on the Structure and

maturity approaches, the more strongly does the dorsal surface

of the parent become inflated, the ectoderm being continually

removed further from the endoderm. When the embryos are so

far developed that the period of their escape approaches, the

dorsal surface appears elevated into a corresponding number of

roundish humps. At last these humps of the ectoderm burst

one by one, and thus the young are set free in a corresponding

order*,

The male of Eleutheria appears to be very rare. I only had

the opportunity of observing it once. Like the eggs in the

female, the semen in the male is produced in the back, between

the ectoderm and endoderm. In the male alluded to, the

back appeared to be much distended by a considerable quantity

of the semen, which shone through the ectoderm as a chalky

white mass. Minute floccules of this perfectly mature semen,

artificially set free by tearing the ectoderm, proved to be com-

posed of thousands of remarkably active spermatozoa, charac-

terized by a bacilliform head, and a long tail running out into a

fine point at the extremity.

I now come to speak of the second mode of reproduction,

namely that by gemmez. This occurs not only in the asexual in-

dividuals, but also—which is worthy of notice—in those which

are sexually perfectly developed. Thus most of the females which

came under my observation, small as their number might be in

comparison with the great quantity of asexual individuals, bore

more or less developed buds; and this was the case also with the

male above mentioned +.

The bud appears at first in the form of a small, rounded ex-

crescence upon the back of the parent animal, close to the peri-

phery of the body, in one of the interbrachial or interradial

spaces. At its earliest origin it is nothing but a diverticulum

of the annular vessel, which during its increase has pushed the

ectoderm before it, and raised it into a mound. It consequently

consists of two superposed layers (the ectoderm and endoderm)

and of a cavity communicating with the gastro-vascular system.

* From this there seems to be no doubt that the creature met with by

Hincks in the somatic cavity of one individual, and regarded by him as a

free embryo, which, after repeated endeavours to get out, always returned

again into the cavity, is to be considered only as an animal (probably a

Copepod) which had either got accidentally into the stomach or had been

swallowed.

+ My investigations, as already stated, were made in the first half of

May. It appears from the observations of Quatrefages that at other seasons

the formation of buds entirely gives place to sexual reproduction. “This

naturalist says expressly that he did not detect the slightest indication of

buds on specimens of H. dichotoma observed during the summer months;

so that their increase during this period is probably effected exclusively by

eggs.

Reproduction of Eleutheria, Quatref. i!

In the course of its development the excrescence acquires a

hemispherical form, its base, which is still affixed broadly to the

parent animal, becoming gradually more and more narrowed or

constricted, whilst the distal extremity, or that turned from the

parent, becomes widened and flattened. On the periphery of this

distal surface six rounded processes are soon seen to rise at equal

distances apart, during which the endoderm bounding the cavity of

the bud is drawn out into a corresponding number of diverticula.

These processes, as may easily be supposed, are the first traces

of the future arms.

When the above-mentioned processes have become developed

into the stems of the arms, the branches soon make their ap-

pearance. ‘The extremity of one branch, namely that which will

subsequently be the upper one, gradually dilates, becomes fur-

nished with a constantly increasing number of nematocysts, and

is thus converted into the urticating knob. In this stage the

areolar tissue which is afterwards acquired by the arms is

scarcely indicated. The endoderm of the arms, containing an

abundance of the brown corpuscles, is closely applied to the ecto-

derm, and the axial canals are still considerably wider than in

the fully developed animal. The bud adheres to the parent

animal by a short stalk issuing from the vertex of the arched

surface (the future dorsal surface).

During the maturation of the bud to its future form, the ocelli

make their appearance close above the origin of the arms;

and subsequently the mouth, which was previously wauting,

also appears. In the arms the areolar structure may now be

much more distinctly recognized; but the endoderm, although

laterally removed from the ectoderm and compressed towards the

axis of the arms, still retains its previous intense-brown colour.

A little before maturity the impulse to independent move-

ments awakens in the bud. We may then see how it continually

bends the arnis to and fro, and even endeavours to adhere by

them to the nearest objects. When the period for its separa-

tion from the parent arrives, it falls off, with the adherent

peduncle, after which the latter is rapidly shortened and finally

vanishes. The diameter of the body of the bud when set free

may be estimated at + mill.; so that it has to become twice as

large to attain its definitive size*.

The formation of buds commences at a very early period of

life, at a time when the young Hleutheria is still connected with

its parent asa bud. A little before the separation of the bud

the first gemma may already be seen sprouting forth in one of the

* Tf the above description of the gemmation be compared with that of

Hincks, who was so fortunate as to observe it upon the polype-stock, the

mutual agreement in regard to essential points will not be overlooked,

8 Dr. A. Krohn on Eleutheria.

interradial spaces. When the bud has become free, the number

of gemme increases with its advance in growth, but so that only

a single gemma is produced in each of the other five interradial

spaces. In rare cascs a seventh gemma occurs; this usually

appears to break forth close beneath one which is already far

advanced in its development.

Thus the gemmez, when their number amounts to six—which

I observed only in asexual individuals, and then but seldom—

alternate very regularly with the arms, and present very different

grades of development, according to the time at which they ap-

peared.

In concluding the present memoir, I can boldly assert that

Eleutheria belongs to the Medusze. In support of this opinion,

which was accepted by many modern naturalists even before

the discovery of the parent polype, I have brought forward

further proofs, of which the discovery of the gastro-vascular

system, the information as to the sexually-produced brood, by

which a sensible gap in the developmental history of the parent

polype is filled up, and the evidence of a gemmiparous reproduc-

tion, issuing originally from the gastro-vascular system, may be

particularly indicated as important*.

It is true that Hleutheria differs from the other Meduse, in

no small degree, by the absence of an organ of propulsion or

umbrella; but this deficiency stands, as no one will deny, in the

fullest accordance with its mode of life.

Nevertheless, by the aid of the imagination, Kleutherta may

be converted into a convex Medusa. We nced only imagine

* To my knowledge, only one Medusa is as yet known which, like Elew-

theria, gives off buds in the mature sexual state. This is Sarsia prolifera,

Forbes (see Busch, ‘ Beobachtungun iiber Anat. und Entw. einiger nied.

Seethiere,’ p. 7). As another example of this kind, I believe, I must cite

Geryonia proboscidalis, in accordance with an observation made many

years ago. During my sojourn in Messina, in the year 1843, I met with a

female specimen of this Medusa, in which the ends of the peduncle, reach-

ing freely down into the stomachal cavity as in Liriope, appeared thickly

beset with buds in various stages of development. ‘The less developed

buds occupied the upper, and the more advanced ones the lower part of

the peduncle. In the former only the umbrella and peduncle could be

distinguished ; the latter had evolved not only the six tentacles, but also

the marginal corpuscles. All these buds adhered firmly to the peduncle of

the parent by the vertical pomt of their umbrella. Surprising as it may be

to see buds sprout forth in the interior of an organ which is destined at

the same time for the reception and digestion of nourishment, it must not

be forgotten that the same phenomenon has already been observed in

another Medusa. This is Agineta prolifera, Gegenb. (* Verhandl. d. phys.-

med. Gesellsch. in Wiirzburg,’ Bd. iv. p. 209). On the whole, however,

reproduction by buds appears to be but little diffused amongst the Medusa,

and, from what has been said above, to be generally limited to the young

states.

Dr. B. Seemann on Hanburia. 9

the body dilated from the periphery and bent round into the

form of an umbrella or bell, without imphcating the stomachal

cavity in the change. The stomachal cavity then remains, some-

what as in the Occanide, limited to the centre of the umbrella

thus produced. The arms, with the ocelli and the annular vessel,

on the contrary, advance by the whole length of the radii of the

umbrella from their previous position, with which, of course, is

associated a corresponding elongation of the radial canals.

In conclusion, as regards the relationship of Kleutheria to

the established Medusoid genera, it has recently been placed by

Gegenbaur, and as it appears to me with perfect justice, in the

vicinity of the genus Cladonema, Duj. ( Zeitschr. fiir wiss. Zool.

Bd. viii. p. 230). In fact, both in structure and mode of life

there appear to be many remarkable agreements between the

two. In connexion with the first point, we must cite first of all the

dichotomous division of the arms, which is certainly carried

further in Cladonema during the development on the parent

polype-stock (Stauridium), but still agrees perfectly with that

occurring in Hleutheria*, and secondly the comparatively high

organization of the ocelli. As regards the second point, we

know already from the observations of Dujardin that Cladonema

sometimes, like Hleutheria, fixes itself by its arms, and remains

for a considerable time in this state of repose. In the harbour

of Messina, where this Medusa not unfrequently occurs, it lives

chiefly, according to my observations, upon a confervoid Alga,

which covers the sea-bottom in abundance, and it appears to

come but rarely to the surface of the sea.

IJ.—On Hanburia, a Cucurbitaceous Genus from Mexico.

By Brertuorp Seemann, Ph.D., F.LS.

In August 1854, Mr. William Schaffner found near Cordova, in

the “ Sierra caliente”? of Mexico, a Cucurbitaccous plant with a -

fruit resembling in outward appearance the well-known “ Cha-

yote” or “Chayotl” of the Mexicans (Sechiwm edule, Jacq.),

and bearing, on account of that resemblance, the vernacular

name of “ Chayotilla.” A few seeds of it, which he transmitted,

were, together with a collection of dried plants, purchased by

the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew; they were planted, but did

not germinate. These seeds were flat, nearly orbicular in cir-

cumference, and about 2 inches long, having a very thin mem-

* Dujardin, /.c. 1843, tome xx. p. 372. According to Keferstein and

Ehlers (‘ Zool. Beitr.’ 1861, p. 86), no more indication of a further ramifica-

tion is to be detected in the arms of free young Cladonemata, measuring

0-8 mill. across the umbrella, than in Eleuthera.

10 Dr. B. Seemann on Hanburia,

branaccous epidermis, and resembling altogether so much those

of Fevilica that I suggested they might possibly belong to that

genus. Mr. Schaffner, on being informed of this suggestion,

replied that he could not agree with me, as the complete speci-

mens at his disposal enabled him to pronounce the Chayotilla a

representative of a new and remarkable genus, differing from

Fevillea by its setose-echinate fruit, and other characters. In

order to convince me, he enclosed in a letter to our friend Mr.

Scheer, of Northficet, a fragment of the plant in question, after-

wards presented by me to Sir W. J. Hooker’s herbarium. This

fragment, of which Mr. Fitch made a characteristic drawing,

shortly to be published in the ‘ Bonplandia,’ was carefully exa-

mined and compared with all the Cucurbitaceze in Sir William

J. Hooker’s and other large herbaria; but neither there nor in

any published description or figure did I find any type approach-

ing that of Schaffner’s remarkable plant. I therefore assumed

it to be quite a new genus, and seized the opportunity of con-

ferring upon it, in honour of my esteemed friend Daniel Han-

bury, Esq., F.L.S., the name of “ Hanburia,” in a paper read,

July 1, 1858, before the Linnean Society, and published, on the

15th of August of the same year, in the ‘ Bonplandia’ (vol. vi.

p- 293). Owing to the imperfect materials at my disposal, the

generic character I was able to furnish remained im several

particulars incomplete. This defect I am now able to remedy in

some measure ; for, shortly after the publication of my paper, two

drawings, accompanied by a fair account of the plant, and ad-

dressed, as far back as 1850, by M. Hugo Fink, of.Cordova, Mexico,

to Sir William J. Hooker, were found at Kew, and kindly placed

by Sir William at my disposal. M. Fink, avowing himself a

self-taught botanist, and claiming mdulgence if he should have

used any unbotanical expressions, furnishes the following ac-

count, of which I have given an abstract in ‘ Bonplandia? (vii.

p. 2) :—

** A perennial plant; roots not yet examined. Stem pentagonal,

solid and very fibrous, tough (so that probably ropes might be

manufactured from its fibres); climbing by means of tendrils to the

height of from 60 to 80 feet, covering entire trees. As soon as the

plant has attained the summit of a tree, the branches grow down-

wards, exactly as in Vanilla or Begonia scandens. Leaves cordate,

smooth and glossy, on a long petiole, turning different ways. Flowers

white, axillary and terminal, bell-shaped ; corolla five-parted ; calyx

in five divisions, covering half the tube of the corolla, and termi-

nating at each intersection of the corolla in a very small tooth.

Stamens united in a hollow tube, terminating in a pentagonal, solid,

almost round ball, having the form of the clapper of a bell. This

ball, forming the anthers, is divided into five divisions, each of which

a Cucurbitaceous Genus from Mexico. 11

is divided into three double longitudinal lines bearing pollen; the

latter is covered by a brittle tegument opening lengthwise. Flowers

male and female. (On more than twenty occasions that I have been

to the place where these plants grow, I have never met with a female

flower : male flowers are very abundant at all seasons. I was already

despairing of finding one, when last week I discovered several ripe

fruits at the point of opening, five or six of which I took home for

further examination. As yet, I have not been able to meet with a

female fiower, but shall do all in my power to obtain one.) Fruit

oval, pointed at the apex, and crowned by the scar of the calyx (or

corolla?), covered with numerous spines from 1 to 2 inches long.

Ovary adherent, solitary, four-celled ; ovules solitary, attached to a

placentation formed by a column terminating in four claws like those

of an animal, to each of which at its point an ovule is attached, one

or two of which seldom arrive at maturity*. Seeds flat; testa horny;

internal membrane thin, elastic, and veined; perisperm very abun-

dant, bitter and purgative when raw, but having the taste of a walnut

when cooked; embryo very small, flat ; cotyledons foliaceous, muci-

laginous ; radicle straight, turned towards the hilum: the embryo-

nary sac disappears in ripe seeds.

“ Parts of the plant which are not exposed to the whole force of

the sun ripen no fruit. From the fleshy part of the epicarp exudes

a very transparent gum, clear as glass. ‘The mesocarp of the fruit

is composed of a network of numerous fibres, of a white colour,

crossing each other in all directions. The plant is only found in the

mountains of Mactlactleahuatl, or in places contiguous to them.

It flowers all the year round; but only towards the end of August

and September ripe fruits are found.

“The squirrels eat the kernels greedily ; but as the fruit is very

spiny, they cannot attack it; however, being acquainted with its

mode of opening, five or six of them are in waiting every morning,

and as soon as a fruit bursts, hasten to devour the seeds. As soon

as the rays of the sun reach a ripe fruit, it will open, but not before.

The shock is so strong, that the fruit is severed from the stalk

and thrown heavily to the ground, while the seeds are dispersed in

different directions.

** Most curious is the manner in which the fruit opens. Towards

seven o'clock in the morning, on a sunny day, the fruit splits from

a to b (fig. 3 of the accompanying drawing), then from @ to e, from

e to d, from d to e; when the opening has attained the point e, the

fruit turns the piece A completely round, forces the column com-

posing the claws in a reclining position, at the same time throwing

the seeds with great force several yards’ distance. The sections /f,

cf, df, and ef open afterwards slowly. The first part of the pro-

cess lasts about half a minute, and the latter one minute.

* Hueo Fink.”

** Hacienda San Francisco, near Cordova,

Sept. 10, 1850,”

* “ Since then, [ have remarked that in some fruit all the four ovules

ripen; but generally one is abortive, as shown in fig. 20,—H. F.”

12 Dr. J. Anderson on the Anatomy of Sacculina.

The chief characters of Hanburia are its campanulate corolla,

monadelphous stamens, longitudinally arranged anthers, peltate

stigma borne on an elongated style, solitary pendulous ovules,

and setoso-echinate fruit bursting open when fully ripe, like that

of Momordica. In its monadelphous stamens and setoso-echinate

fruit it approaches Cyclanthera; but the corolla of that genus is

hemispherical, the anthers are arranged transversely, the stigma

is sessile, and the ovules are horizontal and indefinite. In its

definite ovules and shape of the seed it exhibits some relationship

to Fevillea; but the fruit of that genus does not burst open,

nor is it covered with spines. In any new arrangement of the

genera of Cucurbitacese, Hanburia will probable form the type of

a distinct tribe.

Hansuria, Seem., in ‘ Bonplandia,’ vol. vi. p. 298 (1858),

et ‘Bonplandia,’ vol. vii. p. 2 (1859).

Char. gen. emend.—Flores monoici. Mase. Calyx campanulatus,

5-dentatus. Corolla campanulata, calyci adnatim inserta, 5-fida, lobis

triangularibus acutis. Staminum columna elongata in discum pel-

tatum orbicularem margine antheriferum desinens; anthere longi-

tudinaliter adnate. Fem. Calyx tubo oblongo cum ovario con-

nato, limbo 5-partito. Corolla maris. Ovarium inferum, 4-loculare,

loculis 1-ovulatis. _Ovula pendula axi centrali adnata. Stylus elon-

gatus. Stigma peltatum. Bacca ovata, pulposa, setoso-echinata,

maturitate elastice irregulariter rupta. _ Semina pauca, plana, subor-

biculata, margine incrassato cincta. 2mbryonis exalbuminosi coty-

ledones foliacez. ...... Herba Mexicana, glabra, rhizomate peren-

nante, caule 5-angulato, foliis longe petiolatis cordatis acuminatis

integerrimis, cirrhis simplicibus spiraliter tortis, floribus axillaribus

v. terminalibus pedunculatis albis, masculis racemosis, foemineis soli-

tariis.

Species unica :—

Hanburia mexicana, Seem., in ‘ Bonplandia,’ vol. vi. p.293 (1858),

et ‘ Bonplandia’ vol. vii. p. 2 (1859).

Nomen vernaculum Mexicanum “ Chayotilla.”’

Prope Cordova, reipubl. Mexican. (W. Schaffner !).

22 Canonbury Square, London, N.

Nov. 21, 1861.

eee

I1I.—On the Anatomy of Sacculina, with a Description of the

Species. By Joun Anprerson, M.D.*

[Plate I.]

‘THREE years ago, I drew the attention of this Society to the fact

of the frequent occurrence of Sacculina and Peltogaster on some

* Read before the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, Nov. 27, 1861

Dr. J. Anderson on the Anatomy of Sacculina. 13

of the Crustacea of the Firth of Forth. For some years past the

subject of the affinitics of these parasites has been occupying the

minds of many foreign observers; and the following observations,

therefore, are brought before the Society in the hope that they

may tend to throw some light upon this difficult question, In

the present paper I have purposely abstained, as far as possible,

from dogmatizing regarding their systematic position, but else-

where I have referred them to the Cirripedes*. I may mention

that the relative position of the investing sacs, the character of

the ovaries and the ovigerous lamelle, and the apparent herma-

phrodite nature of the adult animal, when viewed in connexion

with the larval form, appear to me clearly to indicate their Cirri-

pedial nature. Accordingly, in my graduation thesis, I created

a new order (Sacculinacea) for their receptiont+.

Among recent observers, Leuckart drew the attention of na-

turalists to Thompson’s systematic description of Sacculina, and

proposed the adoption of his generic term. “If we restore,” he

says, “the name Sacculina either for Peltogaster in Rathke’s

sense, or, at least, for the form characterized by Diesing as Pa-

chybdella, we are only discharging an old, superannuated debt.”

In the same article he described a new form parasitic upon Hyas

araneus, and which he named Sacculina inflata. In accordance

with Leuckart’s proposal, I use the term Sacculina as referring

to the parasite alluded to by Cavolini, and as synonymous with

Peltogaster carcint, Rathke, and Pachybdella Rathket, Diesing.

The Larva. PF. I. fig. 1.

The larva, in the first stage, is oval, and presents no marks of

segmentation. Placed near the centre of the anterior margin of

the body is a yellow speck—the eye (a). The ocellus is placed

nearly in the centre of a dark-coloured ring (4). Krohn, who

has observed a structure similar to this in the larva of a Bala-

nide, regards it as the cesophageal ring. The lateral margins

of the body, on either side of the ocellus, are prolonged into two

horns (c); and in this respect the young resembles the Cirri-

pedian larva in its first stage. It is provided with three pairs

of natatory legs: the first pair (d) are situated immediately pos-

terior to the horns of the carapace; they are uniramous, are

provided at their extremities with bristles, and appear to be

* Graduation thesis, ‘Contributions to Zoology.’

y ‘The following are the characters of this order, as given in my thesis :—

Cirripedia sie segmentis, oculis ef appendiculis. Carapax sacciformis et

appendiculata est: foramen in carapace situm est. Pedunculus annulo

corneo affixus est. Os suctorium. Larva primo monocula eum 3 crurum

paribus. Cirripedia parasitica sub abdomine Crustaceorum Decapodorum

Brachyurorum,

14 Dr, J, Anderson on the Anatomy of Sacculina.

composed of two joints: the second and third pairs (d! d"’) are

larger than the first, and are both biramous. The rami are fur-

nished with bristles. The under surface of the body is prolonged

into two spines (¢ e), which project beyond the posterior margin

of the carapace. Besides these terminal spines, I have observed,

through the transparent body, two other structures (ff), which

resemble very much the middle pair of spines described by

Darwin as occurring on the larva of Chthamalus stellatus. The

greater portion of the body is occupied by an oval mass of nearly

spherical globules (gy). The various transformations of the larva

remain yet to be determined.

The Adult Animal. PI. I. figs. 10, 11, 12, 15.

According to the present state of our knowledge, this parasite

seems to be peculiar to the Deecapod Crustacea. All the speci-

mens I have obtained have been attached over the terminal por-

tion of the intestinal canal (figs. 10 & 110’) of the crabs on

which they were parasitic, the females of which they appear to

infest more than the males. This latter circumstance seems to

be owing to the large size of the purse of the female, as compared

with that of the male crab, affording them a better protection

and means of support.

The external sac (figs. 2, 4.a).—The external skin is a tough,

brownish-coloured, corrugated, and highly contractile structure.

It is chiefly by means of this membrane that the parasite is at-

tached to the crab on which it lives. The part which is attached

to the crab forms a short peduncle (0), but afterwards it suddenly

expands to form the external sac, The pedunculated portion (d)

is very firmly connected by means of a horny ring (d) to the

skin which invests the gut of the crab. The posterior extremity

of the sac remains open, forming a small orifice (c), which I

have called ovario-branchial.

The peduncle (b)—The external skin of this structure is a

continuation of the external sac (a), and contains within it a

prolongation of the parasite (/), which passes through the horny

ring, and rests upon the intestine of the crab. The prolonged

portion is tubular. In this arrangement we have evidence for

the parasitic nature of Sacculina, and are entitled to regard the

anterior portion of the peduncle as the mouth. The mouth,

structurally as such, is entirely absent; and the only way the

animal appears to derive its nourishment is by this process ab-

sorbing the required nutriment.

The ovario-branchial orifice (c) is so named from the twofold

function it is supposed to fulfil in the economy of the parasite.

If a living Sacculina is carefully watched for a few-minutes, this

orifice will be seen to open and contract slowly, while a current

Dr. J. Anderson on the Anatomy of Sacculina. 15

of water may be seen to pass into and out of the cavity of the

body, the sac at the same time alternately distending and con-

tracting. The ova, when fully developed, are extruded by this

orifice, the structure of which confines the water to the sae which

contains them. The orifice is situated upon the posterior

margin of the body, and is slightly raised above the level of the

sac. There is a constriction at its base, and a thickened portion

of the sac plays the part of a sphincter muscle. The inner

margin of the orifice is thrown into folds, usually eleven in

number, sometimes of a delicate and pellucid appearance, By

this arrangement the orifice is capable of great distention,

The corium (fig. 2 e).—On reflexion of the external skin we

expose the underlying corium, which invests nearly the whole

inner surface of the sac. I have succeeded, in one or two in-

stances, in separating this membrane into two well-marked

layers. The external layer is a very thin membrane investing

the whole inner surface of the sac, attached at its anterior ex-

tremity to the horny ring of the peduncle, and posteriorly to the

ovario-branchial orifice. I think it probable, when the external

skin is moulted, that its place is supplied by this structure,

The inner layer, following it from the ovario-branchial orifice

to which it is attached, passes forwards, closely applied to the

outer layer, till it nearly reaches the anterior margin of the sae,

where it becomes reflected on to the anterior portion of the pes

duncle, and can be traced no further as a separate structure,

At the left margin of the peduncle the corium is attached by a

septum (fig. 3g) to a pulpy body embraced in the folds of the

ovigerous lamelle.

Organs of reproduction.—On opening Sacculina by an incision

extending through the sae and continued from the ovario-

branchial orifice to the peduncle, we expose a pellucid sac (fig,

4 2) filled with ova. This sac is found on both sides of the pulpy

body above referred to (fig. 2), which it embraces within its

folds. The sac is merely a temporary structure including the

ova till their full development; and at this period I have seen

the ovario-branchial orifice plugged up by the extruded sac and

its contents, and in other cases I have found it lying quite loose

in the general cavity of the parasite. In specimens like these,

a delicate membrane may be separated, by gentle manipulation,

from the inner surface of the corium and from the surface of the

pulpy body or internal ovaries. This membrane appears to be

an ovigerous sac, in the process of growth, destined to receive a

brood of ova, but, after ther development, to be cast off like its

predecessor (fig.5). The ovigerous sac appears to be continually

present in one stage or another of its development; so that the

water which passes in at the ovario-branchial orifice is never in

16 Dr. J. Anderson on the Anatomy of Sacculina.

contact with any other structure. In a large specimen of Saccu-

lina carcini, 1 found two small mussels living in and attached to

the inner surface of its ovigerous sac. The ova (fig. 6) are

enclosed in the sac, and are arranged in a racemose manner,

enveloped in a very delicate membrane.

The internal ovaries (figs. 2, 8, & 8’, h), are situated posteriorly

to the peduncle. They constitute an oval, flattened, pulpy mass,

dividing the cavity of the parasite into two compartments ; they

are attached by the centre of their posterior margin to the left

wall of the ovario-branchial orifice ; and also, as previously men-

tioned, by the septum which runs along the left side of the sac

they are connected to the corium (fig. 2g). In the many speci-

mens examined, I have always found a small tubercle (figs. 2

& 30), with a minute and apparently horny speck on its sum-

mit, placed on both surfaces (figs. 3 & 3/, 0) of the body of the

ovaries lying opposite to one another, a little to the left of the

centre of its posterior margin. On removing the little speck of

horny matter, a depres.ivn is seen in the centre of the tubercle,

apparently communicating with the substance of the ovaries.

May uot these structures be the orifices of the oviducts, closed

by a temporary secretion of horny matter till the brood of ova

in the ovigerous sac has attained its full development? This

view of the nature of these tubercles has suggested itself to me

from the difficulty of accounting for the passage of the ova into

the ovigerous sac. The fact that the ova found on the external

surface of the ovaries are always more fully developed than those

further removed from the surface suggests another view of the

subject—viz. that they are developed in successive layers, and

thus constitute the ovigerous lamelle.

Situated immediately posterior to the peduncle, is a well+

defined cavity, lined by a special membrane, and containing two

oval-shaped bodies (2) placed side by side. These pellucid sacs

(figs. 7 & 8) contain in their cavities peculiarly shaped bodies (c),

and are provided with convoluted ducts (a). The ducts appear

to pass towards the nght side of the parasite (figs. 3 & 3’, h)

along the anterior margin of the ovaries, where they unite and

become lost. From the close relation of their ducts to the ova-

ries, it has all along appeared to me that these vesicles probably

play an important part in the generative economy of the animal.

This opmion seems to be strengthened by the fact that, on one

occasion, when examining under the microscope a portion of the

ovaries in the immediate neighbourhood of the vesicles, I detected

among their convolutions a tube identical in appearance with

the structure of their ducts. As yet, I have found it impossible,

from the soft nature of the tissues of these parasites, to trace the

ducts to their final termination ; but, from the appearance of the

Dr. J. Anderson on the Anatomy of Sacculina. 17

tube above described, it seems to me very probable that they

terminate in the ovaries. ‘The walls of the vesicles are simply

granular. A peculiarly formed body (figs. 7 & 8c) is placed in

the interior of each of the vesicles, immediately over the opening

of their ducts. The portion of this body situated immediately

over the ducts (0) is of a brown colour, and apparently of a

horny consistence, and is terminated by three processes. The

whole structure (fig. 9) is extruded when pressure is applied to

the vesicle. May not these vesicles represent the testes and

cement-glands of these parasites ?

These observations have been made from dissections of a new

species, parasitic upon Cancer pagurus : it differs in its anatomy

from Sacculina carcini in the form and position of the vesicles.

In the former species, these organs are oval, and placed imme-

diately posterior to the peduncle, while in the latter they are

elongated (fig. 16), and buried in the left anterior angle of the

ovaries.

The relation of the septum to the surrounding structures, and

the double nature of the ovigerous sac, hypothetical oviducts and

testes, indicate a tendency to bilateral symmetry.

Genus Saccutina, Thompson.

Sacculina carcini, Thomps. Pl. I. figs. 10 & 12. ©

(Thompson, J. V., Entomol. Mag. vol. iu. 1836, pp. 452-456.)

Peltogaster carcini, Rathke, Beitrage zur Fauna Norwegens, Acta Leop.

xx. p. 247, tab. 12. figs. 18, 19

Pachybdella Rathkei, Diesing, Syst. Helm. i. p. 435.

Diagnosis.—Bilobata est, maxima diametro per transversum ; para-

sitica in Carcino menade.

This species is confined to Carcinus menas, and,.in my own

experience, is almost always found on the female crab. It is

bilobular in form, its greatest diameter being in the transverse

direction. The figure given by Cavolini of the parasite he de-

scribed exactly corresponds with this species. It varies greatly

in size, and is undoubtedly the largest known species of these

parasites. Some of my specimens are an inch in breadth. The

skin, in the generality of specimens, is of a brownish-yellow

colour, and is minutely corrugated.

This species has a wide geographical range. Cavolini obtained

his specimens from the shores of the Mediterranean; Rathke

first met with it in the Crimea, and afterwards in Norway ;

Schmidt found it im great abundance at Wangerooge, and he

also obtained specimens on the Dalmatian coast; Steenstrup’s

specimens were from the Mediterranean and from the “ Black

Banks” in the North Sea. From the observations of Thompson,

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 2

18 Dr. J. Anderson on a new Species of Saceulina.

this parasite appears to be of frequent occurrence on the Irish

coast. Some years ago, I found this species for the first time in

the Firth of Forth, but not nearly in such numbers as the fol-

lowing one.

Sacculina triangularis, n. sp., figs. 4, 11, 14.

Diagnosis.—Triangularis est, gregaria, raro sola; maxima diametro

ab pedunculo ad posterius foramen pertinente: parasitus Canert

paguri.

This species is usually gregarious : sometimes as many as five

individuals may be found huddled together and struggling for

existence. I have never found it on any other crab than Cancer

payurus. Of the two species of these parasites found in the

Firth of Forth, this is by far the most common: in some locali-

ties, along the coast, to find a crab free from it is the excep-

tion.

The form of the animal is triangular. The greatest diameter

is in the longitudinal direction, z.¢. from its attachment to the

posterior orifice. Besides differing in its external characters

from Sacculina carcini, it also differs from it, as already noticed,

in the form and position of the vesicles.

I am indebted to Prof. Goodsir for a specimen of this parasite

found in the collection of his lamented brother, the late H. D.S.

Goodsir. It is a large specimen, apparently distended with ova,

and adhering to the purse of a Cancer pagurus.

Sacculina inflata, Leuckart, fig. 15 (Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1859,

p- 282.)

Diagnosis.—Dorsi et ventris superficies multum arcuata est ;: pos-

teriore foramine a corporis margine aliquantum remoto : parasitica

in Hyade araneo.

I only know of this species through the description given of

it by its discoverer.

BIsBLJOGRAPHY.

Cavournt. Sulla Generazione dei Pesci e dei Granchi. 4to, Naples,

1787.

THompeson, W. Entomol. Magaz. vol. ni. 1836, pp. 452-456.

RatukeE. - Beitr. zur Fauna Norwegens, 1842, pp. 244-247, tab. 12.

figs. 18, 19. Neueste Schriften der Nat. Ges. in Danz.

Bett, Tuos. A History of the British Stalk-eyed Crustacea, p. 108.

Scumint, O. Das Weltall, No. 3, 1854.

Sreenstrup. Oversigt k. Daiske Selsk. Forhandlgr. 1854, No. 3.

pp. 145-158. Archiv f. Naturg. 21. Jahr. 1855, Bd. i.

pp. 15-19. Ann. of Nat. Hist. 2 ser. vol. xvi. 1855, pp. 155-

162.

Diesine. Systema Helm. vol. i. pp. 434, 435.

The Bardo do Castello de Paiva on two new Coleoptera. 19

Lrevckart. Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1859, p. 232. Ann. of Nat.

Hist. 3 ser. vol. iv. 1859, pp. 422-429.

Littsesore, Witn. Nova Acta Reg. Soc. Sc. Upsal. Ann. of

Nat. Hist. 3 ser. vol. vi. pp. 162-173 and pp. 260-267.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE I.

Fig. 1. Larva of Sacculina; first stage: a, eye; 6, cesophageal ring ?;

c, horns of carapace; d, first pair of feet; d', second pair of feet ;

d", third pair of feet; e, terminal spines; jf, supposed anterior

spines; g, central cellular mass of the body.

Fig. 2. Dissection of S. triangularis: a, portion of external sac reflected ;

6, peduncle ; c, ovario-branchial orifice; d, horny disk ; e, corium;

h, internal ovaries ; 7, ovigerous lamella ; k, portion of peduncle

prolonged beyond the horny disk; J, vesicles; 0, tubercle of

anterior surface.

Fig. 3. Anterior surface of interior ovaries removed from their connexions:

g, the septum; h, mass of internal ovaries; 0, tubercle (ovi-

duct ?); e, portion of adhering corium [these letters apply also to

fig. 3']; J, the vesicles.

Fig. 3’. Posterior view of internal ovaries of S. carcini.

Fig. 4. Sacculina triangularis ; external skin and corium reflected: a, ex-

ternal skin covered internally by the corium; 7, ovigerous la-

melle.

‘ig. 5. Ovigerous sac, showing the anterior and posterior folds which

embrace the internal ovaries.

Fig. 6. Mass of ova from the ovigerous lamelle.

Fig. 7. Greatly magnified view of one of the vesicles, drawn from a fresh

specimen: a, the duct of the vesicle; c, the structure found in

the interior of the vesicle; 5, the horny substance found at the

commencement of the duct.

Fig. 8. The same organ as fig. 7, drawn from a specimen preserved in

alcohol: a, the convoluted duct; 6, the horny process.

Fig. 9. The structure found in the interior of the vesicle, removed.

Fig. 10. Sacculina carcini, with no ovigerous lamelle, nat. size: b, the

peduncle; 0’, intestine of crab; c, ovario-branchial orifice.

Fig. 11. Sacculina triangularis, nat. size. (Same references as in fig. 10.)

Fig. 12. S. carcini distended with ova.

Fig. 13. Posterior view of fig. 12: d, horny attachment of peduncle;

k, prolonged portion of the same.

Fig. 14. A group of S. triangularis.

Fig. 15. S. inflata (after Leuckart).

ig. 16. Enlarged view of the vesicles of S. carcini.

IV.—Descriptions of two new Species of Coleoptera from Angola.

By the Bardo po CastTELLo pe Patva, Professdr de Botan-

nica na Academia Polytechnica do Porto.

Tue following two species of Coleoptera were discovered in An-

gola by my learned friend Dr. Frederic Welwitsch; and I

have great pleasure in naming one of them after him, and the

other after M. Sabin Berthelot, the French consul at Teneriffe

20 = The Bario do Castello de Paiva on two new Coleoptera.

and the fellow-labourer with Mr. Webb in the elaborate ‘ His-

toire Naturelle des Iles Canaries.’

Fam. Buprestide.

Genus SPHENOPTERA.

(Dejean) Solier, Ann. de la Soc. Ent. de France, 11. 229.

Sphenoptera Bertheloti, Paiva.

S. elongato-obtriangularis, angusta, nitida, subvirescenti- et subzenes-

centi-cuprea; capite prothoraceque (preesertim versus latera) sat

dense punctulatis, hoe lineis duabus dorsalibus virescentibus plus

minus obsoletis longitudinaliter ornato; elytris leviter striato-

punctatis, sutura interstitiisque alternis postice paulo elevatis,

utroque ad apicem ipsum 3-spinoso (spina suturali minutissima) ;

antennis pedibusque concoloribus.

Long. corp. 53 lin.

Habitat “ad varias arbores et frutices spinosos agri Loandensis.’’—

Dom. Welwitsch.

S. angusta, elongato-obtriangularis (2. e. antice lata, postice regu-

lariter et facile acutior), sat nitida, subvirescenti- subznescenti-que

cuprea, ubique minutissime et dense punctulata. Caput et pro-

thorax (preesertim ad latera) punctis majoribus notata ; i//ud antice

late concavum, postice magis convexum ; foc apice capitis latitudine et

ibidem leviter simuato-emarginatum, postice paulo sed gradatim latius,

margine postice undulato-sinuato, lineis duabus dorsalibus virescenti-

bus plus minus obsoletis longitudinaliter ornatum. lytra obtrian-

gularia (2. e. apicem versus regulariter acutiora), striato-punctata,.

sutura interstitiisque alternis (postice saltem) paulo elevatis, utrumque

ad apicem ipsissimum in spinas tres acutissimas parvas productum,—

sc. suturalem minutissimam, mediam longiusculam et lateralem inter-

media longitudine. Antenne et pedes concolores.

This fine Sphenoptera, although at first sight allied to several

recorded species, appears to be distinct from all hitherto described;

and it does not tally with the diagnoses of any of the seven

members of the genus given by Boheman in his ‘ Insecta Caf-

fraria.’ It is rather more variegated than the generality of the

Sphenoptere, and is remarkable, amongst other peculiarities,

for the two longitudinal metallic lines (which, however, are

sometimes so exceedingly indistinct as to be almost obsolete)

down the disk of its pronotum.

Fam. Lamiade.

Genus TRaGIscoscHEMA.

(Chevr.) Thomson, Arch. Ent. i. 67.

Tragiscoschema Welwitschii, Paiva.

T. cylindricum, pube brevissima demissa albida et atra densissime

Mr. T. V. Wollaston on two new Rhynchophorous Insects. 21

leeteque pictum ; prothorace ad latera spina media parva instructo ;

antennis pedibusque breviter cinereo-pubescentibus, illis nigre-

scentibus corpore longioribus, his ferrugineis.

Long. corp. 6-7 lin.

Habitat “ad varios frutices spinosos regionis littoralis.’””,—Dom.

Welwitsch.

T.cylindricum, angustum. Caput flavo-albidum, linea frontali trans-

versa inter antennas oculosque (utrinque extra oculos producta) nec-

non plaga postica longitudinali triangulari centrali atris. Prothorax

antice et postice capitis latitudine, ad latera utrinque paulo rotnn-

datus et spina media minutissima instructus, mox ante basin leviter

tranversim constrictus; flavo-albidus, linea latissima dorsali atra

notatus; margine basali trisinuato. lytra parallela, flavo-albida,

sutura, apice, fasciis duabus magnis profunde dentatis (sc. subapicali

et postmedia), per marginem exteriorem anguste connexis, maculis

duabus parvis subsuturalibus (sc. antemedia et sub-basali) in lineam

suturalem evanescentibus, necnon duabus versus humeros, omnibus

in utroque positis, atris ornata. Antenne nigrescentes, sed brevis-

sime et tenuissime cinereo-pubescentes, corpore (preesertim in sexu

foemineo) longiores. Pedes ferruginei, brevissime cinereo-pubes-

centes.

A beautiful and most elegant Longicorn, and one which ap-

pears to be quite distinct from every species of the genus, or of

Tragocephala, which has hitherto been described. It seems to

be somewhat allied to the 7. gracilicornis of Chevrolat, from

Port Natal. Jam glad to have an opportunity of dedicating it

to my excellent friend Dr. F. Welwitsch, whose vast botanical

researches are likely to throw much light on the flora of that

interesting region, and by whom the insect has been lately dis-

covered.

Lisboa, de Novembro de 1861.

V.—On two new Rhynchophorous Insects from Angola.

By T. Vernon Wo taston, M.A., F.L.S.

Havine lately received from the Bardo do Castello de Paiva a

small but valuable consignment of Coleoptera collected by Dr.

C. Welwitsch at Angola, I have selected the following two spe-

cies, from a family in which I am more peculiarly interested, that

I may append them to the paper of my learned friend, as some

slight recognition of his varied services in the cause of science.

And I feel glad, at the same time, to be permitted to couple

with his name that of so acute and eminent a naturalist as Dr.

Welwitsch, whose labours in this most interesting and but little-

known region of Western Africa have been pursued with un-

wearied diligence for many years.

22 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

Fam. Curculionide.

Genus Prazomras.

Schonherr, Gen. et Spec. Cure. v. 936 (1840).

Piazomias Welwitschii, n. sp.

P. niger, squamulis parvis demissis submetallico-albidis undique

irroratus ; rostro utrinque bicostato, in medio canaliculato ; pro-

thorace brevi, ad latera valde subampliato-rotundato, dense granu-

lato, canaliculato; elytris pone basin constrictis, in medio rotun-

dato-ampliatis, ad humeros obsolete calloso-tuberculatis, profunde

punctato-striatis, per basin ipsissimam eleyatis, ad apicem singu-

latim minute acuminatis ; antennis ad basin pedibusque posteriori-

bus piceis, pedibus anticis longissimis.

Long. corp. lin. 4-42.

Habitat “ad frutices varios et ad gramina altiora regionum littoralis

et montane.”’—Dom. Welwitsch.

Genus Scrosivs.

Schonherr, Gen. et Spec. Cure. 1. 534 (1834).

Sciobius Paivanus, n. sp.

S. ovatus, nigro-fuscus sed squamulis parvis demissis albidis parce

nebulosus ; rostro utrinque carinato ; prothorace brevi, subconico;

elytris profunde punctato-striatis setisque erectis rigidis obsitis,

obscure albido-tessellatis ; antennis, tibiis tarsisque fusco-ferrugineis.

Long. corp. lin. 22.

Habitat ‘“‘ad varias leguminosas spinosas regionis littoralis.’? —

Dom. Welwitsch.

I am infornted by M. Jekel, who is so well known for bis

accurate and extensive knowledge of the Curculionide, that both

of these insects are unquestionably new; and I have therefore

much pleasure in naming them as above.

VI.—A Catalogue of the Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall. By the Rev. Taomas Hincxs, B.A.

[Continued from vol. viii. p. 366. ]

[Plate VII.]

MOLLUSCOIDA.

Class POLYZOA, J. V. Thompson.

Order INFUNDIBULATA, Gervais.

Suborder Cheilostomata, Busk. Fam. Salicornariadz.

SaLicornaria, Cuvier.

1. S. farciminoides, Ellis & Solander.

Common, in shallow and deep water: on rocks near the

of South Devon and South Cornwall, 23

Seallop-bank, Saleombe Bay; near the Oar-stone, Torbay, in

about 8 fathoms; amongst the trawl-refuse, abundant, &c.

Large masses of this beautiful species were obtained in Sal-

combe Bay, intermingled with a brilliant scarlet Sponge, which

were torn by the dredge from the rocks, in about 15 or 20 fa-

thoms’ depth*.

2. S. sinuosa, Hassall.

Common, in deep water: as abundant as the previous species

amopgst the trawl-stuff.

Fam. Cellulariadz.

1. Ceiiuvaria, Pallas.

C. cuspidata, Busk.

A single specimen has been obtained by Mrs. Gulson amongst

the refuse of one of the Brixham trawlers. It is a common

Australian species.

| Vide ‘Annals’ for Feb. 1855, “ Notes on British Zoophytes.”’]

2. ScrupoceLLaria, Van Beneden.

1, S. scrupea, Busk.

Not uncommon: off Berry Head; Salcombe Bay. It grows

in close compact tufts.

[On stones, off St. Ives, Cornwall.]

2. S. scruposa, Linneus.

Very common.

3. Canna, Lamouroux.

C. reptans, Pallas.

Extremely abundant, chiefly on weed: plentiful in the Lami-

narian zone, where it spreads luxuriantly over Halidrys siliquosa

and other Alge; also amongst the trawl-stuff.

Fam. Scrupariade.

1. Scruparra, Oken.

S. chelata, Linneus.

Very common on weed, shells, &c.: tide-pools; Salcombe

Bay, on Laminaria digitata (a favourite habitat), &c. It some-

times overspreads the fronds of the last-named weed with dense

miniature forests.

* A small branch of this species was found by M. Milne-Edwards attached

to aportion of the telegraphic cable which formerly connected Sardinia and

Algeria. The piece on which the Polyzoon was growing had been taken up

from a submarine valley, lying between Bone and Cagliari, which is from

1000 to 1500 fathoms in depth.

24 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophyies

This species, when growing on shells, is not uncommonly re-

cumbent and adnate, and creeps over the surface like a Hzppo-

thoa. It is-a curious fact that in this condition it assumes

the mode of growth of the latter genus, and sends off branches

from the sides of the cells. The aperture, too, is not distinetly

marginated, as in the erect form.

I have many specimens of this variety, which were dredged off

the Isle of Man, where it is common on oyster and other shells.

They form Hippothoa-like patches, and generally show the pro-

cess, springing from the front of the cells (below the aperture),

which marks the commencement of a branch or of an ovicelli-

gerous cell. So completely are the habit and aspect of the

Polyzoon changed in this repent variety, that it is difficult to

recognize it under its disguise. When I first met with it, I had

no doubt that I had obtained a new species of Hippothoa; but I

have since found a specimen in which an erect shoot of the nor-

mal character springs from the line of creeping cells.

I have Scruparia chelata in the same condition from Australia,

where the species is common.

2. HiprotHoa, Lamouroux.

1. A. catenularia, Jameson.

Very common in deep water: spreads profusely over the

Cornish Pinne from 60 fathoms.

2. H. divaricata, Lamx.

Very common: from between tide-marks (rarely) to deep

water. Some of the most beautiful specimens which I have seen

were spread over the smooth inner surface of the Pinna ingens.

The variety Patagonica occurs on red weed at Sidmouth.

[Hobson’s Bay, Australia. ]

3. Aires, Lamouroux.

1. 4. anguina, Linneus.

Extremely common: on Algze (especially the red), Corallines,

&c., in tide-pools, and the Laminarian zone.

2. AL. truncata, Landsborough.

On shells, apparently not common: Plymouth, &c.

In his description of this species, Dr. Landsborough makes

no mention of the curious spur-like processes with which the

cells are often furnished. They spring from the back of the

cell below the aperture, and are generally of considerable length.

[ Ramsay, Isle of Man; common. ]

of South Devon and South Cornwall. 25

3. Ai. recta, n.sp. Pl. VII. fig. 3.

Cells long, nearly straight, truncate at the extremity; surface

coarsely ringed below, the upper portion punctulate ; aperture

elongate, not dilated.

Abundant on shells and other submarine bodies: Torbay ;

Salcombe ; from 60 fathoms off the Deadman, &c.

In this species the creeping base is composed of a series of

fusiform expansions, connected by a delicate thread of variable

length, and closely resembling the cells of a Hippothoa. They

are regularly formed, enlarged and rounded at one end, and

pointed at the other. The cells are placed at the extremity of

. the larger end; they are straight or a little curved, long, trun-

cate, very slightly enlarged above; surface ringed below—more

coarsely than in 4. anguina,—covered with minute punctula-

tions above; aperture elongate, occupying a large proportion of

the length of the cell.

4H. anguina may be at once distinguished from the present

species by its bent and spatulate cell.. It is also of inferior

s1ze.

There cay be little doubt that Mr. Couch’s Hippothoa sica

(Corn. Faun. ii. 102, pl. 19. fig. 8) was founded on specimens

of this species in which the cells were broken off or only par-

tially developed. His description applies exactly to tea recta

in this state. Indeed, when stripped of its cells, or with

only a small portion left, forming a tubular aperture at the ex-

tremity of the clavate expansions, it is undistinguishable from a

Hippothoa*. The mode of branching is the same as in the

latter genus, the branches being given off from the sides of the

cells. tea recta is abundant on the coast where Mr. Couch’s

investigations were carried on.

[Isle of Man, dredged on shells; Lamlash, Arran.]

4, Branta, Johnston.

B. mirabilis, Johnst.

Common: creeping amongst Bugula turbinata, rock-pools,

Exmouth ; on Laminaria-roots, Salcombe Bay; on stones be-

tween tide-marks, Torquay, &c.

[Ramsay, Isle of Man, on weed; off the coast of Antrim, on

shell ; Lamlash.]

* The upper portion of the cells of 4, recta is very commonly broken

off a little below the base of the aperture.

26 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

Fam. Gemellariade.

1. GemeLiaria, Savigny.

G. loricata, Linn.

Not common.

This species, which is so abundant in some districts (as, for

stance, on the Lancashire coast), is of comparatively rare occur-

rence in Devon.

“Near the shore, rare; Polperro” (Couch).

2. Noramia, Fleming.

N. bursaria, Linn.

Dr. Johnston states that he received specimens of this inter-

esting polyzoon from Devonshire, through Mrs. Griffiths : they

were parasitical on Plumularia falcata. I have never met with

it either there or in Cornwall.

Fam. Cabereadz.

Caperea, Lamouroux.

]. C. Boryi, Audouin.

Amongst trawl-refuse taken up off Budleigh-Salterton. In

1854, I found several small tufts growing amidst a mass of Seru-

pocellaria scruposa. Miss Cutler had previously obtained very

fine specimens from the same locality on Eschara foliacea.

~ [2. C. Hookeri, Fleming.

Fleming founds his description of this species on a specimen

which he had received from Dr. Hooker, and which was said to

have been obtained at Torquay.

This is, I believe, the only record of the occurrence of C.

Hookeri out of the north; and one can hardly help suspecting

that there has been some mistake about it. Prof. E. Forbes

found it in Shetland, and Mr. Barlee in the Orkneys. It has

not occurred either to Mr. Couch or myself in the west. At

present, its claim to a place in this Catalogue must be consi-

dered very doubtful. ]

Fam. Bicellariade.

1. Brcr~iartia, De Blainville.

B. ciliata, Linn.

Very common: on Sertularian Zoophytes, &e.

of South Devon and South Cornwall. 27

2. Bueuna, Oken.

1. B. flabellata, J. V. Thompson.

Common: frequently on Eschara foliacea; on Gorgonia from

30 or 40 fathoms ; in shells from Saleombe Bay, &c.

2. B. avicularia, Pallas.

Not common: Plymouth.

3. B. turbinata, Alder.

Very abundant on rocks near low-water mark.

[Llandudno, N. Wales ; Isle of Man.]

4. B. plumosa, Pallas.

Not common: on scallop and other shells, &c., in Salcombe

Bay ; “ Polperro, rare” (Couch).

Fam. Flustride.

Fiustra, Linneus.

1. F. foliacea, Linn.

Comparatively rare in Devon.

On the Cornish coast, between Rame Head and the Deadman,

it Is common, according to Mr. Couch.

2. F. papyracea, Ellis.

Not uncommon: dredged in Salcombe Bay, &c.

Fam. Membraniporide.

Mempranipora, De Blainville.

1. M. membranacea, Linn.

Very abundant, overspreading with its beautiful lacework the

fronds of Laminaria and other sea-weeds.

2. M. pilosa, Pallas.

Universally distributed between tide-marks, encrusting various

kinds of sea-weed, &c.; also on shells, &c., from deep water.

A pretty, stellate variety, of very delicate texture, occurs in

deserted shells of Pectunculus glycimeris from Plymouth.

3. M. Rosselit, Audouin.

On shells from Torbay, sometimes forming very large patches.

[Off Maughold Head, Isle of Man. ]

4, M. Flemingii, Busk.

Very common, on shells, stones, &c.: from 60 fathoms, off

28 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

the Deadman; from 40 fathoms, ten or twelve miles south of

Polperro, &e.

The specimens from these deep-water habitats exhibit very

fully the distinctive characters of the species.

5. M. Pouilletii, Audouin.

Abundant ; frequently overspreading the interior of deserted

shells, &c.

6. M. imbellis, Hincks.

Occasionally from deep water: off the Deadman, from 60 fa-

thoms; on shell from the Brixham trawl-boats.

Weighty as Mr. Busk’s judgment on such a point undoubtedly

is, I find myself unable to agree with him in regarding M. im-

bellis as ‘(an unarmed variety of M. Flemingit.” Its cells are

much larger than those of the latter species, and more widely

separated ; and the numerous specimens which I have examined .

from very various localities have been uniformly destitute of the

calcareous expansion, as well as of the spines and avicularia,

which distinguish M. Flemingit.

7. M. Lacroiait, Savigny.

Encrusting stones and shells between tide-marks, not un-

common ; also dredged in moderate depths.

In sheltered situations, the cells are completely set round with

delicate spines, which bend mwards. Johnston’s plate 57.

fig. 11 represents this condition.

8. M. hexagona, Busk, ‘ Microscopical Journal’ for 1856,

page 308. pl. 12. fig. 4.

“Coast of Devon (Miss Cutler) ; Fowey Harbour (Peach).”

9. M. monostachys, Busk.

Spreading over the surface of a stone, between tide-marks,

Torquay.

The Torquay specimen, which I refer to this species, differs

in some respects from Mr. Busk’s description. The cells are

arranged in linear series, of varying width, and are prolonged

and attenuated downwards; the aperture is oval, and the margin

armed with numerous spines; about seven or eight are ranged on

each side, the uppermost pair being larger than the rest and

standing erect; below the aperture, there is a prominent acumi-

nate spine, slightly curved. In the M. monostachys as described

by Busk, the latter only is present,—the margin being other-

wise unarmed. The shape of the cell is the same in the two

forms; and the presence or absence of the delicate marginal

of South Devon and South Cornwall. 29

spines is probably dependent, as in the case of M. Lacroixii, on

situation.

[Ilfracombe, on the Capstone Rocks. The specimens from

this locality are destitute of the spines. |

10. M. lineata, Linn., Alder, Northumberland Catal. p. 53,

pl. Ss. fig. 1.

Abundant between tide-marks.

11. M. spinifera, Johnston.

On stone, between tide-marks, Salcombe ; Goran (Peach).

[Ramsay, Isle of Man, between tide-marks. |

12. M. curvirostris, n. sp. Pl. VII. fig. 4.

Cells oval, regularly disposed; aperture with a membranous

covering; margin raised, slightly thickened, subgranular,

with a short stout spine on each side near the top; ovicells

globular, prominent, strongly frosted and silvery ; avicularia

scattered, very large, raised, sloping upwards, with a pointed

and curved mandible.

On stone from 40 fathoms, ten or twelve miles south of

Polperro.

The most characteristic points in this species, which forms a

neat and delicate network on the stone, are the regularly oval

cells and the large and raised curvirostrate avicularia, which

occur here and there, and are situated at one side of the cell

near the top. The two spines project immediately below the

ovicell.

[M. craticula, Alder.

Mr. Alder regards the Flustra lineata of Couch’s ‘Cornish

Fauna’ as probably identical with this species; and, judging

merely from the description and figure, I should have formed

the same opinion. Mr. Peach, however, has kindly sent me a

specimen of Memdranipora from Goran, which he believes to be

the F. lineata of Couch; and this turns out to be the MW. spini-

fera, exhibiting many of the characteristic club-shaped spines

which bear the avicularia. As Mr. Peach is specially mentioned

in the ‘Cornish Fauna’ as having supplied specimens of F. lineata

from Goran, on which, amongst others, Mr. Couch founded his

description, I now hesitate to identify this species with M. cra-

ticula. It is not improbable that both forms may have come

under his notice, but for the present this point must remain

doubtful.

30 Dr. G. C. Wallich on Organic Life

Off Ramsay, Isle of Man, this species is abundant on shells

dredged from the Scallop-banks. |

EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII.

Fig. 1. Coryne vaginata, Hincks (Ann. ser. 3. vol. viii. p. 295), from a

tracing of Lister’s figure of Coryne in the Phil. Transact. : lize

the cup-like expansion of the polypary.

Fig. 2. Gonophore of Eudendrium insigne, Hincks.

Fig. 3. Attea recta, Hincks.

Fig. 4. Membranipora curvirostris, Hincks.

VII.—Further Observations on some Novel Phases of Organic

Life at great depths in the Sea. By Dr. G. C. Waxticu.

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

GENTLEMEN,

In the course of some experiments conducted by me, with a

view to ascertain the relation subsisting between the sarcodic

contents and the calcareous shells of the Foraminifera, a fact so

curious revealed itself, as to suggest the possibility of its being

rendered available for the solution of various questions in mi-

croscopic analysis.

A deep-sea deposit containing numerous Foraminiferous shells,

principally Globigerine, was subjected to the action of fluoric

acid, both at the ordinary temperature and at the boiling-point.

When subjected to boiling for a period of about a couple of

minutes, entire solution of the calcareous, silicious, and vitreous

(voleanic) particles took place, and the masses of sarcode were

disintegrated and broken up into extremely minute somewhat

acicular granules. These granules, however, in all probability,

do not consist of pure sarcode, but of that substance or its

elements in combination with fluoric and silicic acids. Seen under

the microscope, they did not serve to throw any new light on the

characters of sarcode, either with or without the employment of

the polariscope.

The portion of deposit submitted only to a momentary im-

mersion in cold fluoric acid gave off a copious discharge of car-

bonice acid; but on being carefully washed and examined under

the microscope, little or no effect seemed to have been produced

on the majority of the Glodigerina-shells, beyond a reduction in

the thickness of the walls in some, and in others what appeared

to be an alteration in the outline of the superficial elevations,

which, in the case of the older shells, are conical and present a

zeolite-like aspect when fractured.

The silicious organisms and vitreous particles were very

partially affected, the micaceous scales remaining quite intact.

at great depths in the Sea. 31

On mounting the shells acted on in the latter mode, some in

balsam, some dry, all depolarizing effect was destroyed, there

being no coloration in a single specimen; whilst all trace was

obliterated of the remarkable and distinctive black cross ordi-

narily presented by Globigerine when viewed under the polari-

scope. On the other hand, the micaceous tablets retained their

full depolarizing properties, and evolved the most brilliant colour.

Again, the bodies detected by me in the deep-sea deposits

and which I denominated Coccospheres *, as indicative of their

relation to the Coccoliths of Professor Huxley, though abundantly

present in the material operated on, were not destroyed by the

cold acid. But the minute black crosses which they evoke when

observed under the polariscope were, in like manner with that

of the perfect Globigerina-shells, wholly obliterated.

In a few shells a change of crystalline structure appeared to

have taken place, inasmuch as the bold conical elevations

already referred to were replaced by crystals of the cubical

series, resembling in all respects the natural crystals of the

fluoride of calcium. Accordingly, it is probable that, notwith-

standing the transitory period of their immersion, the carbonic

was replaced by fluoric acid, and the peculiar depolarizing power

resident in the normal arrangement of particles destroyed.

On the other hand, it is possible, although hardly probable,

that an entirely new combination, dependent on alterations

induced in the sareodic matter with which the Glodigerina-shells

and, I believe, the Coccospheres and Coccoliths are, in a measure,

invested, may have exercised a similar action as regards depolar-

ization.

At all events, we are here furnished with a new and simple

method of testing microscopically for carbonate of lime—a salt

which enters largely into the composition of so many marine

and other deposits, and is associated with so many of the minute

organisms that frequent both salt and fresh water.

My own time being already fully occupied, I must leave the

further investigation of the matter to others. Perhaps I may

be permitted to remark that no one is more competent to extract

the true significance of the fact than Mr. Sorby, whose researches

on Pseudomorphs are so well known.

Meanwhile, may I request you will do me the favour to insert

this notice in ‘The Annals?’

I remain, Gentlemen,

Your obedient and obliged servant,

G. C. Wattic#.

* See a notice by me in the Ann. & Mag. of Nat. Hist. No. 43 (ser. 3.

vol. viil.), and the article on the so-called Crystalloids of the Chalk, by

Mr. Sorby, in No. 45.

32 Mr. A. H. Church on Myxotrichum chartarum.

VITI.—Note on Myxotrichum chartarum (Kunze).

By Arruur H. Cuvurcu, B.A. Oxon., F.C.S.

[Plate VI.]

My attention was first directed to this beautiful fungus by my

friend Mr. Northcote, of Queen’s College, Oxford, who noticed

its occurrence on damp cotton fibres: it is generally found on

damp straw or paper. It was first figured by Kunze, and after-

wards by Corda. As the works of these authors are not easily

accessible, I thought that a careful drawing, traced from the

plant itself by means of the camera lucida, might prove accept-

able to British fungologists. Plate VI. fig. lL represents three

plants of their natural size ; fig. 2, the same three plants slightly

enlarged ; and fig. 3, a single plant magnified 400 diameters.

The fungus is of a deep-brown colour, and horny texture.

The mycelium is dichotomously branched for the most part; and

the original portions of it increase centrifugally, so that the

mature plant finally assumes the spherical form. Among the

growing points of the mycelium which make up this sphere,

from three to thirty processes of singular form project. These

hooks are curved more or less spirally at their outer extremities,

and are divided transversely into nine or ten segments. Fig. a

shows a branched spiral hook (“ zusammengerollter Haken” of

Corda), separated from the mass of mycelium, and magnified

800 diameters. Corda’s figure*, which is not ‘altogether satis-

factory, does not disclose any segmentation of the spirals ; he

describes only the separation that can be effected between their

outer and inner parts. Towards the centre of the fungus, when

mature, a confused yellow mass may be noticed. When this

yellow mass is carefully separated from the flocci, and a portion

of it examined, it appears to consist of thin fragile sacs of a clear

deep-yellow colour; these soon burst and set free a number of

white or grey oval bodies: the latter 1 take to be spores, the

former a kind of enveloping membrane, resembling the cyst in

Badhamia. Figs. 5a and 5 6 represent these spores, and fig. 5 ¢

the supposed spore-sacs after they have discharged their con-

tents. The spores readily vegetate among damp cotton-fibres ;

and I have raised from them a new supply of the fungus: fig. 6

represents two young plants. The yellow bodies here referred

to are apparently identical with those described by Corda as

spores: he speaks of them as of a golden-yellow colour, and

attached, in compound chains of a branching form, to certain

central portions of the mycelium. I have not yet been able to

discover them in situ, and I must leave their true relations an

open question. Moreover the septate character (not recognized

* Tcones Fungorum, tom. vi. tab. 2. fig. 23. 4d.

Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon. 33

by Corda) of the spirals renders it necessary to view these ap-

pendages also in another light; in fact, this character seems to

connect Myzotrichum with Helicosporium and similar genera,

where the filaments bear strings of sporidia coiled up into

spirals, and at the same time to show, as indicated in fig. 4.

Pl. VI., the intimate connexion subsisting between the ordinary

spores of the Hyphomycetes, whether arranged in chains or

occurring singly, and the bodies termed conidia.

Hitherto our information concerning the position of this

fungus has been but scanty. In the ‘ Micrographic Dictionary ’

of Griffith and Henfrey (ed. 2, p. 483), the genus Myzotrichum,

to which our present species was referred by Kunze, is thus

noticed :— “A genus of Dematiei, growing on rotten wood,

paper, &c. Three species are described as British—M, cesium,

Fr., M. chartarum, Kze., and M. deflecum, Berk. They form little

tufts or downy balls, sending off radiating branched filaments.

The spores are described as occurring collected in masses about

the base of the threads (?).” In Mr. Berkeley’s ‘ British Fungo-

logy’ (p. 353), the genus Myxotrichum is referred to the Muce-

dines, and its characters given as follows :—“Flocci branched,

bearing towards their base little conglomerate masses of spores.”

Corda placed his genus Actinospira among the Sporotrichacez,

describing it thus :—

“ ActinospirA. Flocci ramosi, continui, cornei; sporis simplicibus,

basi in glomerulos coloratos heterogeneos conglutinatis.

** 4. chartarum, Corda, tom. vi. tab. 2. fig. 23. Acervulis subglo-

bosis ; sporis ooideis aureis.”

Mr. Berkeley, to whom I am indebted for my information as

to the history of the present plant, tells me that it is supposed

to be a condition of some Chetomium. I hope my observations

and the figure given may aid in determining its true relations.

Mr. Berkeley’s Ascotricha chartarum* presents, in the appear-

ance of the thallus and conidiat, a slight approach to the cha-

racter of the young plants of Myxotrichum figured in my draw-

ing; but the genera to which the plants belong are, so far as

present observations go, quite distinct.

IX.—Observations on a Species of Pycnogon (Phoxichilidium

coccineum, Johnston), with an attempt to explain the Order of

its Development. By Grorce Hones.

[Plates IV. & V.]

THE generation and development of the Pycnogonoidea, to the

best of my knowledge, have hitherto received a very small share

* Ann. Nat. Hist. ser. 1. vol.i. pl. 7, p. 257. + Ib. pl. 7. fig. 8 d.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 3

34 Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon.

of attention. Many naturalists, during their mvestigations,

must have noticed and recorded certain facts bearing upon these

points; but it unfortunately happens that these have either re-

mained unpublished, or are inaccessible to the ordinary student,

who is therefore left to grope in the dark, and to rely upon his

own observations and research for any knowledge of this interest-

-ing subject that he may be desirous: of obtaining. Little has

been said of the anatomical differences of the sexes; we only

know that most, if not all, of the females of the several species

possess an additional pair of members, anterior to the ordmary

feet. These members, known by the name of ‘ false feet,’ differ

in different genera, have been made an important aid in classifi-

cation, and are furnished with a number of sete, of forms vary-

ing according to the genus or, it may be, species; and near to

these sete, at certain periods, the eggs or ova are found.

We know nothing of the earliest stage, or means by which

the ova are produced and fertilized ; and, so far as I am aware,

the subject has not been alluded to by any writer on these ani-

mals. The only published record to which I have had access is

a paper by Kroyer in the ‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles’ for

1842, being “ Notes on the Metamorphosis of the Pyenogonides,”

wherein the larval forms, as attached to the females of Pyeno-

gonum littorale, Nymphon grossipes, and. Phoaichilidium femoratum,

are figured and described. I have also been kindly favoured by

Mr. Spence Bate with some MS. notes “On the Morphology

in the Development of the Pyenogonidz,” which were read at the

British Association Meeting of 1855. These authors, however,

go no further than the larval forms, and make no allusion to the

subsequent stages through which the young animals pass before

they attain the mature state ; therefore the following observations,

although imperfect in some most important particulars, may

perhaps be the means of guiding others in the search, and thus

ultimately lead to the complete elucidation of the development

of the Pyenogonoidea.

The species that afforded me material for the following ob-

servations, and which I believe to be Phowxichilidiwm coccineum

(Johnston)*, may frequently be taken at low-water mark, crawl-

* Orithyia coccinea, Johnston. “ Animal araneiform, slender, of a uni-

form fine clear red colour, with the joints of the legs and tarsi yellowish,

and, when magnified, a central vessel, distinguished by its deeper tint, is

seen running uninterruptedly through the body and legs: rostrum yel-

lowish, porrect, cylindrical, somewhat thickened outwards, divided beneath

by a mesial line shorter than the mandibles, which originate from the

anterior margin of the first segment, and are biarticulate; the basal joimt

long, while the second forms a short ovate hand armed with two subequal

curved claws: body 4-jointed, the first with an oculiferous tubercle; the

eyes obscure: legs four pairs, with a few widely scattered short hairs ;

Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon. 35

ing or, rather, sprawling over Alge and Zoophytes, more fre-

quently the latter. In most instances [ have met with them on

a muddy bottom, probably because the Zoophytes on which they

seem to feed are found there. During a careful and systematic

series of “ rock-hunts,” undertaken with the view of obtaining a

collection of the smaller and rarer marine animals of this part of

our coast [Seaham], I collected a handful of a species of Coryne

(C. eximia, Allman) from a small rock-pool, under the shelter of

the overhanging side of which depended a most interesting fringe

of Zoophytes, such as Coryne, Tubularia, Plumularia, &c. The

Coryne was very abundant ; and many of the polyparies attained

the unusual length of 3—4 inches, and were, at the period when

taken (August), profusely covered with Medusoids in various

stages of growth. As I collected these specimens, I noticed

some peculiar dark brownish-red pear-shaped sacs scattered

over the stems, more especially on the lower portions. Con-

cluding they were some peculiar organisms connected with the

growth of the Coryne, they did not receive more than a passing

glance; but on arriving at home, the specimens were turned out

into dishes, and by accident a hand-lens was applied to one of

the dark-red sacs, when it was seen that the red colour depended

principally upon a central portion, resembling in an extraordi-

nary degree a small Pycriogon with very short legs. The sac

was then ripped up; and the imbedded object, being extracted

and gently freed from the investing mucus, proved to be a veri-

table young Pycnogon. Here was a discovery—a Crustacean (?)

within a Zoophyte! Puzzled and surprised, I endeavoured to

ascertain more of the extraordinary partnership (the benefit all

on one side, I am inclined to think) that appeared to exist be-

tween the Coryne and the Pyenogon.

three times the length of the body, equal, 8-jointed ; the basal joint short;

the second somewhat longer than the third; the fourth slightly dilated,

elongate ; fifth and sixth slenderer, but as long; seventh minute; eighth

rather long, falciform, spinous on its inferior edge, and terminated by a

single rather long claw. [There are two claws: one is very small, and is

rather difficult to see, from its position; it issues from the base of the

larger, near to its insertion into the falciform joint, and clings closely to

the larger claw.—G. H.] Length of the body 2 lines, of the legs 6 lines.

With a common magnifier, the body appears very smooth; but when a

more powerful glass is used, it and the legs are seen to be roughish with

minute granules.” (“An Attempt to ascertain the British Pyenogonidz,”’

by Geo. Johnston, M.D., in ‘ Magazine of Zoology and Botany,’ vol. i.)

Phoxichilidium coccineum, Milne-Edwards, ‘ Crust.’ vol. iii. p. 536, 1840

(Goodsir, in ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History,’ vol. xiv. 1844).

Nymphon femoratum (Rathke, Nat. Hist. Skrifter, vol. i. p. 201).

Phoxichilidium femoratum, Kroyer, in ‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles’

for 1842. In speaking of this species, he says, ‘‘I believe this animal

identical with the Orithyia coccinea from the coasts of England.”

36 Mr.G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon.

The natural inference on first finding these sacs would be that

they had been attached by the mature Pyenogon—in fact, were

the germs cemented to the polypary, and that the difference in

form (pear-shaped, instead of globular as when attached to the

false feet of the female) might be the result of growth. On

submitting, however, the sacs to microscopical examination, their

external appearance so closely resembled the growth of Coryne,

and, on the other hand, was so totally different from anything

that could be imagined to be the product of a Pycnogon, that.

little doubt remained on my mind that the sacs were really the

result of some peculiarly directed growth of this zoophyte. To

ascertain, therefore, how far the cavity of the sac communicated

with the central portion or ccenosare of the Coryne, a sac was

cut transversely, near to its connexion with the supporting stem ;

and a gentle pressure being applied, the nutrient matter of the

Coryne escaped from the wound, just as would be seen if a stem

was so cut. ‘Transparent specimens were next examined, and

the result left no doubt of the sacs being part and parcel of the

Coryne. All question upon the matter was, however, completely

set at rest by my finding that these sacs had been already noticed

by Prof. Allman, who, in a communication made to the British

Association in 1859, arrived at a preéisely similar conclusion

with respect to their zoophytic origin. The abstract of his

paper, being very short, may be here quoted entire.

“* On a remarkable form of Parasitism among the Pycnogonide.

“ By Professor ALtman, M.D., F.R.S.

“The author described the occurrence, on the branches of some

species of Coryne, of peculiar pyriform vesicles, which might at first

sight be easily taken for the reproductive sacs of the Zoophyte.

They had their cavity in free communication with the general cceno-

sareal cavity of the Zoophyte ; and an endoderm, ectoderm, and -

external chitinous investment were easily demonstrable in their walls.

The nature of their contents, however, at once distinguished them

from the proper reproductive sacs of the Coryne; for in every in-

stance they enclosed a Pycnogonidan (Ammothea’?). The enclosed

Pycnogonidan was always solitary, and in the smaller vesicles was

still embryonic, while in the larger ones it presented an advanced

stage of development, and was ready to escape from its confinement

by the rupture of the surrounding walls.”

Now come the questions :—How is the sac formed, and how

does the young Pycnogon get into the sac? These problems

are more difficult to solve than would at first appear; yet it may,

I think, be proved that at any rate the sacs are merely modified

growths of the Zoophyte.

If figs. 6, 7, 8, & 9, Pl. IV. are examined, it will be seen that

Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon. 37

the sacs present a strong likeness to “ stunted branches” of the

polypary, as if a shoot had been suddenly brought to an abrupt

termination by an enlargement consequent upon its occupation

by a young Pycnogon. This view of the case becomes more

evident if we examine the annulated character cf the sac, which

will be found to agree closely with the same parts seen in the

polype, which are similarly annulated. It would therefore ap-

pear as if the young Pycnogon occupied the place of the ordinary

polype in the Coryne. The sacs are usually found on the lower

portions of the stems branching out from the sides, as shown at

fig. 6, though occasionally they were met with much higher up.

The only manner in which I can account for their position on

the lower portions of the stems is this: the young Pycnogons,

judging from their growth and the circumstances under which

they are found, must have gained access to their tenements at

an early period of the year, when the Coryne was but small; and

the higher branches would seem to be growths subsequent to

the period at which larval forms abound, which have risen above

the level of the parasitically infested shoots.

I possess a female Phowichilidium, taken during the present

year, at Lerwick, by the Rev. A. M. Norman, which has several

germs or ova seated on the false feet: from an examination of

this specimen I was so fortunate as to obtain a clear insight into

some of the very early stages of the ova, which, so far as I can

judge, throw much light upon the subsequent stages.

Each sac or germ contains a large number of minute ova,

which are attached to the investing membrane by four filament-

ous appendages. These ova, in early stages, are globular (see

fig. 1), and appear to consist of a number of granules enclosed

in a transparent envelope, from whence proceed the filaments

just alluded to. As these granules increase in size, they undergo

a sort of segmentation, and put out six rounded lobes, four

being at the precise spots from which the filaments are produced,

while the remaining pair are larger, appearing between the two

pairs, and rapidly increase into two prominent processes, which

soon assume the form of foot-jaws (see figs. 2 & 3), and are each

provided with a pair of “nippers.” The first four warts, two

and two, continue their growth, increasing in length very con-

siderably, and ultimately produce four legs, which, though un-

jointed, are capable of considerable movement. From the tips

of these legs the long filaments are seen to proceed ; and these

have also considerably increased in dimensions, especially at their

junction with the legs. Meanwhile the foot-jaws have also con-

siderably enlarged, and by their outward growth have given

place to another lobe or wart between them, which shortly

assumes the form of a rostrum. And now we see a little Pye-

38 Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon.

nogon (fig. 4), with only four legs, it is true, but those members

are of surprising length, and serve the purpose, I apprehend, of

attaching the several larvee to each other and to the sac contain-

ing them.

Having, therefore, seen the form and apparent principle of

development of the ova from a mere mass of granules up to a

period not far from that at which they would burst their bonds

and enter upon a different life, we now come to the most difficult

question—How does the young Pycnogon gain access to the

Coryne? For the actual indisputable answer to this I am afraid

we must patiently wait; at present, we can but surmise and

guess at the process. I may perhaps be allowed to record my

opinion ; right or wrong, future results must settle. We have

seen that the young Pyenogon, at the most mature stage at

which I have observed it attached to the female, possesses a

rostrum, a well-developed pair of foot-jaws (being in fact the

most perfectly organized portion of the animal at this stage),

and four rudimentary legs, terminated by very long filaments,

which attach the young animal in an indirect way to the female.

From the appearance of the outer membrane investing the little

animal, and the rudimentary character of the legs, I expect a

moult would shortly take place, and the animal would then en-

tirely free itself from the investing skin and legs, with their

attached filaments, being then of a globular form, with a pair of

foot-jaws anda short rostrum. At this stage of the development

the little animals become free, and here we lose all trace of them

as connected with the adult Pyenogon; we should naturally expect

that there was- little chance of ever again falling in with them

in their young state, in consequence of their minute size at this

period (;1, to 4, inch across); and doubtless many observers

have lost them at this stage. I imagine they are carried by the

waves into pools, similar to that before alluded to, and contain-

ing a quantity of Coryne. The young animal would naturally

cling to any fixed support, and, it may be, progress in some

peculiar manner, and thus reach the polypes, or else the tenta-

cles reach it, and shortly afterwards it is conveyed to the oral

orifice of the Zoophyte, and being engulphed, is again lost to us,

as, once in the Coryne, it becomes the food of that animal, and

we cannot doubt that it possesses some means of digesting and

assimilating such particles of matter, vegetable or animal, as

may serve as nutriment. The young Pyecnogon, having been

received into the cvenosare of the Zoophyte, must necessarily

undergo the process of digestion and consequent dissolution :

but in this particular case we find the ordinary rule does not

hold; for the young Pycnogon is found whole and undergoing

development within the polypary: if it has passed in by the

Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon. 39

oral orifice, it has by some peculiar means escaped the common

fate of most small animals that the polype gets hold of; and if

it did not pass in by this aperture, how did it get in? I can see

no other means of entrance; and when we remember that in

many cases peculiar forms of animal life are found in the intes-

tines and other parts of various animals of higher grades than

those at present under consideration, to which they could only

have gained access by the mouth of the animal they infest, and

must therefore have been subjected to the process of digestion

in their passage to those parts where they are found, it does

not appear so very extraordinary that a parallel case exists

amongst low forms of marine life. There is no other view of

the case that I can conceive at all tenable. The polypary, from

consisting of a strong horny envelope, would utterly defy the

attacks of a puny animal like that under consideration, assum-

ing, for the sake of argument, that the young animal desired

admittance through the polypary, and endeavoured, in its hum-

ble way, to gain an entrance by means of its foot-jaws: such a

view will, I think, be admitted as utterly unlikely. So far then

as I can see, in the absence of a better, we must at present con-

tent ourselves with the opinion before expressed.

The young Pyenogon being now within the Coryne, we will

endeavour to trace the future stages. The little animal, once

within the ccenosarc, doubtless makes the most of its foot-jaws,

and commences a search for a suitable “locale.” To the in-

stinct or other directing agency by which it is guided in this

search, I am not prepared to allude: it is sufficient if we take

it for granted that it does move freely along the tube of the

polypary ; whether by accident or instinct, it matters not. A

glance into the circumstances of the growth of the Coryne may

assist us in understanding the fact of the Pycnogon being found

in a sac, without doubt produced by this Zoophyte.

The Coryne, at the time the larval forms may be expected to

gain an entrance, from being of humble growth, as before men-

tioned, would not possess many polypes; numbers would, how-

ever, be in course of production. So far as I know, the growth

of these polypes results from a branch springing from a stem, at

first short and rounded at the free end; the rounded portion,

however, changes its character from a thin investing membrane

(or membranes) into a “fleshy head” or polype, at first rudi-

mentary, but capable of producing its several parts. During

the period that these short rounded branches exist, and before

they have begun to assume the polype-character, a young Pyc-

nogon enters one of them, having made a journey from the

polype by which it entered, along “the coenosarcal tube of the

oryne ; arrived at the end) there it remains to mature, and, by

40 Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon.

a wonderful provision, the development of the terminal portion

of the polypary into a polype is stayed (Pl. V. figs. 7 & 8),

doubtless by the young Pyenogon availing itself of the nutrient

matter circulating within the ccenosare as food, and thus with-

drawing the material that should have developed a polype. The

outer envelope or portion of the polypary (at this particular

part) gradually enlarges, so as to assume the form and appear-

ance before described, and the Pycnogon being comfortably

housed amidst an abundant supply of food, nothing but time is

requisite to enable it to undergo the necessary development.

With such an abundant supply of food as must necessarily be

presented to the young parasite within the Coryne, its growth

must be rapid. At Pl. IV. fig. 10, I have represented one of the

animals extracted from the sac. At this stage its size is much

greater than the minute form before described : it now measures

giz Inch across. An inspection of the figure will convey a pretty

accurate idea of the appearance of the animal. It will be seen

that the foot-jaws still retain their advanced state of develop-

ment, as compared with the other portions, and the rostrum is

still short and rudimentary. The foot-jaws were very active,

opening and shutting in a highly excited manner, which was

perhaps not to be wondered at when we consider the unceremo-

nious way in which it was again introduced into the world.

Within the rostrum, near its base, a peculiar pulsating move-

ment is seen; further than this, no motion is discernible.

The larva must have moulted, and got rid of the four

rudimentary legs and their filamentous appendages ; for we here

see that the young Pycnogon is destitute of legs (not a trace re-

mains), and that the previously described process of the produe-

tion of these organs by the gradual formation of lobes, to be sub-

sequently elongated into leys, 1s again seen: there are now seven

such lobes, three at each side and one opposite the rostrum, the

latter showing a faint indication of division. The eyes, near

the base of the rostrum, are also in course of formation; but at

this period they are merely seen as a patch of colour.

Passing onward to a further growth, we come to that stage

when the young Pycnogon is found in the sac, with the legs

doubled up, as shown at Pl. V. fig. 14. The several organs

have now attained a considerable degree of development, and

bear a close resemblance to the mature form. Fig. 15 represents

the last joints of a leg, with the strong bristles im course of

formation. At this stage there is an indication of the young

Pyenogon being within a supplementary skin, external to the

true skin: this appearance is best seen in the last joints of the

legs. The growth of the terminal claw seems a work of time,

the deposition of hard material being irregular and unequal.

Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon. 41

Having traced, with some slight interruptions, the germs to

the larve, the larvee to the immature and parasitical young, we

now come to the concluding stages, viz. that period at which

the young animal, well developed and furnished with the neces-

sary orgaus to enable it to provide for itself, seeks an exit from

the Coryne-sac or vesicle: here the foot-jaws doubtless play a

most important part.

Such sacs as contain well-developed animals are found to be

deeply tinged with colour near the summit : if these are selected

and kept in clean and cool sea-water, the whole process may be

watched. The animal evidently uses its foot-jaws to rupture

the investing skin of the sac, which at this stage, from some

peculiar circumstance, seems more limp and pliable than at

other times. An opening having been effected, one or both of

the claws of the first feet are projected through the opening, and,

with the usual slow and languid movements of the class, are

worked about, doubtless widening the breach; then another leg

appears, and another, until the whole animal emerges and sprawls

away. If we examine the figure of the free animal as seen

shortly after its escape from the sac, it will be noticed that,

although closely resembling the mature form in those features

that guide us in the discrimination of the species, it nevertheless

requires further development. It still has only six legs, the

fourth pair being represented by short rounded lobes; these

lobes, gradually growmg, become jointed, and are furnished

with claws and bristles; after which the animal merely requires

time to mature its several parts. Whether this is gradual, or

assisted by a further moult, I am not prepared to state: it has

been seen to perform this process in early life ; so it is not im-

probable that it may do the same in a more advanced stage*.

Finally, I figure a male Phowichilidium coccineum, and also a

portion of a female, both fully matured; so that the several

stages, from the germs, devoid of organs of any kind, to the

perfect animal, may be compared, and their several points of

difference and gradual growth be fully understood.

Setting aside for a short space all that has been written on the

subject of the anatomy of these animals as bearing upon their

* Since writing the above, I have been so fortunate as to discover the

moulted skin of the young Phowichilidium which is cast by the animal

before or at the time of leaving the sac of the Coryne: this cast-off mem-

brane is extremely delicate and transparent, and shows the several limbs,

&c., from which the animal had withdrawn itself, apparently without much

damage to the exuvie. It therefore seems highly probable that the in-

crease of growth in these animals is effected in a similar manner to that of

other Crustacea, viz. by a series of moultings. We have seen two instances

of this during the embryonic stages, and there is no reason why the process

should not continue in after-life.

42 Mr. G. Hodge on the Development of a Species of Pycnogon.

true position, especially by Quatrefages*, I think, if anything

were wanting to show their connexion with the Crustacea, the

mere phases in their development would be sufficient to decide

the matter, and convince those who wish to remove them from

this class of their error.

The teachings of development must ever exercise a powerful

voice in classification ; and when we see so many instances of the

degradation of some animals and elevation of others, in con-

sequence of the increase of our knowledge in this direction, we

must all allow that, until we are fully conversant with the life-

history of an animal, no matter how profound our other acquaint-

ance with it may be, we have still much to learn. Nearly every

animal that we can,name possesses some wonderful story which

requires unfolding as to its early life; and as our knowledge

in this direction is extended, we trace step by step the con-

nexion of one form with another, and prove that forms now

regarded by zoologists as fully matured, and therefore described

as so many distinct species, are but the varied phases assumed

by some one animal during the singular stages of its develop-

ment. Hence the value of the study of development—that

great law of life, everywhere seen and everywhere at work, silent

but sure, teeming with beauty, and elevating all who rightly

ponder and study the manifold mercies and wisdom of the great

Creator who has made so many and such varied forms of life—

varied in form, varied in habit, and varied in usefulness, but all

showing a marvellous beauty of design and adaptation of form

and habits to the several circumstances of their lives.

In conclusion, I have to express my thanks to my esteemed

friend the Rev. A. M. Norman for the valuable advice and assist-

ance he has so kindly afforded me during my investigations and

in the preparation of this paper.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

Puate IV.

Fig. 1. Early appearance of larva of Phoxichilidium coccineum, removed

from ovum attached to female.

Figs. 2 & 3. Further stages, showing the early appearance of foot-jaws and

rudimentary legs.

Fig. 4. Well-developed larval stage, with foot-jaws, rudimentary legs, and

their filamentous appendages.

Fig. 5. The same, more highly magnified, and showing more distinctly the

several parts.

Fig. 6. Branch of Coryne eximia, with sacs of various forms, and in several

of the positions they occupy upon the polypary.

Fig. 7. Branch of C. eximia, with a sac at the extremity of a stem, anda

young polype in course of formation at the extremity of another

stem.

_* See Quatrefages in ‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles.’

Rev. A. M. Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda. 43

Fig. 8. Branch of C. eximia, with a sac at the extremity of a stem, which

by its position appears to have withdrawn the nutriment from an

adjoining part, staying the growth of a shoot, which is seen as a

short rounded lobe.

Fig. 9. Branch of C. eximia, with a sac at the extremity of a stem.

Fig. 10. Early form of parasitical young, at that period of its existence

when it has moulted for the first time and got rid of the rudi-

mentary legs and their appendages, being now entirely destitute

of legs.

Fig. 11. Further stage, or that period at which it is found free, having

effected its escape from the sac.

Puate V.

Figs. 12 & 13. Portions of females, mature and immature, showing the

form and growth of the false feet or “ egg-carriers.”

Fig. 14. Parasitical young in an advanced stage, and as found doubled up

in the sae. °

Figs. 15, 16, & 17. Various stages in the development of the claws: viz.,

15, whilst within the sac; 16, shortly after escape ; and 17, when

mature.

Fig. 18. Mature male Phowxichilidium coccineum,

X.—Contributions to British Carcinology. By the Rev. ALFRED

Mere Norman, M.A.

II. On Species of Ostracoda new to Great Britain,

Fam. Cypride.

Subfam. I. Cyprin& (Dana).

Genus Cypris (Miller).

Cypris punctillata, n. sp. Pl. II. figs. 11-14.

Forma subovalis ; altitudo maxima ante medium sita; margo dorsalis

valde arcuatus, ventralis im medio incurvatus. Forma desuper

spectata ovata, in medio latissima, extremitates versus eodem modo

parum attenuata. Latitudo altitudoque fere eequales. Basis lata,

ad extremitates convexa, trans medium impressa atque concava.

Valvarum superficies undique pilis obsita, cellulisque rotundatis

numerosissimis excavata. Margo valvarum interior antice et pos-

tice latus, lamellosus ; lamella sulco profundo excavata ; antice et

postice aculeis fimbriatus. Co/or saturate viridis. Long. 5 unc. ;

alt. <4; unc.

Habitat stagna limpida prope Sedgefield in regione Dunelmensi.

Carapace subobovate ; dorsal margin boldly arched; ventral

margin incurved centrally ; the highest part of the valves situ-

ated a little before the middle. Surface everywhere clothed

with long hairs, and sculptured with closely arranged roundish

cells. The superior portion of the anterior extremity is margined

with a row of eight spines; and the inferior portion of the pos-

terior extremity in the right valve is margined with about five

spines. The lowest of these posterior spines is considerably

44 Rev. A. M. Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda.

larger than the others, and in size and appearance corresponds

with a similarly situated tooth in Cyprideis torosa, and with that

present in the left valve of Notodramas monacha (Cypris monacha,

Baird). Possibly these teeth serve as guides to the right adjust-

ments of the valves, and prevent the margin of the one from over-

lapping the margin of the other too far when closed.

The form of the carapace, when viewed from above, is ovate ;

and the valves (which are so tumid that the diameter and height

are nearly equal) have their greatest convexity in the centre.

The base, or ventral surface, is broad, rounded towards the ex-

tremities, but in the centre hollowed out and flattened, giving

the carapace a pinched-in appearance at that part. The front

and hinder margms are produced internally into broad plates,

these plates being channelled by a deep groove.

Colour deep green. Length = inch; height 4, inch.

This fine species may perhaps be most readily known by the

peculiar pinched-in and flattened surface of the centre of the

ventral margin; and this character is evident in all stages of

growth. The young, as is usually the case among the Ostracoda,

have the posterior extremity very much narrower in proportion

to the anterior than is the case in more fully developed indivi-

duals. The only British Cypris which equals the present species

in size is C. clavata (Baird).

I first found Cypris punctillata in the autumn of 1860, in the

parish of Sedgefield, co. Durham, in a piece of clear water known

as the Forge Dam. -It was there associated with Alona quadrata;

Peracantha truncata ; Pleuroxus trigonellus ; Cypris compressa,

minuta, Westwoodii, and bistrigata (Jurine) ; Candona lucens and

serrata (Norman) ; Cyprideis torosa, and other more common

Entomostraca. During the past summer, I have met with it in

extreme abundance in a second habitat—a pond about two miles

distant from the first locality, where it lives in company with

Daphnia Schefferi and other species.

Cypris aculeata (Lilljeborg). PI. II. figs. 7-10.

Cypris aculeata, Lilljeborg, om de inom Skane forkom. Crust. af Ord.

Cladocera, Ostracoda och Copepoda, p. 117, tab. 11. figs. 15, 16.

Forma brevis et alta, reniformis; margo dorsalis valde arcuatus, ad

apicem rotundatum fere in medio situm assurgens ; margo ventralis

leviter sinuatus. Forma desuper spectata elongato-ovata, antice

angustior, acuminata. Latitudo maxima altitudine multo minor,

pone medium sita. Basis convexa. Valvarum superficies aculeis

arcuatis pilisque intermixtis admodum hispida, cellulis numero-

sissimis excavata. Color ceeruleo-viridis. Long. ;%; unc.

Habitat regionem Dunelmensem prope Sunderland et Stockton.

Carapace reniform, very high in proportion to its length,

Rev. A. M. Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda. 45

covered all over with very numerous cells, and clothed with a

hispid covering of intermixed hairs and arched spines. The

spines are most evident near the dorsal margin, but there are

none fringing the anterior and posterior margins (the only posi-

tion which spines occupy in the last-described species). The

dorsal margin is greatly arched, rising to a rounded summit,

which is situated nearly in the centre of the valves: ventral

margin slightly incurved centrally.

The form of the carapace, viewed from above, is elongated

ovate, slightly narrower in front than behind, and in no part

more than slightly convex; so that the height greatly exceeds

the diameter. The inferior antenne have four long and two

short slightly plumose filaments. The base ig convex.

Colour dark blue-green. Length & inch.

Cypris aculeata, now first added to the British fauna, has been

well described and figured by Lilljeborg. I received the species,

in the early part of the summer, from Mr. G. 8S. Brady, the friend

to whom I am moreover indebted for his most kind assistance in

illustrating this paper. Mr. Brady found it in a pond connected

with the pumping-engine of the Monkwearmouth Colliery, near

Sunderland. The water m this pond is of very variable tem-

perature, but generally sufficiently hot to steam copiously. At

the time the species was taken, the water was found by trial to

be “over 100° Fahr.” This high temperature seemed favourable

to the development of Entomostraca; and the luxury of a warm

bath was shared by C. aculeata with C. strigata(?) and vidua,

Candona reptans, Cyclops quadricornis and Daphnia vetula.

Mr. Brady has since taken the species in Hylton Dene, which is

also in this county, and remarks that the “specimens from this

locality showed the same lively habits, and in the same manner

kept generally near the surface, as those from the hot-water

reservoir. It seems,” he adds, “ quite a gregarious species, and

swarms upon any little vegetable tuft it may find in a bottle,

seeming to avoid the soil as much as possible. It is by far the

most active species of the genus that I have seen.” It has been

found during the autumn in a third locality, by myself, namely,

in Cowpen Marshes, near Stockton-on-Tees.

Cypris monstrifica, n.sp. Pl. III. figs. 4 & 5.

Forma oblonga; margo dorsalis subrectus, ventralis aliquantum in-

curvatus ; margines antici et postici rotundati; altitudo vix major

ante medium. Forma desuper spectata maxime irregularis, in

medio constricta, hine utrinque umbones porrecti maximam efti-

ciunt latitudinem ; extremitates compressiores. Valvarum super-

ficies duobus processibus umbonalibus conspicuis instructa, ex-

46 Rev. A. M. Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda.

tremitatesque versus multis aculeis armata. Color arenarius.

Long. vix 3; une.

Forsitan Candona. Animal inspicere non potui; sed, ut naret, dum

vivebat nullo modo conatum est.

Aquas habitat limpidas ad Fleckney in regione Leicestrensi.

The valves of this species are oblong, with rounded extre-

mities, their dorsal margin nearly straight, their ventral

shghtly incurved centrally ; the front portion of the valves is

shghtly higher than the hinder, while the centre, in consequence

of the concavity of the ventral margin in that part, is the lowest

part of the valves; their surface is very irregular, punctured,

elevated at two points (one on either side of the centre) into

conspicuous tuberculiform processes, and armed anteriorly and

posteriorly with short but strong spines. The form of the cara-

pace, as viewed from above, is narrow in the centre, on either

side of which it swells out into the tumid tubercular processes,

and then slopes away to subcompressed caine

Colour light drab. Length not quite 3, inch.

I have not been able to examine the animal, which possibly

may hereafter prove to be a Candona. It made no attempt to

swim during the day or two it was kept alive in a glass vessel.

Cypris monstrifica approaches in outline Cypris bistrigata (Ju-

rine), but the sculpturing of the two species is very distinct. It

was taken in the canal at Fleckney, in Leicestershire, in August

1856.

Genus Canpona, Baird.

Candona serrata, n.sp. PI. II. figs. 1-6.

Forma elongata, aliquantum cuneiformis; margo dorsalis antice

valde elevatus, inde ad extremitatem posteriorem descendens ;

ventralis subrectus; extremitates rotundatz; altitudo maxima

ante medium sita, ita ut antica pars quam postica multo est altior.

Forma desuper spectata compressa; antica pars postice sequalis ;

latitudo maxima mediana. Valvarum superficies toveolis impressa

sparsisque pilis obsita; ad extremitates inferne aculeis brevibus,

crassis, externe directis marginata. Color cinereus, a centrali

ovali, atque zona marginali pallidis pictus. Long. 2, unc. ; lat.

Vix ,°y unc.

Habitat stagna limpida prope Sedgefield in regione Dunelmensi.

Valves elongated, somewhat cuneiform ; dorsal margin greatly

raised in front, thence gradually descending to the posterior ex-

tremity ; ventral margin nearly straight ; anterior and posterior

margins rounded ; point of greatest height situated in front, the

hinder portion of the valves being much narrowed. Surface of

valves irregularly marked with slightly impressed grooves, and

clothed with scattered hairs; lower portions of the anterior and

Rev. A. M. Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda. 47

posterior margins edged with spines, which are short and directed

upwards and outwards, and are in number eight to ten in front,

and about seven behind. Viewed from above, the carapace is

compressed, widest in the middle, and gradually and equally

narrower towards the extremities. The height greatly exceeds

the breadth. The filaments of the superior antennz are very

long. The ground-colour is an ashy brown painted with a cen-

tral patch and a marginal zone of a pale buff. Length ,%, inch ;

breadth not quite 3, inch.

Found in extreme abundance among Zygnema nitidum, in

October 1860, in the Forge Dam at Sedgefield—the same habitat

which, as already mentioned, first gave the Cypris punctillata.

This year the species was comparatively scarce.

It is not without considerable misgivings that I have placed

this species provisionally in the genus Candona. It undoubtedly

belongs to that genus as first constituted by Dr. Baird, and has

close relationship with our common species, Candona reptans.

Prof. Lilljeborg has, however, taken Candona lucens as the type

of the genus, and having shown that the anatomical features

of the former species are inconsistent with those of the latter,

has excluded Candona reptans from among the Candone, and

inserted it in the genus Cypris, of which, together with Cypris

lucida (Koch) and Cypris Jurinii (Zaddach), he has made it a

section. This section is characterized by having “ the setz at-

tached to the interior of the third joint of the inferior antennz

short, and not reaching to the apex of the nails of the last joint.”

According to Lilljeborg’s arrangement, therefore, the present

species would fall into his Section B of the genus Cypris. It is

not improbable that further observation may point out the ex-

pediency of constituting a new genus to receive these interme-

diate forms. Notwithstanding the length of the filaments of the

superior antennz, the shortness of those of the inferior antennze

render Candona serrata, like Candona reptans, utterly unable to

sustain itself in the water. It is remarkably active, however, on

its feet, and runs with great agility.

Subfam. II. CyrHerin# (Dana).

Genus CytHereE (Miller)

Cythere maryinata, u. sp. Pl. ILI. figs. 10-12.

Forma subquadrangulata, antice altior, postice aliquantum humilior,

hic rotundata, illic oblique rotundato-truncata ; margines ventralis

et dorsalis subrecti. Forma desuper spectata rhomboides ; latera

subparallela, ad extremitates subito conniventia. Latitudo altitu-

dine aliquantum minor. Valvarum superficies rugosa, cellulis

ovalibus non profunde impressis sculpta. Valvarum commissura

48 Rev. A.M. Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda.

lata, vittam elevatam fingens, processuque triangulari externe con-

spicuo ad partem cardinis anteriorem instructa. Long. vix 3; une.

Habitat fretum, qui Firth of Clyde vocatur, in Scotia occidentali.

Carapace subquadrangular, higher in front; anterior margin

obliquely truncate, with rounded corners; the inferior margin

produced the furthest; posterior margin rounded ; dorsal and

ventral margins nearly straight. Surface rough and sculptured

with large oval cells. Form, as seen from above, somewhat

lozenge-shaped ; the sides nearly parallel throughout the greater

part of their length, and at the extremities uniting to each other

at a considerable angle. The breadth is less than the height,

though the carapace is very tumid. The margins of the valves

are at their junction raised and flattened into the form of an

encircling rib; and the anterior extremity of the hinge is fur-

nished with a triangular process which gives a marked character

to the external surface of the valves in that part. The length is

not quite %, inch.

I found this species in 1854, in Lamlash Bay, in the Firth of

Clyde.

Cythere badia, n. sp. Pl. IIL. figs. 18-15.

Forma elongata, arcuata ; margo dorsalis convexus, ventralis concavus,

anticus et posticus rotundatus. d/titudo per totam longitudinem

fere eequalis. Forma desuper spectata subcompressa. Latitudo

maxima in medio sita, altitudine multo minor. Valvarum super-

ficies rugosa, irregulariter sculpta, hic depressa, illic elevata.

Color badius. Long. 4; unc.

Habitat zonam littoralem ad Penzance in regione Cornubiensi.

Carapace reniform, elongated; dorsal margin much arched ;

ventral incurved; anterior and posterior margins rounded ;

height nearly equal throughout the length. Outline, seen from

above, subcompressed, broadest in the middle, but the greatest

breadth falls very short of the height. Surface of the valves

rough and irregularly sculptured with ridges and furrows. Co-

lour chestnut-brown. Length %, inch.

This is a very small species. Seen under a single lens, it

more nearly resembles C. reniformis than any other previously

described species; but the form is more arched, narrower in

proportion to its length, and of more equal height throughout.

When looked at with a higher power, the sculpture of the valves,

moreover, is found to be entirely different.

I met with this species in rock-pools between tide-marks at

Penzance, in May 1855.

Cythere contorta, n. sp. PI. II. fig. 15.

Forma elongata, fabeeformis; margines dorsalis, anticus et posticus

arcuati; margoventralis ante medium valde incurvatus, post medium

Rey. A. M. Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda, 49

subrectus; altitudo maxima pone medium sita. Forma desuper

spectata compressa, in medio latissima, ad extremitates gradatim

eequaliter diminuens. Latitudo altitudine multo minor. Valva-

rum superficies levis, margaritacea, polita, sparse et minute punc-

tata, zona ciliorum prope marginem sita circumdata. Color albi-

dus. Long. vix ;3; unc.

Habitat mare ad Berwick in regione Northumbriensi.

Elongated bean-shaped; dorsal, posterior, and anterior mar-

gins rounded ; ventral margin deeply concave before the middle;

the highest part of the valves is towards the posterior extremity.

The form, as seen from above, is compressed, the breadth gra-

dually and equally diminishing from the centre to the extremi-

ties. The greatest diameter is greatly surpassed by the height.

The surface of the valves is smooth, polished, and pearly, merely

impressed with a few scattered punctures; encircling the valves

at a short distance from their margin, runs a fringe of cilia

ranged in single file, which forms a marked characteristic in the

species. Colour white. Length not quite 3, inch.

Found among shell-sand at Berwick-on-Tweed, Sept. 1857,

Cythere (Bairdia) inflata, n. sp. PI. IIL. figs. 6-8.

Bairdia subdeltoidea, var.,T. R. Jones, Entomost. Cretaceous Formation of

England, p. 23, and Entom. Tert. Formation, p. 52.

Cythere subdeltoidea, Brit. Mus. Cat. Brit. Crust. p. 108.

Bairdia subdeltoidea, A. White, Pop. Hist. Brit. Crust. p. 293.

Forma ovalis, maxime tumida; margines omnes arcuati; antice ali-

quantum altior. Forma desuper spectata ovalis, in medio latior,

ad extremitates paulum diminuens. Latitudo altitudoque fere

subzequales. Basis valde convexa. Valvarum superficies omnino

levis, nisi minutissimis punctis subtiliter perforata. Valvarum

commissura et in ventrali et in dorsali aspectu maxime sinuata.

Color albus. Long. vix 4; unc.; alt. 2 une.

Habitat fretum, qui Firth of Clyde vocatur, in Scotia occidentali.

Carapace oval, so tumid in every part as to be nearly cylin-

drical; all the margins convex; a little lower behind than in

front. The form, as seen from above, is oval; the sides very

convex, the point of greatest breadth in the centre. The height

and breadth are nearly the same. The base is very convex.

Surface of the valves very smooth, fine punctures being the only

sculpture which the microscope reveals. A marked characteristic

of the species consists in the strongly waved line which the

junction of the valves presents both on the ventral and dorsal

margins. The shell is pure white. Length not quite =, inch ;

breadth 2, inch.

Found by myself, in 1854, among shell-sand dredged in

Lamlash Bay,—a locality whence Mr, I’, Rupert Jones has also

procured the species.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. ay

50 Rev. A.M.Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda.

Mr. Jones, in his ‘Monograph of the Entomostraca of the

Cretaceous Formation of England,’ has referred the above-de-

scribed form to his Bairdia subdeltoidea, of which he would con-

sider it a variety. I cannot acquiesce in this opinion. The

differences between the typical Bairdia subdelioidea and Cythere

(Bairdia) inflata are so marked that, even were the two forms

found living side by side in the same water, I should not hesi-

tate to consider them distinct, unless connecting intermediate

forms made it evident that a more than usual latitude must be

allowed to the variations in this species. With how much greater

reason, then, must we consider them distinct when the two forms

are separated from each other not only by the great diversity of

structure, but also by the geological eons which have elapsed

between the period of the Chalk formation and the present time.

Cythere (Bairdia) mytiloides, n. sp. PI. III. figs. 1-8.

Forma angusta, elongata, mytiloides (et figura et colore); margo

dorsalis arcuatus, ventralis subrectus ; antice multo altior, hine ad

extremitatem attenuatam posticam gradatim diminuens. Forma

desuper spectata compressa, lanceolata, ante medium latior. La-

titudo altitudine multo minor. Valvarum superficies levis, per-

paucis pilis modo obsita. Valvarum commissura vix sinuata.

Color purpureo-badius. Long. circiter 3; unc. :

Habitat fretum, qui Firth of Clyde vocatur, in Scotia occidentali.

Carapace narrow and produced, highest in front, and thence

tapering gradually to a nearly pointed posterior termination }

the ventral margin is nearly straight, and the dorsal margin

slopes with a gentle curve to meet it behind. The form, as seen

from above, is lanceolate and compressed, the widest part situ-

ated before the middle. The breadth is much less than the

height. Surface of valves nearly smooth, with merely a few

closely appressed hairs, which seem, moreover, to be confined to

the hinder part of the shell. The juncture of the valves forms a

slightly waved line. Colour purplish brown. Length about

tp ich.

In form, in colour, and in general appearance, this species is

very like a young mussel-shell.

Found amongst shell-sand dredged in Lamlash Bay, 1854.

Genus CytHErets (Jones).

Cythereis fimbriata (Roemer). PI. III. fig. 9.

Brit. Mus. Cat. Brit. Crustacea, p. 109.

Cytherina fimbriata, Roemer, Jahrb. (fid. Jones).

Forma oblonga; margo dorsalis concavus, ventralis subarcuatus ;

margines posticus et anticus oblique truncati, ita ut ventralis margo

utrumque versus dorsalem longitudine superat. Valvarum superfi-

Rev. A. M. Norman on new British Species of Ostracoda. 51-

cies in medio levis, undique margine elevato circumdata, proces«

sibusque linguiformibus, inferne et postice maxime conspicuis

fimbriata. Color albescens. Long. vix ;45 unc.

Habitat fretum, qui Firth of Clyde vocatur, in Scotia occidentali.

Carapace oblong; the dorsal margin concave; ventral margin.

a little convex, extending beyond the dorsal margin at both ex-

tremities ; anterior and posterior margins obliquely truncate.

Surface of valves smooth in the middle, but surrounded by a

raised rim, from whence proceed at various parts, but more

especially on the inferior and posterior margins, large flattened

linguiform processes. The extremities of the dorsal margin are

raised so as to form rounded protuberances. My specimen is

whitish in colour, but has a bluish tinge, and may perhaps be

bleached. Length not quite 4. inch.

Found by Mr. T. R. Jones at Arran, and by myself among

sand dredged off the Isle of Cumbrae, both localities being in

the Firth of Clyde.

I have had no opportunity of seeing Roemer’s description and

figure; and I adopt the name of Cythereis fimbriata from the.

specimen in the British Museum so named by Mr. T. R. Jones.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

PuateE ILI.

Fig. 1. Candona serrata (Norman): valvula sinistra, X 20.

Fig. 2. Eadem, ab imo spectata, X 20.

Fig. 3. adem, desuper spectata, X 20.

Fig. 4. Eadem : valvularum fragmentum structuram nvosque lucidos

ostendens, x 100.

Fig. 5. Eadem : antenna superior, X 100.

Fig. 6. Eadem : antenna inferior vel pediformis, X 100.

Fig. 7. Cypris aculeata (Lilljeborg) : valvula dextva, xX 40.

Fig. 8. Eadem, desuper spectata, x 40.

Fig. 9. Eadem, ab imo spectata, 40.

Fig. 10. Eadem : fragmentum valvularum structuram, setas spinulasque

ostendens, x 200.

Fig. 11. Cypris punctillata (Norman): valvula sinistra, X 20,

Fig. 12. EKadem, desuper spectata, x 20.

Fig. 13. Eadem, ab imo spectata, X 20.

Fig. 14. Eadem: fragmentum valvularum structuram setasque ostendens,

x 100.

Fig. 15. Cythere contorta (Norman) : valvula dextra, x 40.

Puate III,

Omnes hujus tabule figure ad quadraginta diametros auctz.

Fig. 1. Cythere (Bairdia) Mytiloides (Norman): valvula dextra.

Fig. 2. Eadem, desuper oblique spectata.

Fig. 3. Eadem, ab imo oblique spectata.

Fig. 4. Cypris monstrifica (Norman), a latere visa.

Fig. 5, Eadem, ab imo spectata.

4-*

52 —s*ODr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

Fig. 6. Cythere (Bairdia) inflata (Norman): valvula sinistra.

Fig. 7. Kadem, desuper spectata.

Fig. 8. Kadem, ab imo spectata.

Fig. 9. Cythereis fimbriata (Roemer) : valvula sinistra.

Fig. 10. Cythere marginata (Norman) : valvula sinistra.

Fig. 11. Eadem, desuper spectata.

Fig. 12. Eadem, ab imo spectata.

Fig. 13. Cythere badia (Norman): valvula sinistra.

Fig. 14. Eadem, desuper spectata.

Fig. 15. Eadem, ab imo spectata.

Sedgefield, county Durham,

December 6, 1861.

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

Museum. By Dr. Avert Gintuer.

[Plates IX. & X.]

Arter the arrangement of the Collection of Ophidians in the

British Museum had been completed (in 1858), it became pos-

sible to devote particular attention to the acquisition of such

species as were desiderata in that Collection. This object has

met with great success, not only from the increased number of

collections offered for sale, but also from the kind assistance of

the keepers of several public collections, who gave up such spe-

cimens as were duplicates, and of private gentlemen who had

become interested in the subject. Among the former we must

mention Th. J. Moore, Esq., of the Liverpool Museum; Prof.

Aitken, Curator of the Museum of the medical officers at Fort

Pitt; Prof. Peters of Berlin; and finally, the officers of the

Smithsonian Institution : of the latter, G. Krefft, Esq. (Sidney);

O. Salvin, Esq.; Dr. O. Wucherer; Capt. R. H. Beddome; Ch.N.

Buller, Esq.; J. H. Gurney, Esq.; O. Russell, Esq.; Consul

Swinhoe, &c.

It would require the space of a supplementary catalogue to

enumerate all the new accessions to the Collection in the course

of the last three years; it must suffice here to give only a list of

those species which had been desiderata, and of those which

were new to science and have been described from Museum spe-

cimens. It will be seen, from the lists appended, that 100 species

have been added to the Collection.

The Collection of Snakes in the British Museum contains

now 611 species, and the typical specimens of 184 of them.

I. List of Species which were formerly desiderata.

*Loxocemus bicolor, Cope. G. Lenox Conyngham, Esq.

Wenona plumbea, B. & G. California. Smiths. Instit.

Rhinophis oxyrhynchus, Schr. Ceylon. Purchased.

in the Collection of the British Museum. 53

Rhinophis homolepis, Hempr. Ceylon. Purchased.

Blythii, Kelaart. Ceylon. Ch. R. Buller, Esq.

Plectrurus Perrotetii, D.& B. Anamallay Hills. Capt. R. H.Beddome.

Catostoma chalybeeum, Wagl. Mexico. Purchased.

Colobognathus Hoffmanni, Pet. Costa Rica. Prof. Peters.

Geophidium dubium, Pet. Mexico. Purchased.

Stenorhina Degenhardtii, Berth. Mexico. Purchased.

Homalocranium atrocinctum, D.& B. Guatemala. O. Salvin, Esq.

gracile, Hallow. ‘Texas. Smiths. Inst.

Simotes trinotatus, D. & B. Siam. Purchased.

Tomodon lateralis, D. & B. Mexico. Purchased.

Coronella Boylii, B.& G. California. Smiths. Inst.

Pliocercus Deppei, Pet. Mexico. Purchased.

Tropidonotus platyceps, Blyth. Himalaya. E. I. Museem.

monticola, Jerd. Anamallay Hills. Capt. R. H. Beddome.

Heterodon semicinctus, D.& B. Fort Pitt Museum.

Herpeton tentaculatum, Lacép. Siam. Purchased.

Hydrodipsas elapiformis, Pet. Purchased.

Pituophis Sayi, Schleg. N. America. Purchased.

Coluber Evansii, Kennic. Missouri. Smiths. Inst.

Cynophis malabaricus, Jerd. Anamallay Hills. Capt. R. H. Beddome.

Spilotes alleghaniensis, Holdr. Illinois. O. Russell, Esq.

samarensis, Pet. Philippines. Purchased.

Zamenis mexicanus, D. & B. Mexico. Purchased.

Bascanion vetustus, B.& G. Oregon. Smiths. Inst.

Herpetodryas quadrilineatus, D. & B. Madagascar. Purchased.

Philodryas serra, Schley. South America Liverpool Museum.

Dromicus leucomelas, D. & B.* S$. Domingo. Purchased.

(Tropidonotus?) seychellensis, Schleg. Seychelles. Purchased.

Langaha crista-galli, D. & B. Madagascar. Purchased.

Dipsas Drapieziit, Bote. Java. KH. 1. Museum.

Dipsas (Vipera) bubalina, Klein. East Indies. A. Giinther.

Tormonotus modestus, Schley. (= TH. audax, Hallow.). West

Africa. Purchased.

Oxyrhopus scolopax, Klein (=O. doliatus, Gthr., not D. B.). South

America. Purchased.

Tetragonosoma effrene, Cant. Pinang. E. I. Museum.

Diemansia Kubingiif, Jan. Sidney. G. Krefft, Esq.

Pseudonaja textilis, D. & B. Australia. Purchased.

Callophis trimaculata, Daud. Tenasserim. Dr. Russell.

Elaps semipartitus, D.& B. South America. Purchased.

decoratus, Jan. Brazil. Purchased.

* My supposition that this snake is identical with D. ater has proved to

be quite incorrect. (Col. Snak. p. 127.)

+ The specimen formerly referred to this species is different, but in so

bad a condition that its determination is almost impossible. The diagnosis

of the species (Col. Snak. p. 171) is partly incorrect, there being a series

of white spots along each side of the belly, and not of black ones. The

lateral edges of the vertical are convergent.

{ Frontals sometimes united into a single pair.

54 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

Naja nigricollis, Reink. West Africa. Purchased.

Atropus undulatus, Jan. Mexico. Purchased.

Crotalophorus tergeminus, Say. Illinois. Smiths. Inst.

Crotalus confluentus, Say. Nebraska. Smiths. Inst.

Cerastes rhinoceros, Schleg, West Africa. Purchased.

Il. List of the new Species procured from 1858 to 1861.

Chrysenis Batesii. Brazil, Purchased.

Pelophilus Fordii. West Africa. Purchased.

Rhinophis planiceps, Pet. Ceylon. Ch. R. Buller, Esq.

— melanogaster, Ceylon. Purchased.

Silybura macrolepis, Pet. Ceylon. Purchased.

x brevis. Anamallay Hills. Capt. R. H. Beddome.

*____ Beddomii. Anamallay Hills. Capt. R. H. Beddome.

Geophis Gintheri, Wuch. Bahia. Dr. O. Wucherer. —

*Elapomorphus mexicanus. Mexico. Purchased.

scalaris. Bahia. Dr. O. Wucherer.

Wuchereri. Bahia. Dr. O. Wucherer.

Elapops modestus. West Africa. Purchased.

Uriechis microlepidotus. East Africa. J.H. Gurney, Esq.

Homalocranium laticeps. Carthagena. Capt. Garth.

*Qligodon Templetonii. Ceylon. R. Templeton, Esq.

- affinis. Anamallay Hills. Capt. R. H. Beddome.

* brevicauda. Anamallay Hills. Capt. R. H. Beddome.

Simotes teniatus. Siam. Purchased.

Ablabes Rappii. Himalayas. E. I. Museum.

Owenli. Himalayas. E. I. Museum.

Coronella breyis. Island off Mogador. Rev. R. T. Lowe.

Pliocercus eequalis, Sa/v. Guatemala. O. Salvin, Esq.

*Liophis viridis. Pernambuco. Purchased.

Mizodon bitorquatus. West Africa. Purchased,

Dumerilii. West Africa. Purchased.

*Tyopidonotus orientalis. China. Consul Swinhoe.

*Natrix levissima. Fort Pitt Museum.

Helicops modestus. South America. Purchased.

polylepis. Upper Amazon. Purchased.

Spilotes Hodgsonii. Himalayas. E. I. Museum.

= Salvini. Guatemala. O. Salvin, Esq.

*Zamenis gracilis. Kurrachee. Fort Pitt Museum.

Coryphodon rhombifer. Esmeraldas, Purchased.

*Psammophis teeniata. East Indies. Old Collection.

*Hydrophobus semifasciatus. 'T. C. Eyton, Esq,

Herpetoreas Sieboldii. Himalayas. EH. I. Museum.

Herpetodryas biserialis. Galapagos Islands. Old Collection.

*Philodryas Reimhardtii. Bahia. Dr. O. Wucherer.

*Dromicus mentalis. West Indies. Purchased.

*Rhamnophis zthiopissa. West Africa. Purchased.

Aheetulla occidentalis. Ecuador. Purchased.

Leptodira torquata. Nicaragua. Liverpool Museum,

in the Collection of the British Museum. 55

Leptodira discolor. Mexico. Purchased.

*Diemansia cucullata. Sidney. G. Krefft, Esq.

F torquata. Norfolk Island. Purchased.

*Hoplocephalus temporalis, South Australia. Purchased.

*—__ nigrescens. Sidney. G. Krefft, Esq.

*Callophis nigrescens. East Indies. Fort Pitt Museum.

Elaps filiformis. Para. Purchased.

Trimesurus macrolepis, Bedd. Anamallay Hills. Capt. R. H. Beddome.

Thamnocenchris aurifer, Sa/v. Guatemala. O. Salvin, Esq.

Lachesis nitidus. Ecuador. Purchased.

Nearly all the species named have been described in the

‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ or in this Journal ; and

I subjoin here the descriptions of, or remarks on, those marked

with an asterisk (*).

Loxocemus bicolor, Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Se. Philad. 1861,

Dp. 40>.

The discovery of this snake is one of the most important ad-

ditions to herpetology made in the course of the last few years.

T had been in doubt for some time as regards the position which

this highly interesting form should take in the system, when I

received Mr. Cope’s excellent description of it. The specimen

in the British Museum is in very good condition, 18 inches long

(we are not acquainted with the size of the specimen in the

Smithsonian Museum), and agrees with Mr. Cope’s description

so well that we cannot doubt the specific identity of the two

specimens. Only two points deserve some remarks. First, the

intermaxillary teeth are present ; there are two, smaller than the

* In the same part of the Journal quoted (p. 74) Mr. Cope has pointed

out the identity of Ablabes purpureocauda, Gthr., with Contia mitis,

Baird & Gir., and of Tropidonotus medusa, Gthy., with Regina Clarkii,

Baird & Gir. I have no doubt that this observation is fully correct ; but

I feel rather surprised that the identity of those species should have been

“suggested” by one of the authors of the ‘ Catalogue of North American

Reptiles.’ Those authors have considered the number of scales (21, 19, 17)

as a character of sufficient importance, not only for distinguishing the spe-

cies, but also for dividing them into separate groups (see Eutainia); they

have founded a new genus (Contia) on the presence of a single post-orbital,

and distinguished it by that character from Chlorosoma (Baird & Gir. Cat.

pp- x- 110). Now, when Prof. Baird suggests that a snake with 21 series

of scales, and with quite a peculiar coloration of the belly (T. medusa), is

identical with another with 19 series, and with a different coloration (T.

Clarkii), and that specimens with two post-orbitals (A. purpureocauda)

ought to be referred to a genus expressly distinguished from a second

genus by the character of one post-orbital (Contia), he confesses that his

views about specific and generic characters in Ophidians have undergone

a considerable change since the publication of his Catalogue, or he must

admit that it is impossible to determine from the accounts of the said

Catalogue those species which he so readily recognized in my descriptions,

56 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

front teeth of the maxillary, on the left side of the intermaxillary.

whence I have removed the soft parts. Secondly, our specimen

does not show any trace of the external anal spur, or of the in-

ternal rudiments of a posterior extremity. J am not inclined

to put any value on the presence or absence of those rudimentary

limbs ; and, considering how closely the British Museum speci-

men agrees ‘with Mr. Cope? s description, I do not believe that it

can belong to a distinct species. The presence of intermaxil-

lary teeth, and the occurrence of rudimentary limbs in certain

individuals, leave no doubt that this genus is to be placed near

or with the Pythonide, as has been indicated by Mr. Cope.

It differs from all the genera of this family by the shields of

the head, and approaches several genera of Homalopside with

regard to its physiognomy.

The locality where our specimen was procured is not kane

it was presented together with two specimens of Geophis maculata.

Silybura brevis.

Scales in 17 rows, on the neck in 19; ventral shields 122,

anal bifid, subcaudals 9. Snout obtuse; rostral shield rounded ;

caudal disk well defined, nearly as long as the tail, each scale

with two strong keels; the disk terminates in two horny hori-

zontal points. Body short, the circumference of the anterior

third of the trunk being contained six times and a half in the

total length. Upper parts brown; the lower part of the sides

and the belly yellowish, densely marbled with brown; sides of

the throat yellowish, immaculate; the lower part of the tail

black, with a-broad white band on each side. Total length

66 lines; length of the head 3 lines, of the tail 33 lines ; cireum-

ference of the anterior part of the trunk 10 lines.

One specimen from the collection of Capt. R. H. Beddome,

made in the Anamallay Hills.

This species differs from S. ceylonica by its very short body

and much more obtuse snout.

Silybura Beddomit.

Scales in 17 rows, on the neck in 19; ventral shields 178,

anal bifid, subcaudals 5 to 6. Snout pointed; rostral shield

conically protruding, its posterior portion compressed into a

shght ridge, far produced backwards, but separated from the

frontal shields by the nasals. Caudal disk slightly convex, not

well defined, nearly as long as the tail, with two or three strong

keels on each scale; the disk terminates in a broad, horny, bi-

cuspid, horizontal scale. Body elongate, the circuinference of the

thickest part of the anterior third of the trunk being one-eleventh

_of the total length. Brown; each ventral shield and each scale

in the Collection of the British Museum. 57

on the sides with a white dot; a yellowish line on each side of

the neck; commencing from the last upper labial; vent and tip

of the tail yellow. ‘Total length 132 lines, head 3 lines, tail

4 lines ; circumference 114 lines.

Three specimens of equal size were found by Capt. R. H. Bed-

dome in the Anamallay Hills.

Elapomorphus mexicanus. Pl. IX. fig. 1.

Allied to EZ. Blumii, Wiegm. (= Elapocephalus teniatus, Gthr.).

Scales in 15 rows; a pair of anterior and posterior frontals;

7 upper labials. Brownish olive, with three blackish longitu-

dinal bands: viz. one, almost linear, along the vertebral series of

scales; the two others along the sides, each composed of two

blackish lines, one line running along the middle of the second

outer series, the other along that of the third. A pair of small

yellowish spots on the neck; a yellowish band across the front

part of the snout; lips with a black spot below the eye; lower

parts uniform yellowish.

Habit moderately slender. Anterior frontals broad, but very

short, their longitudinal diameter being only one-fourth of that

of the posterior; vertical six-sided, of moderate length; occi-

pitals not much longer than vertical. Posterior frontal in

contact with the second labial; one anterior ocular, not reaching

to the upper surface of the head ; two post-oculars. Seven upper

labials, the third and fourth of which enter the orbit, the

seventh being the largest. A rather large temporal shield in

contact with the post-oculars ; a small one behind, between the

eleventh labial and the occipital. The median lower Jabial is

exceedingly small; the first pair of lower labials are narrow,

transverse, and form a suture together ; two pairs of chin-shields

of nearly equal size. Scales without apical groove. Ventral

shields 158; anal bifid; subcaudals 52. Length of head 4

lines, of trunk 10 inches, of tail 2 inches 9 lines. Mexico.

Oligodon Templetonit.

Habit moderately slender. Scales in 15 rows; loreal distinct.

Head uniform above, laterally with the markings usually found

in the genus. Body brownish, with a light vertebral band,

which becomes more distinct on the tail, and is crossed by

oblique, narrow, dark-brown bands. Belly white (in spirits),

chequered with black, the black and white being distributed in

nearly equal proportions. 135 ventral, 1 bifid anal, 31 sub-

caudal shields. Ceylon.

This species is allied to O. subquadratus ; the first specimen

of it has been brought home by Dr. R. Templeton.

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

Oligodon affinis.

Habit stout. Scales in 17 rows; loreal none, united with

post-frontal. Head with the markings usually found in the

genus. Body brownish grey; anterior part of the back with

short, narrow, black transverse streaks. Belly white, with black

subquadrangular spots, the black and white being divided in

nearly equal proportions. 134 ventral, 1 bifid anal, 25 sub-

caudal shields.

Found by Capt. R. H. Beddome in the Anamallay Hills,

Oligodon brevicauda.

Allied to O. dorsalis, but with very singular characters, Only

one pair of frontals ; rostral thick, broad, reaching far backwards,

Seales in 15 rows; loreal none. Greyish violet. Head with

the markings usual in the genus; a broad blackish collar, A

band along the vertebral line, indistinct anteriorly, light greyish

on the middle of the body, becoming pure white posteriorly and

on the tail; it is bordered anteriorly by a series of pairs of equi-

distant blackish spots; there are no black spots on the tail im-

terrupting the dorsal band. A blackish longitudinal streak on

each side, along the third outer series of scales. Ground-colour

of belly the same as of the upper parts, with black quadrangular

spots; subcaudals whitish. 172 ventral, 1 bifid anal, 30 sub-

caudal shields. Anamallay Hiils.

Coronella brevis.

Closely allied to C. girundica and C. cucullata, Scales in

twenty-three -fows ; upper labials eight; anal bifid. Brownish

olive; on each side of the occiput a dark spot, a dark collar be-

hind ; an oblique brownish streak below the eye. Belly uni-

form white. Body stout and short. Hinder maxillary tooth

grooved.

Discovered by the Rey. R. T. Lowe on the small Island (with-

out name) off the coast of Mogador.

Liophis viridis. Pl. IX. fig. 2.

Habit rather slender. Scales smooth, without groove, in 19

rows. Head rather depressed; shields of head regular and

proportionate ; vertical with the lateral margins convergent ;

rostral broader than high; loreal square; one anterior ocular

reaching to the upper surface of the head; two posterior oculars;

eight upper labials, the fourth and fifth entering the orbit ; one

elongate anterior temporal, in contact with the two oculars ;

two small temporals behind; six pairs of the lower labials in

contact with the chin-shields; two pairs of chin-shields, the

anterior much larger than the posterior. Ventrals 178; anal

Bibliographical Notices. 59

bifid; subcaudals 66. Posterior maxillary tooth elongate, sepa-

rated from the others by an interspace. Upper parts uniform

blue (in spirits), probably greenish olive in life; the lower uni-

form white.

Two specimens have been received,—one from Pernambuco.

This species differs from Coronella Jegeri by its depressed head,

by the form of its vertical shield, and by its isolated posterior

maxillary tooth; from Xenodon typhlus by a much more slender

habit, a specimen of the same length as one of the latter species

having only half as large a head, X. typhlus has 140-147

ventral shields, and no grooves on the scales.

Length of head 4 inch, of trunk 18 inches, of tail 43 inches ;

greatest circumference of the trunk 14: limes,—whilst the cir-

cumference of the trunk of a X. ¢yphlus of the same total length

(22 inches) is 23 lines.

Tropidonotus orientalis. Pl. IX. fig. 3.

Intermediate between T. natrix and T. hydrus.

Scales in 19 rows, strongly keeled ; upper labials seven, the

third and fourth entering the orbit; two anterior and three or

four posterior oculars ; anterior frontals not pointed, rather ob-

tuse in front. Greenish olive, with three series of black spots

anteriorly, becoming very indistinct on the middle of the trunk;

a black subecrescentic spot on each side of the neck, without

yellow; posterior margins of the upper labials and a spot on the

temple black. Belly more or less blackish. Three temporal

shields, the anterior of which is the largest, in contact with two

oculars. Ventral shields 152, anal bifid; subcaudals 64.

Two specimens, an adult and a young one, were sent by

Consul Swinhoe from Northern China, together with specimens

of Elaphis dione.

[To be continued. ]

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES,

General Outline of the Organization of the Animal Kingdom, and

Manual of Comparative Anatomy. By Tuomas Rymer Jones,

F.R.S., &c, &c, Third Edition, 8vo. London: Van Voorst,

1861,

Ir is with great pleasure that we have to announce to our readers

the appearance of a third and greatly improved edition of Professor

Rymer Jones’s ‘Animal Kingdom.’ The fact that a new edition

has been so soon called for, considering the scope and character of

the book, is of itself a sufficient evidence of its intrinsic value; and

although, in our notice of the second edition, we felt bound to

point out what appeared to us certain defects in the work, we were

60 Bibliographical Notices.

quite prepared, from its general excellence, to expect for it a widely

extended popularity. We are glad to sec that in the present edition

those errors and omissions of greater or less importance which were

indicated in its predecessor have been rectified and supplied, and that

the author has likewise cast off certain relics of an antiquated system

to which we particularly directed attention.

As Professor Jones’s volume professes to be an outline of the

*‘organization”’ of animals, he might perhaps claim to be to a cer-

tain extent exempt from criticism in respect of his system ; but inas-

much as it is a Manual of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology,

and the anatomical statements are to be regarded as illustrative of

groups rather than individual species, the classification adopted by

the author becomes a matter of primary importance; and we took

occasion to object, in our notice of the second edition, to the retention

of certain groups in certain positions, as having a tendency to confuse

the notions of students upon points of high interest in zoology.

In the volume before us, however, nearly all this is changed: the

Epizoa, instead of occupying their old anomalous position amongst

the Radiata, have been transferred to their true place in the class

Crustacea, and have been accompanied in their flight by their old neigh-

bours the Rotifera, which, however, still of course retain the rank of

a class; the Cirrhopoda, which Professor Rymer Jones persisted in

1855 in regarding as Molluscan, are likewise transferred to the

Annulose series, but (we think) erroneously kept distinct from the

Crustacea. Lastly, the Bryozoa have also made their way from their

former low position, to take the place which is now almost univer-

sally assigned to them amongst the Mollusca. Curiously enough,

however, our author has hesitated to adopt another change which

appears to us equally warranted with those just mentioned, namely,

the transfer of the Entozoa, or Helminthozoa as he now calls them

(including, moreover, the Turbellaria), to the division of Annulose

animals ; and probably the extreme supporters of the new school of

zoology may think that he would have been equally justified in re-

moving the Echinodermata into the same series. We are not, how-

ever, prepared to cavil at the omission of this change, as we hold it

to be the duty of the author of any student’s manual of science not

so much to give his own peculiar and perhaps still problematical

views upon any given point, as to bring his general treatment of his

subject as much as possible into accordance with the most generally

received opinions. In this, with the single exception of the omission

of the Helminthozoa, Professor Jones appears to us to have admir-

ably succeeded as far as regards the three higher subkingdoms, to

. which he gives the names of Homogangliata, Heterogangliata, and

Vertebrata ; but we think it a pity that he has not followed the same

course with the lower forms. Feeling, perhaps, a distrust of the

results obtained by some of our more advanced zoologists, and desir-

ing, as he himself says, to avoid unnecessary changes in zoological

classification, our author, whilst advancing a certain distance on the

route traced by Professors Huxley and Leuckart and followed by

Professor Greene in his excellent manual of the Ccelenterata, and

Bibliographical Notices. 61

accepting the division of the gelatinous Radiata into the two classes

of Hydrozoa and Anthozoa, has nevertheless retained the group of

Acalephze in its entirety, as including the Meduse (both naked- and

covered-eyed), the Ctenophora, and the Siphonophora ; and, as far as

his book is concerned, we find no indication of the arrangement of

the animals below the Annulosa into one or more subkingdoms. This

we cannot but look upon as a defect ; and we also regret to see the

term Protozoa applied only to the Sponges and Rhizopoda as distin-

guished from the Infusoria.

Having thus stated the few objections which we have to make

against the new edition of Professor Rymer Jones’ work, we may

proceed to the more pleasing task of saying a few words in iis

praise. Besides the important changes in system already adverted

to, we may notice the great care and industry displayed by the

author in bringing together the more important results of the recent

researches of comparative anatomists and physiologists, and the skill

with whtch he has incorporated his new matter with the exceed-

ingly elegant text of the former edition, which is probably familiar

to most of our readers. The typographical execution of the work,

and the beauty of the woodcuts, the number of which is increased

by the addition of several new and important figures, also call for

all praise; and it may safely be said that we have no treatise on

Comparative Anatomy, in the English language, that can at all com-

pare with it.

Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon, with narratives and

anecdotes illustrative of the habits and instincts of the Mammalia,

Birds, Reptiles, Fishes, Insects, §c., including a Monograph of

the Elephant and a description of the modes of capturing and

training it. By Sir J. Emerson Tennent, K.C.S., LL.D.

Small 8vo. London, 1861. Longmans.

As this work consists chiefly of an enlarged reproduction of the

Zoological chapters of Sir James Tennent’s general description of

Ceylon, which we noticed at some length in this Journal (Annals,

December 1859) at the time of its appearance, we need do little

more than call our readers’ attention to thé fact of its publication.

The author tells us that in preparing his former work for the press

he found it necessary to curtail the zoological chapters somewhat, as

they would otherwise ‘‘have encroached unduly on the space re-

quired for other essential topics.” In his ‘Natural History of

Ceylon’ he has restored the suppressed passages, consisting to a great

extent of anecdotes illustrating the habits of the animals described,

and he has also taken the opportunity of introducing some fresh

materials, The volume also contains the Treatise on the Elephant,

which formed part of the second volume of the larger work ; and

into this we notice that the author has introduced several fresh

anecdotes and remarks.

Next in importance and interest to the chapters on the Elephant

are those on the Reptiles and Fishes of Ceylon, the latter being par-

62 Bibliographical Notices.

ticularly interesting from the curious observations recorded on what

we may call the terrestrial life of Fishes. The list of Fishes, drawn

up principally by Dr. Giinther, and the remarks of Professor Huxley

and Dr. Gray on the richness of the Fish-fauna of the Ceylonese

seas, and its comparison with that of other regions, are also exceed-

ingly valuable and suggestive. With the invertebrate animals Sir

James Tennent seems to be less familiar; but even upon these we

find many interesting observations, and each chapter is furnished, by

way of appendix, with a list of the species of the group treated of,

known to inhabit Ceylon. These lists, although confessedly imper-

fect, will be, even as they stand, of great advantage to the student of

zoological geography, whilst to those who may hereafter take up the

investigation of the Natural History of Ceylon they will afford a

most valuable aid.

A History of British Sessile-eyed Crustacea. By C. Spencp Bare,

F.L.S., and J. O. Wesrwoopn, M.A., F.L.S. &e. 8vo. London :.

Van Voorst, 1861. Parts 1-3.

Of two great sections of the class Crustacea the British species have

already been admirably elucidated—the Podophthalmous forms by

Professor Bell, and the Entomostraca by Dr. Baird. The abnormal

forms constituting the group of Cirripeds, which may perhaps with

some justice be ranked among the latter, have also received their due

share of attention in Mr. Darwin’s classical work published by the

Ray Society ; but there still remains a vast number of species, form-

ing the group Edriophthalma of Latreille, to the arrangement and dis-

crimination of which the British naturalist possesses no other guide

than is afforded by Mr. Spence Bate’s ‘Synopsis ”’ published in this

Journal (February 1857), and Mr. White’s excellent little ‘ Popular

History of British Crustacea.’ Under these circumstances we wel-

come with no common interest the appearance of the work of which

the first three parts are now before us, in which Mr. Spence Bate,

whose acquaintance with his subject no one can doubt, has called to his

aid the artistic talents and great general knowledge of the Articulata

possessed by the distinguished Hope Professor at Oxford; and, from the

eare with which the text of their joint production has evidently been

prepared, there now appears every prospect of our soon possessing in

a moderate compass a complete description of the British Crustacea.

No doubt the numerous species, especially of Entomostraca, which

have been discovered in our waters since the publication of the

works alluded to at the commencement of this notice, render a revi-

sion of them desirable ; but in the meanwhile the student of Crustacea

will be able to advance far upon his course of investigation with the

aids already in his hands.

The classification adopted in the work now under consideration

agrees with that given by Mr. Spence Bate in his “Synopsis” of the

Amphipoda already referred to; that is to say, he suppresses the

order Leemodipoda altogether, and divides the Edriophthalma into

the two great orders Amphipoda and Isopoda. The former of these

- Zoological Society. 63

groups he regards as analogous to the Macrura, and the latter to the

Brachyura, whilst the Laemodipoda of Latreille are treated as aber-

rant Amphipods parallel to the Squil/e amongst the Podophthalma.

In the introductory description of the general characters of Am-

phipods, our authors give an explanation of the somewhat cumbrous

terminology proposed by Mr. Spence Bate for these animals. We

cannot but regard it as a drawback upon the efforts of our living

zoologists that scarcely one of them produces a work at all monogra-

phic in its nature without the introduction of a host of new terms,

which, although they may to a certain extent conduce both to accu-

racy of language and brevity of description, are still so many obsta-

cles to be got over by the student before he can really make use of

the aid afforded him. This, however, is but a minor point; and we

gladly pass to the consideration of those characteristics of the book

which call for unqualified approval. These consist, on the one handy

in the fulness of the synonymy, the clearness with which the charae-

ters and descriptions have been drawn up, and the care with which

the British localities for each species are brought together; and on

the other, in the admirably executed figures with which Professor

Westwood has illustrated the species. The latter consist of finished

outlines of the animals, accompanied by numerous magnified figures

of characteristic details ; and although from their nature necessarily

inferior in elegance to many of the woodcuts with which we are fami-

liar in Mr. Van Voorst’s publications, they will be found of equal or

perhaps greater scientific value. The tail-pieces appended to several

of the articles fully maintain the reputation acquired by others in

Mr. Van Voorst’s series: they are chiefly small views of localities

interesting to the British zoologist from their being associated with

the labours of those whose names, with him, are as household

words.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

June 25, 1861.—Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair.

The following extract was read from a letter, dated Sydney, April

19th, addressed by Dr. G. Bennett, F.Z.S., to the Secretary :—

«You will recollect I mentioned in my ‘Gatherings’ a specimen

of the Semipalmated Goose (Anseranas melanoleuca). 'That bird I

found on my return to Sydney alive and well; and it has been pre

sented to me by its owner, Mr. Clarke. In the young bird the legs

and mandibles were flesh-colour ; in the adult they are of a light

reddish-orange colour, except the horny tip of the mandibles, which

was of a light-blue colour. The black and white plumage—the

former colour predominating—imparts to the bird a very handsome

appearance as it walks with a stately tread (not with the waddling

gait of the goose) about the yard of my house like one of the Waders.

I have, however, from ignorance of its natural habits been the pro+

64 Zoological Society :—

bable cause of the death of this bird, and I send you the following

remarks, considering they may be of some service to those desirous

of domesticating them. This bird was reared from the egg hatched

under a common hen, and has survived nearly four years and a half

domesticated in daily amicable intercourse with ducks, geese, and all

kinds of poultry, and always appearing playful and happy in their

society. But it unfortunately happened that, when sent to me, I was

not aware of its aversion to a solitary life. When alone in the yard

I noticed that it did not eat. Fearing that 1t had not its usual food,

I made inquiry, but found that it had its accustomed food. Still,

however, it moped, and more frequently than usual made its peculiar

clanging noise ; and although it would walk about the yard, yet it

more frequently mounted the high flight of stone steps and squatted

upon the lofty wall, remaining there for the most part of the day.

Although it did not feed well, yet it would often wash itself in a tub

of water placed for its use, and drank a good deal of water. At last

it became ragged in plumage, the wings drooped, and it died after

having been in my possession only from the 28th of February to the

25th of March. On mentioning the circumstance to a relation of

the donor, I was then informed, but too late, that if kept by itself it

would droop and refuse food, but when placed among other fowls

became lively, playful, and fed well. I fear that many birds and

other animals perish in our menageries by inattention to these ap-

parently trivial circumstances, which are, however, most essential to

their successful rearing and preservation. I have been informed, by

those who have eaten of these birds in the southern parts of Australia,

that they are usually thin, and the flesh coarse and not well-fla-

voured.””

Notrs ON THE BROAD-FRONTED WomBat or SoutH AUSTRALIA

(PHASCOLOMYs LATIFRONS, Owen). By Grorcre Frencu

AnGAs, CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ZOOLOGICAL

Society oF LONDON, ETC.

The existence of a second species of Phascolomys on the Australian

continent was established some years ago by Professor Owen, from a

skull sent to England from South Australia, and named by him

Phascolomys latifrons (see ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’

for 1845).

Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, in his excellent work on the Marsupiata,

says, ‘‘Of the Broad-fronted Wombat, all that is known is a skull

sent from South Australia to Professor Owen. This skull presents

so many marked differences when compared with that of the Phasco-

lomys Wombat, that no doubt can be entertained of the existence of

two distinct species of Wombats.”

I have lately had the opportunity of examining a full-grown male

example of the Broad-fronted Wombat, now living in the Botanical

Gardens in Adelaide, and of comparing it with two adult specimens

(male and female) of the Tasmanian Wombat, which, fortunately

enough, were being exhibited at the time in Adelaide. The differ-

Mr. G. F. Angas on Phascolomys latifrons. 65

ences between the two species were so evident, that I was induced to

make a careful drawing of P. latifrons, which, together with my ob-

servations and measurements of both animals, I have much pleasure

in laying before the Society.

When I first saw the Wombat in the Adelaide Gardens I was at

once impressed with the idea that it was an animal altogether distinct

from that figured by Mr. Gould in his ‘Mammals of Australia ;’ but

as I was unable to refer to a copy of that magnificent work in this

colony, I hailed with pleasure the arrival of the living Tasmanian

Wombats, an inspection of which set aside all my doubts as to the

distinctness of the two species.

Phascolomys latifrons, Owen. Adult male. Total length 38 inches.

Fur fine and silky, rather long, particularly on the hind-quarters ;

colour light silvery mouse, tinged with buff and purplish brown,

browner on the face; the chest is white; the remainder of the under

surface is of a reddish mouse-colour ; the feet are of the same colour

as the body; the claws are smaller than those of P. Wombat; the

toes are covered with hair to the nails ; under lip blackish ; there is

a light-coloured spot above the eye, and a corresponding one below

it, with a dark triangular patch extending underneath the eyes in

front towards the nostrils; eyes small, irides dark hazel; eyelids

black ; nose flesh-coloured ; the bristles of the eyebrows are black

and rather long, as are also those in the centre of the cheek and

round the nostrils; tail naked and very small; the hind quarters

present somewhat of that peculiarly flattened or truncated appearance

observable in the ordinary Wombat ; the ears are well-clothed with

hair internally. The following are the dimensions of P. latifrons:—

ne ree

Length from tip of nose to root of tail...... BD)

CO) AB ae ea Aa OME BE h0

Gg CRON oo a oo yaitg a 5, ni) pecs, ged sac ano ap ea

SOR OHE « ccchecn coe uae sits, 23 (ome ne case See

Breadth between tips of ears.............. 8 0

HebweemToot Of €8RS* . ose cece 54 OO

MGbWEEN OVER) "5.5.50. ' Fans rg wi esis ee 3.0

Girth of skull in thickest part........:.... 18 0

Giieentre.on DOGY. 2.0) Fics, sfstls oes eo a 4

Length of hind foot, including claws ...... 4 4

GE MOEC MOOG, oxy siscs. a) MONE Mat hoi a the 343

erent at smOmlder | 6:6 is: 5 208d 5 oe seituersie yet 12 0

TSUN C1: 5 a RO Ere \ RS eR 14 0

Length of hind claw } an inch; fore claw .. 1 0

Phascolomys Wombat, Péron et Lesueur. Adult male. Total

length 33 inches. Fur very rough and coarse, of a dark grizzly-

grey ; ears quite small, blackish brown outside, whitish internally ;

nose nearly black, and more pointed than that of P. latifrons, giving

to the face an expression slightly resembling the ‘Koala’? (Phascol-

arctos cinereus) ; whereas the P. latifrons presents a bold, bull-dog-

like aspect from the greater expansion of his face and width of

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 5

66 Zoological Society :—

nostrils ; the tail is naked and rudimentary ; the feet are black, as

are the hairs of the fur covering them above; the claws are black,

and are longer and more powerful than those of P. latifrons. The

general aspect of P. Wombat is more bear-like than that of P. lati-

frons. In standing it arches its back considerably, and does not hold

its head so erect as the latter animal ; the expression of the eye, too,

is decidedly fierce, and lacks the good-natured twinkle of the South

Australian species. Next to the form of the skull, one of the most

striking specific differences manifests itself in the colour, character,

and texture of the fur; in sleeping it rolls itself almost into a ball,

burying its nose between its fore paws. The measurements I made

of the adult male of the P. Wombat are as follows :—

in. lin.

xtreme Tenbthy 520. 22.5 ks eS EE 33 (0

Keneth of head 2.650. 0) 5G. 3.20) OR

Breadth between tips of ears.......... 6 9

Breadth between eyes .........,.... 3.0

BenotiaroG ears: 0/5. 00. 6204.05 Ge ee ee

Girth round centre of body .......... 29 6

Height, middle of back.............. 15°90

The specimen of P. /atifrons in the Adelaide Botanical Gardens

is the only one I have yet seen. It was caught some twelve months

since, near the Gawler River, about thirty miles north of Adelaide.

It is kept in an enclosure, where it is secured with a strong chain and

collar to prevent its escape by burrowing ; it is perfectly docile, and

never attempts to bite like the Common Wombat ; it is fed artifi-

cially on bran and weeds, and drinks freely of water. The only

sound it emits is a short quick grunt when annoyed; it sleeps a

good deal during the day, and appears impatient of heat and rain,

as in its wild state it is entirely a burrowing animal, living in large

holes in the limestone districts, and only leaving its habitation towards

dusk for the purpose of obtaining food. The specimen in the Gar-

dens is fond of lying on its back like a bear, the feet are thoroughly

plantigrade, and on the inner hind toe the claw is quite rudimentary.

He will burrow 3 or 4 feet into the soft ground of his enclosure, and

scratches alternately with his fore paws. When worried he will turn

his hind quarters to the enemy, and, suddenly turning round, make

a charge at his legs, evidently for the purpose of throwing him

down ; otherwise he is perfectly harmless. He runs fast for a short

distance in a sort of gallop, but soon tires, and is easily caught.

Although in some parts of the colony, especially on Yorke’s Penin-

sula and about Port Lincoln, the holes of these Wombats are verv

numerous, yet the animals are but rarely seen. Many of the oldest

colonists have informed me that they never saw a Wombat alive.

The blacks on the Murray describe two kinds of Wombats ; one (evi-

dently P. latifrons) they speak of as ‘big yellow fellow,”’ the other

as being smaller and dark ; they also say that the impressions of

their feet in the sand-tracks leading to their burrows bear a striking

resemblance to those of the foot-prints of a young child. The flesh

Mr. G. R. Gray on the Family Megapodiide. 67

they describe as being like pork, and excellent eating. They are ex-

tremely difficult to obtain on account of their great timidity. The

usual plan is to make a screen of boughs in the vicinity of their

haunts, behind which the natives conceal themselves; and then, if

not killed on the spot, they will scramble to their holes, from whence

it is utterly impossible to dislodge them.

Collingrove, South Australia,

April 1861,

List oF SPECIES COMPOSING THE Famity MEGAPODIID2 ;

witH Descriptions or New SPECIES, AND SOME ACCOUNT

OF THE Habits OF THE Species. By GrorGe ROBERT

Gray, F.L.S., ere. ,

1. TaLeGaLytus Cuviert, Less. Voy. Coq. i. p. 716.

Talegalla Cuvieri, Pr. B. Compt. Rend. 1856, t. 38. p. 876.

New Guinea (Havre Dorey); Aru Islands.

2. TALEGALLUS LATHAMI.

New Holland Vulture, Lath. Hist. of B. i. p. 32.

Alectura , Lath. Hist. of B. x. p. 455.

Alectura Lathami, Gray, Zool. Mise. i. p. 3.

Meleagris Lindsayi, James, Mem. Wern. Soe. vil. p. 473.

Catheturus australis, Swains. Classif. of B. ii. p. 206.

Catheturus Cuvieri (Less.), Bl.

Talegalla Lathami, Gould, B. of Austr. v. pl. 77.

Catheturus Nove Hollandie (Lath.), Pr. B. Compt. Rend. 1856,

p- 376.

Brush Turkey.

‘Wee-lah’ of the natives.

Australia.

3. MEGACEPHALON RUBRIPES, G. R. Gray & Mitch. Gen. of B.

ii. pl. 123 (adult).

Megacephalon Maleo, Temm.; Wallace, Ibis, 1860, p. 142.

Megapodius rubripes, Quoy & Gaim. Voy. Astrol. t. 25 (young).

Celebes (Menado).

4. Leipoa oceLLata, Gould, Proc. Z. S. 1840, p. 126; B. of

Austr. v. pl. 78.

‘Marrakko,’ ‘ Marra-ko,’ of the natives of S. Australia.

‘ Ngow-o,’ ‘ Ngow,’ of the natives of W. Australia.

5. Mecaronpius Freycinet1, Quoy & Gaim. Voy. Uranie, t. 32.

Juv. Alecthelia Urvilii, Less. Voy. Coq. i. p. 703, t. 37; Pr. B.

Compt. Rend. 1856, p. 876.

Island of Waigiou; Guébé, Boni; Batchian? and Kaisa Islands?

6. Mrecapopivus Quoyit.

Megapodius Freycineti, p., G. R. Gray, Proc. Z. 8. 1860, p. 362.

Like the Batchian examples of the former species ; but it is of a

68 Zoological Society :—

more slaty fuscous-black, especially on the head, neck, and breast ;

quills fuscous black ; tarsi apparently of a pale horn-colour.

The young differs from that of the former species in being

also more of a slaty black on the head, neck, and breast, and the

plumes of the wings sooty black, rather narrowly margined and

banded with ochre. These marks are decidedly more prominent in

this species than in the young of the last ; cheeks and throat ochra-

ceous white ; the buff spot on the abdomen appears to be, when first

hatched, buffy white.

Gilolo (South).

7. Mecaropius Forstent, Temm.; G. R. Gray & Mitch. Gen.

of B. iii. pl. 124.

Megapodius Freycineti, p., Temm.

Top of the head, wings, and back olivaceous-brown, tinged with

obscure rufous; front, sides of the head, neck, breast, and nape

slaty fuscous; abdomen fuscous, slightly tinged with slate-colour.

Bill pale horn-colour ; feet plumbeous black.

Length 13", wings 8! 3!", tarsi 2!" 7!"

Amboina; Ceram; Banda?

8. Mrecapropius MAcGILLIVRAYI.

Top and sides of the head, back, wings, tail, sides of the abdomen,

and under tail-coverts deep olivaceous fuscous, tinged with obscure

rufous ; neck, nape, some of the lesser wing-coverts, and beneath the

body slaty black. Bill dark horn-colour ; feet pale (red) ; claws

black.

Length 13" 6'", wings 9", tarsi 2! Q!'',

Louisiade Archipelago (Duchateau Isles and Pig Island).

9. Mecaropivus La Perovst, Quoy & Gaim. Voy. Uranie, t. 33.

‘ Passegniat’ of the natives.

Ladrone or Marian Islands (Tinian, Guam, and Rotta).

10. Mecaropius GILBERTII.

Megapodius rubripes, p., Wagl. Isis, 1829, p. 737?

« Megapodius of small size,” Wall. Ibis, 1860, p. 142.

Top of the head, nape, neck, and wings olivaceous brown, tinged

in part with obscure rufous ; front, sides of the head, collar round

the neck, and beneath the body slate-colour. Bill fuscous horn-

colour ; feet plumbeous black.

Length 12" 3!, wings 8", tarsi 2! 2!"

Celebes.

11. Mecaroprius Cuminen, Dillw. Proc. Z. 8. 1851, p. 118,

pl. 39.

Philippine Islands (Manilla) ; Labuan ; Borneo (North-western) ?

12. Mrecaropius GouLnil.

Top of the head greyish-olivaceous brown ; back, wings, sides of

Mr. G. R. Gray on the Family Megapodiide. 69

the abdomen, and beneath the tail rufous-olivaceous brown ; sides of

the head, neck, nape, and beneath the body slate-colour. Bill pale

horn-colour ; tarsi pale red ; toes blackish, claws black.

Length 11" 6', wings 8" 3!", tarsi 1!" 11!",

Lombock.

13. MEGAPODIUS NICOBARIENSIS, Bl. Journ. A. S. B. xv.

pp. 52, 372.

Nicobar Islands.

14. Mecaroprius Re1nwarprtit, Wagl. Syst. Av. Megap. Addit.

sp. 4.

Megapodius Duperreyii, Less. Bull. Univ. des Sci. no. 5. p. 113;

Voy. Cog. t. 36.

Megapodius rubripes, Temm. Pl. Col. 411; Wagl. Isis, 1829,

p. 737; Less. Tr. d’Orn. p. 479.

‘ Mangoipe’ of the Papuans.

New Guinea (Havre Dorey, River Oetanata); Amboina?; Aru

and Ké Islands.

15. MreGaropius Tumutus, Gould, Proc. Z. 8. 1842, p. 20; B.

of Austr. v. pl. 79.

‘Oooregoorga’ of the natives.

Australia (North); Islands in Endeavour and Torres’ Straits.

16. Mecapopius Watuacer, G. R. Gray, Proc. Z. 8. 1860,

. 362, pl. 171.

East Gilolo.

17. Mecapoptius Srarrt.

? G.R. Gray, List of B. of the Trop. Isl. B.M.

aS)

Megapodius

46.

Egg dusky white. Length 3" 1’, width 1" 1!",

Samoan or Navigator’s Islands (Rev. J. B. Stair, 1847).

18. Mecaropius BurnaByt.

Megapodius ——? G. R. Gray, List of B. of the Trop. Isl. B. M.

46.

Egg pinkish stone colour. Length 3! 1'", width 1! 9!",

Hapace Islands (Lieut. Burnaby, R.N.).

These two latter species are only known by a specimen of the egg

from each locality having been presented to the British Museum. I

have here provisionally placed a specific name for each ; having little

doubt that they will prove distinct species from each other, and even

from all the other known species.

19. ? Mecaropius ? ANDERSONI.

Tetrao australis, Anders. MSS.

“ Fusco nigroque ; pedibus nudis.”’

New Caledonia.

70 Zoological Society :—

The name given above (with the very short specific characters) was

found among others in the manuscripts of Anderson, who was as-

sistant-surgeon during the third voyage of the famous circumnavi-

gator Cook. “Though the description is so short and concise, I am,

however, induced to suppose that it can only be referred to a species

of Megapodius; certainly it cannot be reconciled with any of the

present known birds from New Caledonia. I refer to it in the hope

that this slight indication may lead to its beg searched for by col-

lectors and others who may be located in that island, thus proving

whether I am right in my supposition with regard to its being one of

this remarkable genus.

The family of Megapodiide is composed of a series of birds which

are very remarkable for the extraordinary and anomalous contri-

vances resorted to by the different species for obtaining the artificial

heat that is necessary for bringing their eggs to maturity ; and for

other singularities in their general habits, &c. The account which

follows is principally collected together into one view from different

published sources.

These birds are all, with one solitary exception, as far as is at pre-

sent known, inhabitants of certain localities within the tropics, viz.:—

Nicobar Islands, Lombock, Borneo (N.W.), Labuan, and Lucon.

Celebes, Gilolo, Batchian, Ceram, Amboina, Banda Islands, Guébé,

Boni, and Waigiou Islands.

New Guinea, Louisiade Archipelago, Aru and Ké Islands.

Australia (North, West, and South), Islands in Endeavour and

Torres’ Straits.

Ladrone or Marian Islands. They are also known to exist in Ha-

pace or Habai Islands, Samoan or Navigator’s Islands; and pro-

bably in New Caledonia.

They generally inhabit the dense forests, brushes, and mangrove

swamps, or jungles of luxuriant vegetation, especially those that

border the sea-beach, or rivers and creeks ; but others (Lepoa ocel-

lata) prefer the sandy districts of the scrub.

Their appearance when walking in open places is stately and some-

what sedate; which may be occasioned by their habit of lifting their

feet very high, and of setting their backs up, somewhat like the

guinea-fowls. Their extreme shyness and timidity causes them to

reside in, or to remain in close approximation to, the thickets, &c.,

that they may escape, if disturbed, by running (which they do with

great quickness) among the vegetation ; but should they fail thus to

conceal themselves, they then fly on to the lower branches of the

trees, where they remain quite motionless, with the neck sometimes

stretched out in a line with the body, or they ascend to the top of

the tree by leaping from branch to branch ; and should they still be

alarmed they will fly off with a heavy flight for a short distance to

some other more secure position, where they can only be approached

by carefully proceeding under cover of the large trees. It has,

however, been remarked that some species have never been seen to

erch.

‘ They are often heard uttering at intervals a loud clucking or

Mr. G. R. Gray on the Family Megapodide. 71

screeching noise, while they lie concealed beneath the shady branches

of the trees during the midday heat. Some have been observed to

dust themselves on the sandy ground after the manner of gallina-

ceous birds ; and they have been noticed to be apparently very pug-

nacious at times, swiftly chasing each other along the ground, and

calling to one another more loudly than usual, suddenly stopping,

and then again running off in pursuit.

Their food is entirely sought for on the ground ; it is obtained by

scratching among and turning up the fallen débris beneath the trees

and shrubs in the forests, &c., and consists of seeds, fallen fruits,

insects, and small snails: but one species is thought to feed chiefly

on fallen fruits resembling the cotyledons of leguminous seeds; and

rice is also said to form a portion of its food.

The species that form mounds for the purpose of incubation,

usually select during the tropical spring a retired and shady place in

the dense thickets or brush, occasionally surrounding the trunk of a

tree by a portion of the materials employed in its formation, should

it come within the prescribed limit of the mound.

The mound is composed more or less of vegetable matter, which

becomes decayed and rotten during the period that the birds are

engaged in laying their eggs, which is thought to be an occupation

of two or three mouths’ duration. The size of the mounds varies

with the species ; some have been found reaching to 14 feet in height

(24 feet from the base of the slepe to the summit) and 150 feet in

circumference, and some are even larger. The materials required

in their construction are collected by the birds by means of their

large feet, either by carrying a small quantity at a time in one foot,

or by scratching it together with their lengthened claws, and thus

leaving the earth bare for some distance round the mound. The

mound of some species (TJ'alegallus) is entirely composed of vegetable

matter; others (Leipoa ocellata, Megapodius Macgillivrayi, Mega-

podius tumulus), however, mix with the vegetable matter earth,

sand, gravel, stones, and even, in some cases, fragments of corals ;

in fact, the birds employ whatever falls in their way at the locality

they have selected. The same pair frequent the mound year after

year, destroying that of the former year on the renewal of the sea-

son for laying; thus the vegetable portion of the centre becomes

mixed with the sand and earth that formed the outer part of the

former mound. The pair, on renewing the mound, first collect a new

mass of vegetable débris for the centre, on which is scratched some of

the former material to a certain height, leaving the centre somewhat

hollow. It is in the middle, at various depths, from 18 inches to

several feet, according to the habits of the different species, that

the females of some species deposit their eggs, in the form of a circle

( Talegallus, Letpoa), while others place them in an irregular manner

in separate excavations in different parts of the mound. The eggs

are deposited at about sunrise, one by one, at an interval of days be-

tween each, reopening the centre on each egg being placed therein,

and then covering it again, and returning each time to their usual

haunts in the thickets, &c., until all the eggs intended to be laid are

72 Zoological Society :—

deposited. The centre is then completely covered in, and the mound

becomes elevated to the height of several feet with the remaining

earth or vegetable matter, assuming a conical or dome-shaped form ;

but the large mound has the top flattened for about 3 feet in dia-

meter. The heat that is engendered by the fermentation of the

vegetable matter is thus retained within the mass, and causes the

eges to arrive at the period of maturity.

It is thought that the bird allows the centre to be but shghtly

covered during the period of laying—for two reasons: first, that it

may have the less to scratch away on each visit, and thus be enabled

more easily to deposit the egg; secondly, that the eggs already laid

may be kept ina cool and certain temperature until all are deposited;

' while, at the same time, the rain may more readily penetrate through

to the vegetable mass, which would hasten the rotting, and thereby

raise the necessary heat for the hatching against it is really required.

The mode adopted by the Megapode of Banda (Megapodius am-

boinensis’) differs materially from that of the species above referred

to. It is stated that the eggs of this bird “occur isolated and dis-

persed here and there; but each egg was carefully covered by a mass

of fragments of dry plants or leaves.”

Another remarkable difference is exhibited in the habits of the

small Celebian Megapode (Megapodius Gilbertii). This species is

observed ‘‘to scratch out a hole in the rotten stump or root of a

fallen tree, and there bury its eggs ;’’ but nothing is said about co-

vering them with vegetable débris or other matters, which we may,

however, suppose them to do, as is exemplified by the other species

of this singular family.

There are other species whose habits are still more extraordinary

in the selection of places for the incubation of their eggs.

One species (Megacephalon), which resides many miles away in

the inland forests, and others (Megapodius Freycineti, M. Cumingii,

M. nicobariensis) that live in the jungles not far removed from the

beach, seek daily in pairs (often thus congregating in flocks of

hundreds at the period of laying their eggs) the sea-beaches, where,

in a retired position in the masses of sand thrown up above high-

water mark, as well as near the neighbouring jungles, may be ob-

served a number of holes of various diameter scratched in the sand :

so rapidly do the birds throw up the sand, that it looks completely

like a fountain during the operation. The holes are usually of the

depth of 18 inches to 2 feet ; in them, itis thought that “a number

of hens’’ deposit in succession their eggs, upright in the sand on the

side of the same hole at a distance of a few inches between each.

The number of eggs has been found to vary in the different holes,

which may, insome measure, depend on the number of females that

visit each. Each egg of the same female must, however, be, as in the

former case, laid at an interval of some days; but whether they re-

turn to, and lay their eggs in, a hole already formed by a single pair

or by several pairs in company on the same day, is not quite deter-

mined. Each separate female must, after the hole is made, when

about to lay, scratch a place for the egg on the side within the hole,

Mr. G. R. Gray on the Family Megapodide. 73

and when deposited must cover it with some portion of the sand

which is around it, and thus by degrees the interior of the hole be-

comes mostly filled in, after which the place of concealment is often

betrayed by the birds scratching over it a large heap of such shells and

rubbish as they may meet with on the beach. The eggs are then

left to be hatched by the heat engendered in the sand through the

rays of the tropical sun playing on its surface; probably a longer

period for hatching the eggs is required than from the heat caused

by the fermentation of decaying vegetable matter, the heat of which

is known to be considerable.

Thus, if the preceding statement is correct, the eggs in one hole

have been laid and the hatching of them has commenced about the

same time ; and therefore it may be concluded that, after the neces-

sary time has elapsed, all the young birds are likely to make their

appearance about the same period.

It has been previously stated in reference to some of the mound-

raising species (T'alegallus, Leipoa) that the eggs are placed by the

bird in a circle. The mode thus adopted by the bird is interestingly

accounted for by His Excellency Sir George Grey, in the following

manner :—After the bird, he says, has deposited the first ege

in the sand, leaving from 4 to 6 inches between the lower end of the

egg and the layer of dead leaves, it then lays the second egg, which

is ‘‘ deposited in precisely the same plane as the first, but at the op-

posite side of the hole before alluded to. When the third egg is

laid it is placed in the same plane as the others, but, as it were, at the

third corner of a square. When the fourth egg is laid it is still

placed in the same plane, but in the fourth corner of the square, or

rather of the lozenge, the figure being in this form *§-. The next

four eggs in succession are each placed in the interstices, but always

in the same plane ; so that at last there is a circle of eight eggs all

standing upright in the sand with several inches of sand intervening

between each.”

Other species do not regard such mathematical principles in the

laying of their eggs, but place them irregularly anywhere within the

mound, or in whatever position the several species may instinctively

adopt, as previously explained. That they may obtain the heat re-

quired to bring them to maturity appears to be the principal object.

It seems marvellous that these birds, after they have taken all

these precautions for the preservation and development of their eggs,

should exhibit no further care for them, but leave the young entirely

to find for themselves their way out of whatever position the females

may have placed the eggs in. The young bird, on breaking the

shell, scratches its way out of the heap without any assistance, and

when free, just shakes off the material of which the heap had been

composed, and then runs off to the thickets, &c., and commences

seeking its food without any hesitation, by scratching and turning

up the earth or débris that lie on it, like an old bird. Each bird is

fully fledged on its first appearance. This latter circumstance has

caused some collectors and ornithologists to suppose these young

birds to be the adult state of a species; and the idea has occasioned

74: Zoological Society :—

the establishment of the generic appellation of ALECTHELIA, with

the specific name of Urvilii, Less. This name has been attached

to all the specimens of young birds sent from various localities,

though in colour and markings they differ from each other, but re-

tain somewhat of the colour of the parents. Thus, J. Freycineti

and M. Quoyi are of a sooty-black colour, with the cheeks and throat

of a pale ochraceous colour ; but the markings differ in each species :

the former has the wing-coverts margined, and all the quills banded,

with pale ochre-colour ; in the latter, however, it is only irregularly

banded on the tertials and lower part of the back. On the other

hand, the young of M. Reinwardtii and M. tumulus are of a rufous

colour ; the former has the back of the neck and nape greyish-

brown, throat ochraceous white, breast and beneath the body

greyish ochraceous with a buff spot on the abdomen, quills fus-

cous, wing-coverts and tertials margined with deep rufous, feet

pale. The latter species is very similar, but appears to be more de-

cidedly margined on the wing-coverts and tertials with pale rufous,

conveying the appearance of bands; throat rufous ochre; and be-

neath the body of a somewhat darker colour than in the previous

example. These differences between the young and adult birds are

so strongly marked, that even Mr. Wallace states, with regard to one

sent home by him, that “‘he is convinced it is an adult bird,” ‘‘as

it is considered to be by the natives of Aru.”

The egg is remarkably large when on the point of being laid (mea-

suring from 3} to 41 inches in length, and 2 to 23 inches in width,

weighing 8 or 9 ounces) ; it consequently fills up, says Mr. Wallace,

the lower cavity of the body, squeezing the intestines so that it

seemed impossible for anything to pass through them; while the

ovary contained from eight or ten eggs about the size of small peas,

which must evidently require somewhere about the time named

(thirteen days the natives assert) for their successive development.

A considerable interval, says Mr. Wallace, ‘“‘ must elapse before the

succeeding one can be matured. ‘The number of eggs which a bird

produces each season seems to be about eight ;”’ so that, if this sup-

position is correct, ‘‘ an interval of three months must pass between

the laying of the first and last egg.”

The eggs vary from white to cream- or pale salmon-colour. Some

eggs are often covered with an epidermis of a dirty-brown colour,

which easily chips off, exposing the proper colour of the egg.

The birds place the egg upright in their mounds or other places,

so that the egg may obtain the heat equally on all sides,—as other

birds, which sit on their eggs, continually turn them so that each

side may equally obtain the same amount of heat from their bodies,

which is essentially requisite, or the egg would not be brought to

perfect maturity.

The eggs, it is said, “‘when quite fresh are delicious eating, as de-

licate as a fowl’s egg, but much richer.” The natives of the Hapace

Islands, either from their rarity or trom their great delicacy, look

upon the eggs found in their islands as worthy to be reserved for

the chief’s eating ; and for that reason they are denominated “‘ Chiet’s

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on a Species of Acanthogorgia. 75

Eggs.” The flesh of the adult bird of some species has been pro-

nounced to be good eating.

DescriPTion OF A SeconD Species or ACANTHOGORGIA (J.

E. Gray) rrom Mapeira. By James Yate JOHNSON.

In the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for 1857, p. 128,

was printed a description of a new genus of Gorgoniade by Dr. J.

E. Gray, founded on a specimen in the British Museum, the habitat

of which was unknown. ‘The genus was named by its describer

Acanthogorgia, and the specimen was figured, by an inadvertence, in

the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for 1851 (Radiata, Pl.

III. fig. 2), under the name of Nidalia occidentalis, instead of Acan-

thogorgia hirsuta, Gray. I am now in a position to state that the

native place of this curious Black Coral (of which no notice has been

taken by M. Milne- Edwards in his work on Coralliaria) is Madeira ;

for I possess one specimen, and have seen others, obtained from deep

water near that island. Last winter a specimen of Black Coral fell

into my hands (also obtained from the same coast), which, though

evidently belonging to the genus dcanthogorgia, appeared on exami-

nation to be specifically distinct from the species previously described.

I now proceed to lay before the Society a description of this second

species, which I have named, in honour of the founder of the genus

to which it belongs,

ACANTHOGORGIA GRAYI.

Colour dark brown. Branching irregularly, with a tendency to

grow in one plane. Branches free, slender, flexible, having an average

diameter of one-seventh of an inch; the thickest part of the stem

near the base has a diameter of three-tenths of an inch; the ends of

the branches are rounded, and thicker by one-half than the neigh-

bouring portion of the branch. Axis pale brown, very slender, that

of the smaller branches, when dry, being not more than the twentieth

Acanthogorgia Grayt.

of an inch in diameter. When the coral has been a few days out of

the water, the axis shrinks from the bark, and remains distinct in the

76 Zoological Society.

middle. It is composed of fibrous matter without spicula. Caustic

alkali has little or no effect upon it, even on the application of heat.

Bark composed almost entirely of spicula, studded with sessile cylin-

drical cells, irregularly distributed on all sides. These cells have a

height of from the thirtieth to the twentieth of an inch, and their

diameter is about half the height. The upper halves of eight (some-

times nine) large erect spicula project round the orifice of each cell

at eight angles, corresponding with the same number of slightly ele-

vated ribs or crests on the outside of the cell formed by other spi-

cula ; the exposed portion of these projecting oral spicula is smooth.

In A. hirsuta the exposed portions of the corresponding spicula are

rough. ‘lhe orifice itself in a dry specimen is covered in by another

series of large spicula, sixteen in number, arranged in eight pairs,

the apices of which meet in the middle. At the outside of the cells

the spicula are placed parallel, not crossed as in A. hirsuta,

The spicula are composed of calcareous matter, and are at once

dissolved with effervescence on the application of a strong acid,

leaving behind a formless mass of brown animal matter. The spicula

which lie in the bark between the cells are fusiform, slightly bent,

and for the most part very stout, some elongated, others contracted

to an ovoid form; those which project round the orifices of the cells

have their basal portion geniculate, flattened, and very rough, with

protuberances ; and not unfrequently the bases are branched. The

spicula of both species are pretty objects under an object-glass of

low power.

Acanthogorgia Grayi differs from A. hirsuta (of which a figure is

here given for comparison) in the much smaller size and in the form of

Miri Wh] )/f/4

|) ll Wi) ‘5

oy 1 //

Acanthogorgia hirsuta.

the cells, which are cylindrical, not bell-shaped or contracted at the

bottom. In the only specimen of the former which I have seen,

the cells are not nearly so numerous as in the specimens of the

latter which have come under my notice. Moreover, the orifices of

the cells in 4. hirsuta are not roofed in with spicula in the same

complete and regular way as is the case with the cell-orifices of this

species. Lastly, I have not noticed any branching at the bases of the

large spicula of 4. hirsuta.

The only specimen of this very curious Black Coral which has

Miscellaneous. 77

fallen in my way, and which I have had the honour of presenting to

the British Museum, was brought to me when residing at Funchal in

the month of February last. It was said to have become entangled

in a fishing line, and to have been brought up from a considerable

depth near Ponta do Pargo, the south-west extremity of the island.

It was attached to a stone on which a small specimen of Dendro-

phyllea ramea, a not uncommon Madeiran coral, was seated. It has

a height of 6 or 7 inches, and it measures about 10 inches across.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Investigations of the living Brachiopoda of the Mediterranean.

First Memoir: on Thecidium. By M. Lacaze Duruters.

Tue Thecidia, fixed by the convex face of the concave valve, only

move the dorsal or apophysary valve. Four muscles serve to lower

the latter and close the shell. There are two to open it ; they form

the innermost pair. The separation of the valves is active, and the

abductor muscles act as the power of a lever of the first order.

The arms would resemble in many respects those of other Brachio-

poda, if they were not adherent to the mantle all along their basal

ridge. D’Orbigny’s expression of abrachiopodes, applied to the

Thecidia is entirely false : indeed, what is a Brachiopod without arms ?

The cirri present two very distinct structures :—a cortical layer,

which is soft and easily destructible—the cellular envelope ; and a

hard, resistant, and nearly cartilaginous axis, which is the frame-

work. They differ a little in the two sexes; these differences will

come into consideration in connexion with the reproduction.

The mouth occupies precisely the same situation as in the other

Brachiopods. In all, in fact, the arms are united by the are of a

circle—a true, more or less concave horseshoe, which they form by

becoming confounded on the median line ; and it is at the bottom of

this curve at the middle that we see the buccal orifice, always in front

of the ridge, the base of the arms, and the insertion of the cirri.

The stomach is surrounded by the two packets of ceca which con-

stitute the liver. The intestine presents a very curious peculiarity,

already indicated by MM. Hancock and Huxley in the Terebratule.

It terminates in a delicate ligament, and presents no anus. Examin-

ation by the lens, and even under high powers of the microscope,

left no doubt upon this point.

Behind the mouth, above the are formed by the base of the arms,

there is a nervous centre composed of ganglia, from which issue

numerous nerves passing to the two lobes of the mantle and other

parts of the body.

The sexes are separate. The testes and the ovaries only exist in

one lobe of the mantle—that corresponding to the deeper or inferior

valve. The two testes, like the two ovaries, are hidden beneath sup-

plementary osseous plates developed in the thickness of the mantle.

The spermatozoid is very small, with a very delicate tail and a

78 Miscellaneous.

globular head. The ovaries resemble little bunches of grapes of an

orange-colour, but each grain is formed by an egg, and not by a

secretory czecum.

The egg during its development projects out of the gland, and is

suspended by a peduncle, which is very probably broken at the period

of extrusion.

On each side of the median line in the concave valve there is a

glandular canal, with an internal and external orifice; this, which

represents what Mr. Hancock calls the supposed auricles of the

pseudo-hearts, is in relation to the ovary or testis, and serves, pro-

bably, for the issue of the ova and seminal fluid.

The young embryos of the Thecidia are suspended from two of

the cirri of the arms—those of the middle behind the mouth. These

cirri, which may be called suspenscrs, curve backwards and bury

themselves in a median incubatory pouch, placed between the two

ovaries. This peculiarity impresses upon the shell a character which

enables us to distinguish the male from the female Thecidia, when

the animal no longer exists. A small notch for the passage of the

two embryoniferous cirri upon the external twisted lamella which

supports the arms always indicates the female sex. There are few

examples of this possibility of recognizing the sexes of shells.

The entire series of the development of the ova could not be in-

vestigated. The youngest embryos observed resembled an aggrega-

tion of large cells. Starting from this state, in which the young

animal is ovoid, three furrows are seen to be formed perpendicular

to the principal axis, dividing the embryo into four lobes; the two

median are comparatively very large, the two outer ones very

small. One of the latter appears to be hollowed into a cavity like a

sucker ; the other presents a longitudinal fissure surrounded by two

or four red eye-like spots. It is very probable that this is the ante-

rior extremity, and that its fissure becomes the mouth. The embryos

move by the agency of the vibriatile cilia with which they are covered ;

they often contract themselves. They appear to bend themselves

upon the median furrow, and then the greater diameter is much

diminished. The substance contained in the anterior median lobe

breaks up into lobules, which will afterwards represent the czeca of ©

the liver.—Comptes Rendus, November 11, 1861, p. 849.

On a new Species of Neotoma (N. ferruginea) from Guatemala.

- By R. F. Tomes.

The present species of Neotoma is so well-marked a species that

it will be scarcely necessary to lengthen the description by comparing

it with other species of the genus.

It is typically a Neotoma, and in size about equals the Mus rattus

of Europe. General form rat-like; the head rather elongate, and

the muzzle somewhat pointed. Muftle small, being little more than

a flat space between the nostrils, and with scarcely any part quite

free from short, fine, scattered hairs. Upper lip cleft from the muffle

downwards, and well covered with short hairs ; nostrils rather small

Miscellaneous. 79

and rounded. Ears simple, roundish, of medium size, and not con-

cealed by the fur. Whiskers quite as long as the head. Fore feet

short ; the two middle toes of equal length, the outer one about

13 line shorter, and the inner one not more more than 1 line shorter ;

claws very short, thumb rudimentary, its nail rounded. Palms with

five well-defined and rather large tubercles, of which the anterior

one occupies a position at the root of the middle toe, two others are

placed one at the root of each of the outer toes, and the remaining

two have a transverse position behind those just mentioned, nearly

as far back as the carpus, the outer one being a little the further

back of the two. The hind feet are remarkable for their breadth,

and for having, like the fore feet, toes which are nearly of a length.

The tibia is rather long in relation to the foot, although perhaps not

in relation to the size of the animal. On the sole of the hind foot

are six tubercles, the three anterior ones arranged like those of the

fore feet, and a fourth appears at the root of the inner toe. Imme-

diately behind the tubercle of the outer toe, and near to the middle

of the sole, is placed thie fifth, which is much smaller than the others,

and behind that of the inner toe is the sixth, much the furthest

back, and near the inner boundary of the sole. The arrangement

of these tubercles is much the same as in N. floridana ; but in con-

sequence of the shortness of the foot, they are of a less elongated

form, though fully as prominent. The claws, like those of the fore

feet, are short. The tail is as long as the head and body, and tapers

evenly to a somewhat obtuse point ; it is finely annulated, and pretty

evenly suffused with short black hairs, which do not conceal the

scales even towards the end of the tail, where they are most abundant.

The under surface is much less distinctly hairy than the upper.

The distribution of hair on the under surfaces of the fore and hind

feet is as follows :—Short and thick fur, of nearly the same quality

as that of the body, extends on the fore legs quite to the carpus ; it

is white inside the leg, and of the same colour as the upper parts of

the body outside of it. On the upper surface of the toes the hairs are

silvery white, adpressed, short, and projecting forward around the

claws so as to hide them. The hind legs have the tibiee densely

hairy behind, quite to the os calcis, and from thence there is an ex-

’ tension of adpressed greyish hairs along the inner side of the sole to

the posterior tubercle ; but there is a very narrow line left near the

outer boundary of the sole, which is quite free from hairs. On the

upper surface of the foot the hair of the legs extends somewhat

further, and from this the foot is covered with short, adpressed, sil-

very hairs, grey on the foot and white on the toes.

The general colouring is remarkable, and unlike that of any other

species of Neotoma. All the upper parts are of a bright rufous

colour, and all the under parts pure white, the line of separation

being very clear and distinct. The fur of the back is mixed with

black hairs, giving that part a much darker colour than the sides of

the body, where these hairs are less abundant. Fur of the outer

surface of the fore and hind legs strongly tinged with dusky, inner

surface of the fore legs whitish, of the hinder ones dusky grey. On

80 Miscellaneous.

nearly all parts of the body the fur is bicoloured, dusky at its roots

for two-thirds of its length; on the upper parts the dusky colour

becomes almost black, and on the under much paler. From the

chin to the space between the fore legs is an elongated patch of fur

which is pure white from root to tip, just as in Hesperomys atro-

gularis. The tail is deep dusky above, paler below; claws white.

In the outline of the grinding-surfaces of the molar teeth, this

species differs from all others at present described. Without en-

tering into a minute description of these teeth, of which it is difficult

to give a clear idea without figures, it may be stated that they have

somewhat the same arrangement of cusps as those of NV. cinerea of

Baird, saving that in the present species the anterior cusp or prism

of the first tooth in the lower jaw is in a position decidedly outside

the line of the cusps of the other teeth. The exposed ends of what

I have termed the prisms of these teeth constitute their grinding-

surface, which, instead of having an angular outline as in NV. cinerea,

present, as in those of N. floridana, a series of transverse, ovoid or

loop-like figures; but these loops in the present species are much

natrower in an antero-postericr direction than in any other species,

owing to the folds of enamel entering more deeply and broadly into

the sides of the tooth.

Length of the head and body ............ 6 6

of the head ..... Ui 2 chee aa

aivche cheat, ciclo e3 k ine 0 8

prahe fore-arn e205. Ost. BAS Es

—— of the fore foot and claws...... 0 8

idem fiitoia ek REL) EO OAs 0M ee

of the tarsus and toes 5

Brass, hea AN ee ee 6 0

iBreadthioratherears: 304.004 el Ce ae 0 8

-of the hind feet at the root of the

inner toe. 0.3

Length of the skull from the front of the wiasal

bone to the occipitalicrest ...-i/).'./.22 40; 1 8

Breadth across the zygomatic arch ........ 0 11

Keneth ‘of the nasal bones®, sb0.4 4 460) 22. 0 8

from the point of the upper incisor to

the crown of the first molar .......... 0 6

of the molar series. . . Sarath 02 AS

Length of the incisive foramina .......... 0 4

———- of the palate .. i% 0 4

Breadth of palate between two front molars.. 0 13

-- of palate between two posterior molars 0 2

Length of lower jaw from point of incisors to

eondyle .\. |, J7eL ee eal. ee Lp

- Depth from coronoid process to the angle. . 0 6

Proc. Zool. Soe. pus 25, 1861.

THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES.]

No. 50. FEBRUARY 1862.

XII.—Anatomico-physiological Investigations on the Respiratory

Process in Insects. By H. Ratnxe*.

I. Perrectr Insects.

§ 1. Rorsat, in the second volume of his ‘Insekten-Belusti-

sungen,’ has noticed that in Aschna grandis the abdomen is

alternately expanded and contracted, and that this movement is

connected with the respiratory process. Carus subsequently

made the same observation on Locusta verrucivora. These as-

sertions led Rathke, in 1831, to examine all the larger insects

which he could procure in the vicinity of Dorpat, to see whether

they exhibited these movements of the abdomen. THe found that,

in the majority of insects which he could obtain for examination,

the abdomen is alternately expanded and contracted ; and fully

convinced himself that in Cetonia and Scarabeus this movement

has an effect upon the respiration.

§ 2. In all insects in which such movements of the abdomen

may be distinctly perceived; these are not of the same kind, but

in different insects they present many differences. These differ-

ences depend upon the peculiar organization of the wall of the

abdomen. But whatever may be the kind of movement, it is

always caused and rendered possible,—1, by the epidermis of the

abdomen being solid and thick in some parts and soft and thin

in others, so that those parts of the cutis on which the epidermis

forms plates or bands of greater or less thickness may be pushed

closer together and then again somewhat removed from each other;

and 2, by the presence of peculiar muscles on the inner sur-

face of the cutis of the abdomen, passing from one part of the

cutis to the other, and capable of effecting a movement in it.

* This posthumous memoir, prepared by Rathke in 1835, has just been

published by Dr. Hagen in the ‘Schriften der Konigl. physik. okonom.

Gesellschaft zu Konigsberg,’ Ist year (1861), p. 99. ‘Translated by W. 8.

Dallas, F.L.S.

Ann, § Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 6

82 M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

In general the cutis of the abdomen has several transverse

bands, upon each of which the epidermis is harder and thicker

than im the space between it and the next band ; and it is only

exceptionally that in some insects the spaces between the

bands are either only represented by a constriction or completely

unrecognizable. But when a thinner and softer skin is inter-

posed between two bands, the posterior and smaller one is

generally more or less immersed in the preceding, so that its

anterior margin is more or less concealed by the posterior margin

of the latter. Hach band usually consists of two distinct halves,

an upper and a lower one, united at the sides of the body, like

the bands themselves, by a thinner and softer part of the cutis.

In many insects, especially the Hymenoptera, the upper half or

plate of most of the bands embraces the lower one more or less ;

but this is not the case in the majority, in which the softer part

between the upper and lower halves may be recognized from

without ; this becomes broader and more distinct in proportion as

the sexual organs are dilated by their products, or the intestinal

canal is filled with food.

The muscles by which the hardened parts of the abdominal

skin are united and moved are so arranged, in most insects, as

only to approximate these parts; by which they only diminish

the cavity of the abdomen, and produce an exspiration. Hence,

in the following memoir, whenever the abdominal muscles are

spoken of without any special qualification, those which relate

only to exspiration are intended. The means by which the

hardened parts of the skin are again separated, and the cavity of

the abdomen again dilated, to produce inspiration, will be referred

to hereafter.

§ 3. In most Coleoptera it is the superior wall of the abdomen

that moves in respiration, being alternately depressed and ele-

vated. This movement, however, does not extend in all over

a relatively equal portion of the abdomen. In those whose

elytra extend over the whole abdomen, all the belts or segments

of this division of the body, with the exception of the last, usually

take part in the movement ; whilst in those, such as Scarabeus

and Cetonia, whose elytra do not reach so far, the penultimate

and even the antepenultimate segments take no part in it, which

is indeed the case with all those segments which are of nearly

equal thickness throughout and forma simple ring. Movement

is observed in all those segments in which the epidermis of the

ventral and lateral walls presents a firm plate, but in which that

of the dorsal wall forms a thinner and usually smaller plate,

separated by amembranous interspace at its ends from the above-

mentioned larger plate, and at its anterior and posterior margins

from the similar neighbouring plates. The movement is gene-

M. H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 838

rally progressive, advancing rapidly from before backwards,

rarely commencing in the middle of the abdomen and spreading

both forwards and backwards.

The muscles by which these movements are producedare ex-

ceedingly simple. Hach segment which takes part in it is fur-

nished only with a single pair of muscles for this purpose, each

of which is attached by one end to the lateral wall and by the

other to the dorsal wall or plate, in both places close to the soft

part of the cutis. All these muscles, therefore, run transversely

across the softer and more flexible parts of the abdomen. When

they contract, the dorsal wall of the segment to which they belong

is drawn downwards more or less according to the extent of the

soft interspace, by which the cavity of the abdomen is more or

less diminished and the softer skin of the interspace more or less

folded. The respiratory movements are stronger in some Beetles,

weaker in others. In those which need strong respiratory

movements the above-mentioned muscles are more coarsely

fibrous, thicker, and generally larger in proportion to the size of

the entire body than in those in which weaker movements are

sufficient ; but in all cases they form only short bundles, which

are either of nearly equal thickness and breadth throughout or

become narrower and thinner from above downwards. Besides the

muscles just described, several other muscular layers occur in the

abdomen, both on the dorsal and ventral walls. Between each

pair of the upper plates which are moveable upon one another

there is, on each side, a broader or narrower muscular layer,

passing from the anterior margin of the posterior plate to the

inner surface of the anterior one, and adhering at a greater or

less distance from the anterior margin of the latter. Similar

muscular bands, situated and attached in the same way, occur

also on all the inferior plates which are mutually moveable.

These lower bands are usually far thicker and more coarsely

fibrous than the upper ones. Usually these two kinds of muscles

only serve to bend the abdomen downwards and straighten it

again ; but, if they both act together, they may also shorten the

abdomen a little, and if, as is usually the case, the upper wall is

likewise drawn towards the lower one, diminish its cavity, and

thus increase the quantity of air expelled. It must, however, be

observed that such a universal contraction of the abdomen occurs

but seldom, and not always even when the beetle is much alarmed.

The movement of the dorsal wall is not comparatively equal

in all Beetles. The movement is greatest in those whose trachez

possess many vesicular dilatations, such as Cetonia and Scara-

beus, and less in those whose trache run uninterruptedly with-

out dilatations so as to produce a shrub-like appearance ; it is

least in those in which the tracheze appear to be narrowest in

84 M.H.Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

proportion to the whole body. The dilatations and contractions

of the abdomen do not follow each other with equal rapidity in dif-

ferent Beetles ; they appear generally to be rapid m proportion to

the size of the air-vessels ; in the Bectles examined by the author,

they succeed each other most rapidly in Cetonia and Scarabeus.

But here we have to consider whether the animal is quite quiet

or in motion or troubled, and also whether it has lately taken a

sufficiency of food or whether it is hungry; for when it has fed

well or moves, the movements of the abdomen follow one another

far more rapidly than when it is quiet or fasting.

Note 1.—The above observations were made on species of the

genera Cetonia, Scarabeus, Cerambyx, Hister, Dytiscus, Carabus,

Chrysomela, Tenebrio, Bruchus and Aitelabus. “It is remarkable

that in Staphylinus, in which, notwithstanding its differing so

much in many respects from other Beetles, the structure of the

abdominal segments and of their muscles is the same, no distinct

movement of the upper pieces of the abdominal segments could

be perceived. On the other hand, the upper part of the third

thoracic segment was seen to rise and fall alternately, and often

very considerably. The author could not ascertain whether for

this movement there are peculiar muscles not occurring in other

Beetles. He observed, however, that in Staphylinus the widest

and most important air-vessels occur in the posterior half of the

thorax. The above-described movements of the abdomen were

not observed in Coccinella, in which, contrary to the general rule,

the upper plates of the abdomen are larger than the lower ones.

In the Carabide also (at least, in C. granulatus) the upper half

of the last thoracic segment is moveable, and rises and falls a little

during respiration, although less than the upper halves of the

abdominal segments.

fote II.—In Tenebrio molitor the upper pieces of the abdo-

minal segments are so transparent, that the intestines, and espe-

cially a quantity of tracheze which run quite close beneath those

pieces, may be distinctly seen through them. Many of these

traches, especially those which run from below upwards, may be

secn in constant movement ; they are observed sometimes to be

alternately stretched out and again curved, and sometimes to be -

moved forwards and backwards. This movement is not proper

to them, but is communicated by the dorsal vessel to which they

are attached.

Note I11.—In the vivisection of a Scarabeus stercorarius, the

author, having removed the dorsal wall of the abdomen and drawn

forth the intestinal canal a little, by which many small trachez

were torn, was astonished to see several of these tracheze move

very briskly, like worms, in the water in which the Beetle was

being dissected, Tor some minutes he supposed that the move-

M. H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 85

ment was proper to the air-vessels themselves, but at last he

perceived that several extremely delicate thread-worms issucd

from these vessels ; others twisted about in some of the air-sacs

of the abdomen.

§4. In the Tabanide, the different genera and species of which

have a more or less depressed abdomen, the upper plate of the

abdominal segment is somewhat larger than the lower one, and

consequently assists more or less in the formation of the lateral

walls of the abdomen, with which the lower plates have little or

nothing to do. The thinner and softer portion of the skin in-

tervening between the upper and lower plates is always of con-

siderable breadth ; it is always far broader at its anterior than

at its posterior end, and possesses great extensibility and elas-

ticity.

From the author’s investigations of several species, and espe-

pecially of Tabanus autumnalis, the respiratory movements of

these animals are effected by the movement of the lower abdo-

minal plates (especially those of the anterior segments) to and

from the upper ones, during which the softer lateral portions

appear alternately broader and narrower. But when the respi-

ration is increased in force, the ends of the upper plates of the

anterior segments, which assist in forming the lateral walls of

these segments, are somewhat drawn inwards and then again

pushed out. With a still more powerful respiration the lower

plates are pushed a little over cach other, and all drawn a very

little towards the breast ; so that the lower surface of the abdo-

men is somewhat shortened, but immediately returns to its for-

mer position.

In the Tubanide, as in the Bectles, peculiar muscles exist only

for the contraction of the abdominal cavity, and these muscles

coincide almost exactly in position and attachment with those of

the Bectles. All these muscles are, however, both absolutely and

relatively, very delicate and thin.

At the base of the abdomen there are two large air-sacs; the

tracheze are only of moderate width, and shrub-like im form,

The canal which unites the tracheal stems on each side 1s also

only of moderate size.

§ 5. In Empis the inferior picces of the abdominal segments

are comparatively smaller than in Zabanus ; they form the entire

ventral wall of the abdomen. Only the three or four anterior ones

rise and sink alternately, but very weakly and scarcely percep-

tibly. The abdomen also frequently curves a little downwards.

In the Tipularie also the lower pieces of the three or four an-

terior segments, which are comparatively still narrower, move up

and down scareely pereeptibly and but seldom. No movement

that could be regarded as connected with respiration was de-

86 M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

tected in the other abdominal segments of even the largest of

these insects.

§ 6, The abdominal segments of the Muscide also possess two

plates of hardened epidermis. In some of these animals, espe-

cially in the genus Musca itself, the upper plate assists to form

a great part even of the ventral ‘wall ; in others it has but little

to do with this. The lower plates are very considerably smaller,

and in most of these insects resemble flat tiles. In some each

lower plate is more elongated, and is then sometimes extremely

narrow. But the most anterior of these plates is always the

largest, and the rest generally diminish in size by degrees towards

the posterior extremity. The interspace of soft skin on each side,

between the upper and lower plates of each segment, is narrower

or broader, according as the upper plate occupies more or less

of the segment. It is usually very narrow, but becomes con-

siderably enlarged when the alimentary canal is very full, or when

the sexual organs, especially the ovaries, have attained a great

size.

During quiet respiration only the lower pieces of the segments

move a little up and down. When respiration takes place more vio-

lently, as, for instance, when a fly is held by the wings, the ends, or

rather those parts of the upper plate which assist in forming the

ventral wall, are alternately drawn in and pushed out, but at the

same time the ventral wall, as it rises, becomes elongated, and

afterwards, when it sinks, is again shortened; so that in the

former case the abdomen is more straightly extended, and in

the latter more curved downwards. When the fly is not tr oubled,

the above-mentioned contraction and dilatation of the abdominal

cavity takes place very rarely.

The trachee have a shrub-like form, and, like the canal which

unites their stems on each side, are only of moderate diameter.

In each side of the body, close to the thorax, there is a tolerably

large air-sac.

§ 7. In Panorpa the upper and lower plates of each abdomi-

nal segment are of nearly equal size, and the interval on each

side between the plates is proportionally very broad. Never-

theless the cutis, and especially the epidermis forming this inter-

space, are tolerably thick. Respiratory movements are very di-

stinctly perceived in the three or four first segments of the abdo-

men: they consist in the alternate drawing in and pushing out of

the skin between the plates, during which, however, the anterior

half of the abdomen is scarcely perceptibly contracted from above

and below.

§ 8. In the Lepidoptera the upper plates of the abdominal

segments are not much larger than the lower ones. The inter-

vening skin 1s tolerably wide, as in Panorpa, but somewhat

M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 87

thinner and softer. The respiratory movements are of the same

kind as in Panorpa but stronger, and extend throughout the whole

length of the abdomen; in some species they are more distinctly

visible in the anterior, in others in the posterior part of the

abdomen.

§ 9. In Blatia the abdomen is broad and flat in proportion to

its length. The upper halves of the segments are of the same

size as the lower ones, and both extend to the rather acute late-

ral margins of the abdomen. Between them there is on each

side a moderately wide space occupied by a soft skin, in which

_ a-series of constantly open stigmata is visible.

During respiration there is an alternate mutual approximation

and removal of the upper and lower plates; but the respiratory

movements do not take place rapidly.

§ 10. In the Dragon-flies it was observed that, when they are

in perfect repose, that part of the abdomen on which the central

nervous cord rests alternately rises and falls, although but

slightly. This movement is most remarkable in the genera

Aischna and Libellula, and weakest in Agrion; in the Aischne

it is strongest in the posterior broader half of the abdomen.

In 4éschna and Libellula the alternate contraction and expansion

of the abdomen is repeated eighty or ninety times in a minute.

With more powerful respiration the abdomen is also alternately

contracted and expanded at the sides, and then the lateral margins

of the abdomen bend a little downwards during the contraction.

This is very strikingly the case in the posterior part of the ab-

domen in the species of the genus A’schna. These respiratory

movements are rendered possible partly by the peculiar struc-

ture of the abdominal segments, and partly by their tissues and

the presence of peculiar muscular bundles in their interior.

Hach segment, except the first one in male individuals, consists

essentially of two very elastic plates or shields of hardened

epidermis, of which one forms the lateral and dorsal walls of

the segment, and the other, which is much smaller, the ventral

wall; these plates are separated at both sides by a space, occu-

pied by a softer skin. At some distance from the posterior ex-

tremity of the lower plate there issues on each side a slender

muscular bundle, which becomes somewhat broader as it passes

upwards and outwards to the other plate of the segment, to

which it is attached at some distance from the lower margin.

When these bundles contract a little, the lower plate is moved

inwards, and the cavity of the abdomen is contracted only from

below. If they contract more strongly, not only is the lower

plate drawn further in, but the parts of the upper plate which

represent the lateral walls are somewhat drawn together and

their lower margins pushed over the lower plate, by which the

88 M.H.Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Inseets.

cavity of the abdomen is contracted from below and also from

the right and left. The subsequent dilatation of the abdomen is

not effected by any peculiar muscles, but only by the elasticity

of the skin.

This rhythmical contraction and expansion takes place even in

the second abdominal segment of the male Libellule ; and by

this means the curious sexual apparatus occurring in this seg-

ment is set in motion.

The trachez have both stems and branches of considerable

diameter, and are present in great numbers. Besides these air-

vessels, several vesicles of considerable size, which collapse when

pricked, belong to the respiratory system: the majority of these

are placed in the abdomen.

$11. In the Grylli and Acridia the skin of nearly all the

segments of the abdomen is likewise hardened into two separate

plates, one of which forms the lateral and dorsal walls; the

other, which is much smaller, belongs to the ventral wall. The

latter piece is wanting in the first segment, which forms only a

half ring; on the last segment it is present, but formed differ-

ently from the same part in the intermediate segments, and im-

plicated in the sexual organs. On these intermediate segments

there is on each side, between the upper and lower plates, a very

considerable space in which the epidermis is soft and thin, and

which possesses great extensibility, as may be seen in gravid

female Gry. In the genus Gryllus the ends of the lower plates

reach only to this interspace; but in the Acridia the ends of

these plates form longer and shorter processes, according to the

different sezments to which they belong, running upwards over

the inner surface of the above-mentioned soft parts, and applying

their free ends against the mner surface of the upper plates.

The muscles attached to different parts of the abdominal skin,

and serving for the most part to produce the respiratory move-

ments, are very different both in number and attachment in

Gryllus and Acridium. In Acridium, where they are most sim-

ple, we have,—1, a pretty strong muscle on each side springing

from the base of the outer surface of the process into which each

inferior plate is produced, passing upwards and somewhat back-

ward to attach itself to the upper plate of the same segment ;

when these muscles contract, the abdomen is narrowed from

below, the ventral wall being drawn a little upwards; 2, two

other smaller muscles on each side, passing from the anterior

margin of the lower plate of each segment thus furnished,

forward to the next preceding lower plate; these muscles seem

to shorten the ventral wall, and appear to have no essential

part in the respiratory process; 38, a great quantity of muscular

fibres forming a long and narrow band between every two

M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 89

approximate upper plates, passing from the anterior margin of

each posterior plate to the inner surface of the preceding one ;

these muscles also take no part in the respiratory movements,

but seem to shorten the dorsal and lateral walls. The above

description of the muscles applies only to the smaller species of

the genus Acridium, and not to the larger ones, such as A.

stridulum and A. migratorium. In these there is, on the outer

surface of each process of the inferior plates, a tolerably strong,

long, bandlike muscle, running from the apex of the process

downwards and backwards, and attaching itself to the lower

end of the upper plate of the same segment. If all these mus-

cles contract, the ventral wall of the abdomen must be depressed,

and the ventral cavity enlarged; so that these muscles must be

regarded as inspiratory. Hach segment likewise possesses a pair of

exspiratory muscles, which are also of considerable size and form

two flat, broad, and not very long bands, each of which springs

from one of the outer margins of the lower plate, and, becoming

broader, ascends upwards and outwards to attach itself to the

lateral wall of the upper plate of the same segment. There are

also muscles similar to those described under 2 and 3 in the

smaller Acridia; but those of No. 1 are wanting.

In the various species of Gryllus (or Locusta) we have,—1, mus-

eles which agree perfectly with those described under No. 3 in

Acridium; 2, on each side of the abdomen there is a simple

serics of small muscular bundles, which, in position and attach-

ment resemble those described under No. 2 in the Acridia.

These and the preceding have no particular connexion with re-

spiration. All the other muscles now to be mentioned, on the

contrary, are probably devoted entirely to respiration: there is

nothing like them in Acridium; and they spring from a small

and tortuous fold, which is formed by the soft skin between the

upper and lower halves of the abdominal segments, and projects

a little inwards towards the ventral cavity. 3. A small muscle

passes from the above-mentioned fold, inwards, forwards, and

downwards, to the lower part of each segment, except the first

and the last two. 4 and 5. In each of the same segments two

somewhat larger muscles spring on cach side opposite each of

the preceding, from the fold, pass upwards and outwards, and

attach themselves to the end of the upper plate. In the penul-

timate segment there is only one pair of such muscles. When

the cavity of the abdomen is gradually extended, as especially in

female insects by the products of the sexual organs, the soft

space between the upper and lower plates increases considerably

in breadth, and the muscles just described then not only become

greatly elongated, but imerease generally in size; but when

these muscles and, simultancously with them, those described

90 M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

under No. 3 are contracted, the cavity of the abdomen is dimi-

nished from above and below. 6. A series of seven pretty strong

muscular bundles, each of which always lies close behind the

other, and has its axis directed from before backwards, covers

the greater part of the above-mentioned fold on each side of the

body. Each bundle corresponds with an abdominal segment ;

but whether it is connected with respiration is uncertain. 7.

Lastly, wherever two segments are contiguous, a tolerably strong

muscle passes transversely from the right to the left fold, and

conceals on each side the contiguous extremities of each pair of

muscles described under No. 6. When these muscles contract,

the folds of skin to which they are attached are drawn a little

inwards, and the cavity of the abdomen is narrowed laterally in

the neighbourhood of these folds. These latter muscles also are

greatly extended when, towards the close of summer, the gene-

rative organs are much enlarged and the abdomen is filled with

an accumulation of fat, but they are not thereby weakened in

their action. Between these muscles and the ventral wall there

is a considerable space, in which the chain of ganglia and four

very wide air-tubes are situated.

The trachez occur in greater number in the Gryilli ; and those

which belong to the body-wall, with the exception of their final

ramifications, are of considerable diameter, forming elongated

and sausage-like tubes. Notwithstanding their width, they do

not collapse when cut through, from their having strong and

very elastic spiral fibres in them. They also become dilated again

after being compressed. There are four or five pairs of vesicular

dilatations immediately above the ventral wall of the abdomen,

and a pair of much larger ones in the thorax above and behind

the first pair of legs. In the Acridia the tracheal stems on

the walls of the abdomen are fewer, but partly also much wider

than in the Gry/li, and, from their great diameter, their collaps-

ing when cut, and their not expanding again completely when

compressed, they form a sort of transition to the air-sacs. Their

spiral fibres are comparatively thin and but slightly elastic.

§ 12. It is remarkable that Acheta campestris, although ex-

ternally less nearly related than the Acridia to Gryllus verruci-

vorus and others of its genus, nevertheless resembles the Grylii

much more than the Acridia in its respiratory apparatus.

This insect is essentially distinguished from the Locuste

(Grylli) in the structure of the skin of the abdomen, only by the

lower plates of the abdominal segments being proportionally

larger and especially longer, and by the first segment possessing a

lower plate. Parallel to these plates, but at a tolerable distance

from them, there are, as in Gryllus, several transversely stretched

muscular bundles, passing from the soft parts of one lateral wall

M. II. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 91

to the same spot on the opposite wall ; and of these, one is always

placed where two segments are contiguous. Below them are

the ventral chain and two long and wide trachez. When they

contract, the abdomen is somewhat narrowed from each side. It

is narrowed from below by numerous muscles, of which the first

segment has two pairs, and all the rest, with the exception of

the last, one pair. All these muscles unite the ends of the lower

plates with those of the upper plates of the same segments : they

lie close to the inner surfaces of the lateral soft spaces. Other

much smaller muscles serve to draw inwards these soft spaces,

which are of considerable width, and thus also contract the ab-

domen from above and below. Three of these small bundles

pass up from each end of the lower plates and attach themselves

to the soft skin; but one such muscle comes from the extremity

of [the upper plate of] each of the same segments and attaches it-

self opposite to the first, also on the soft skin.» The abdomen

may be shortened by several muscles which unite together its

individual segments : of these, one pair always goes from the

end of the lower plate of each segment to that lying imme-

diately before it, whilst others, forming long and slender bands,

unite the upper plates of each two segments, as in the Locuste

(Gryll) and Acridia.

The respiratory movements themselves are probably effected

exactly as in the Locuste (Grylli) ; but the author had no oppor-

tunity of observing A. campestris alive.

In Acheta Gryllotalpa, Fab. (Gryllus Gryllotalpa, Lamk.), the

skin of the abdomen is formed exactly as in A. campestris, but

the muscular apparatus of this part is much simpler. The upper

plates of the abdominal segments are united to each other as in

A. campestris ; this is also the case with the lower plates, but the

muscles of these are absolutely and relatively much broader and

stronger. The muscles uniting the upper and lower plates are

not of the same kind in all the segments; in the two anterior

segments they are of the same form as in A. campestris, but much

stronger; in the other segments they form broad bundles, of

which some fibres run from the upper plate, and others from

the lateral soft skin, to the lower plate, and of which some take

a straight course, while others appear to cross. The specimen

examined had been for several years in spirit, and had become

extremely hard.

The trachez in both species of Acheta are very wide, but never

vesicularly dilated.

§ 13. In the broad and rather depressed abdomen of Mantis

religiosa the lower plates of the segments are nearly of the same

length as the upper ones. At the sides a blunt edge is formed

by them and the soft skin uniting them, Lach of the lower

32» =~M.W. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

plates is united to the next one by a pair of rather broad and

strong muscular bands (the muscles uniting the upper plates are

much weaker) ; so that the abdomen can probably be a good deal

shortened. For the contraction of the abdomen upwards and

downwards, several pretty long and almost bacilliform muscles

pass from the upper to the lower plates in the vicinity of the

lateral margin. ‘The first two segments have each only one pair

of such muscles; the segments from the third to the sixth pos-

sess each two pair, one close behind the other. The soft skin

can also probably be drawn inwards; for on each side of the ab-

domen are several short muscular bundles, of which one always

runs from one end of cach lower plate, obliquely from before

backwards, and a second, partly covering the former, from behind

forwards to the soft skin, to which they are attached. Two other

pairs of muscles on each side go from the upper plate to the soft

skin—one of these, the largest, from the middle of each plate,

the other from its posterior margin.

§ 14. In Truzalis the organization of the wall of the abdomen

is almost exactly the same as in the larger Acridia.

§ 15. All the Hymenoptera aculeata, with the exception of

the Ants, have, according to the author, essentially the same

organization of the abdomen and respiratory movements.

Each segment, except the first, consists of two very firm

plates, generally very broad in proportion to their length, both

nearly of the same length, and united at the sides of the body

by a softer skin in such a manner that the upper one projects

over the ends of the lower one, and therefore the soft skin

uniting the two plates cannot be scen from without. All these

segments are also pushed into each other like the tubes of a tele-

scope; so that the soft skin uniting them is likewise usually

concealed. In most of these insects the anterior angle of each

extremity of the lower plates of most of the segments projects

greatly, forming a point, directed forwards. (The author observed

in a Bee, the species of which he could not determine at the time

of making the observation, that between each of these angles and

the corresponding end of the upper plate there was a small and

nearly lenticular cushion, consisting of a completely closed, white,

opake, and rather firm sac, the walls of which were very thick in

proportion to its cavity.)

The respiratory movements are effected with great quickness

and vivacity, are rarely interrupted, and give the insect a restless

aspect ; they consist in an alternate abbreviation and elongation

of the abdomen, the individual segments being drawn more

deeply one into the other and again pushed out. In those which

have the abdomen nearly straight, such as the Wasps, these

movements usually take place in a straight direction ; but in

M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 93

those in which the abdomen is more or less curved downwards,

as in the Humble Bees and Bees, the abdomen, when extended,

is at the same time more strongly decurved.

The shortening of the abdomen diminishes its cavity and

causes exspiration; its elongation enlarges the cavity, and is

connected with inspiration. Sometimes, however, in this latter

movement, especially when the msect protrudes its sting, the

upper plates of the segments are pushed further over the lower

ones, the cavity of the abdomen is contracted nearly as much as

it is elongated, and thus the inspiration is hindered ; nay, some-

times the upper plates may be so strongly pushed on the lower

ones that an exspiration must be produced. The shortening of

the abdomen (exspiration) is effected by peculiar muscles attached

to the dorsal, ventral, and lateral walls of the abdomen. The

ventral muscles are only of moderate size, and form cords, of

which two always run (somewhat converging) from the anterior

margin of each segment, nearly to the same part of the preceding

one. ‘The dorsal muscles take the dorsal vessel between them,

as the ventral ones do the chain of ganglia, and are attached to

the upper plates in the same way as'these to the lower ones ;

they are, however, rather thinner. Of the lateral muscles one

springs from the upper and anterior angle of each lower plate,

except that of the first segment, and passes obliquely downwards

and forwards, gradually becoming broader, to the lower plate of

the preceding segment; and another, from the lower and ante-

rior angle of each upper plate in the same segments, turning

upwards and forwards, attaches itself to the inner surface of the

same plate in the preceding segment. Both muscles reach from

the segments from which they spring nearly to the anterior

margin of the other.

The act of inspiration is effected partly by the elasticity of

the softer skin between the segments, but still more by peculiar

muscles, of which there are two pairs on each segment, except

the first. In most (and probably in all) aculeate Hymenoptera

these are much thicker than the muscles just described as being

attached to the lateral walls and serving for exspiration. The

inspiratory muscles are also placed in pairs on each lateral wall

of the abdomen; they spring in each segment from the same

spots to which the exspiratory muscles are attached, but lie

behind these, and do not run, like them, obliquely forwards ; but,

supposing the abdomen in the act of inspiration, the muscle

springing from the inferior plate of each segment passes straight

down to the hinder margin of the inferior plate of the pre-

ceding segment; that springing from the upper plate goes

straight up to the hinder margin of the upper plate of the pre-

ceding segment. In the state of exspiration both muscles are

94 M.I1. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

directed somewhat obliquely backwards from their points of

origin.

§ 16. In the Hymenoptera with an ovipositor (Terebraniia)

the author’s observations were made chiefly on Ophion luteus,

Ichneumon persuasorius, and Sirex gigas. In these the upper

plates of the abdominal segments are considerably larger than

the lower ones, and form both the dorsal and lateral walls of the

abdomen ; the lower plates occupy only the ventral wall. The

former also project a little beyond the latter, with perfectly free

extremities.

In the respiratory movements the lower plates are usually

somewhat elevated and again depressed; more rarely, and only

when the respiration is very forcibly effected, the ends of the

upper plates are also set in motion inwards and outwards.

The trachez are shrub-like ; and no air-sacs ever occur.

Details.

In Ichneumon persuasorius the lower plate of each of the first

eight segments of the abdomen is rather broad; the first is

simple, the rest partly hard and partly soft. The harder and

thicker parts form three longitudinal bands,: of which the

broadest occupies the middle of the plate, the others lying close

to its lateral margins. Between these and the middle band are

two softer bands, which in the specimen examined were a little

bent in towards the ventral cavity; so that each plate, viewed

from beneath, showed two moderately broad and deep furrows

running in the direction of the length of the abdomen. During

exspiration the entire plate moved upward, and during inspira-

tion downward ; and in the latter act the above-mentioned fur-

rows were not unfrequently effaced, so that the plate became

quite flat and a little widened. On the abdomen being opened

it appeared that on the convex side of each of the furrows there

was a longitudinal muscle running from the anterior margin of

each plate to the same margin of the following one: from its

position and attachment, its contraction must flatten the furrow-

like part. A second, shorter and flatter muscle passed from each

anterior angle of the lower plates, outwards, upwards, and back-

wards, to the upper plate of the same segment; these serve for

exspiration. (Superior longitudinal muscles were also present.)

In the female of Sirex gigas the two hindermost segments of

the abdomen have no inferior plates ; in the other six segments

the lower plates are present and very broad. From each anterior

angle of these plates a moderately strong exspiratory muscle

passes upwards, outwards and backwards to the upper plate of

the same segment. Another much thicker and Jonger mus-

cle, also serving for exspiration, passes from each posterior angle

M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 95

of the lower plates upwards, outwards and forwards to the ante-

rior margin of the upper plate, covering the broader upper part

of the above-mentioned muscle. There are likewise upper and

lower longitudinal muscles for the abbreviation of the abdomen.

The lower ones are even doubled—two on each side of the lower

plates. They are rather thick, but narrow. The upper muscles,

on the contrary, are very broad, but thin and delicate. Notwith-

standing these numerous muscles, however, the abdomen is not

shortened and elongated for the purpose of respiration, as in

Bees and Wasps.

$17. The author then discusses the question whether these

movements of the abdomen, supposed to be connected with re-

spiration, may not subserve some other fnnction.

1. The pulsation of the dorsal vessel cannot be essentially

affected by these movements, as when they cease for a longer or

shorter time the activity of the dorsal vessel does not stop.

This applies also to the action of the digestive organs, for

this likewise goes on, and movements (especially peristaltic) of

the intestine and malpighian vessels take place even when the

movements of the abdomen cease for some time. There can

also be no particular relation between them and the function of

the generative organs, as they occur both when the sexual organs

are far from maturity and when their activity appears to be

purely plastic. There are no other organs in the abdomen of

most insects, except the respiratory organs, with which these

movements can be connected.

2. As the latter organs are surrounded by structures far less

compressible in their nature, it is clear that as the walls of the

abdomen contract, the air contained in the respiratory organs

must be set in motion and partly expelled through the stigmata.

3. The movements of the walls of the abdomen, in those insects

in which they occur, take place, like the respiratory movements

of higher animals, more rapidly when the insect makes, or en-

deayours to make, greater muscular exertions ; hence we may

conclude by analogy that there is a close relation between the

movements in insects and those in vertebrate animals.

4. In Cetonia aurata and Scarabeus stercorarius the author

convinced himself by observation that these movements truly

act upon the respiratory organs. On cutting off first the wings

and wing-cases and then the upper wall of the thorax from these

Beetles, he saw that every time the dorsal wall of the abdomen

was depressed the air-sacs contained in the thorax became

tensely dilated, and when the dorsal wall again rose these air-

sacs became a little smaller.

5. In Acridium stridulum he remarked that, whenever the abdo-

men contracted, the two pad-like and closely appressed lips of

96 M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

each of the stigmata placed above the intermediate legs separated,

indicating that a portion of the air contaimed in the thorax was

driven out through them. ‘Tle same phenomenon was observed

in the stigmata above the posterior pair of legs in Gryllus ver-

rucivorus.

§ 18. Distinct movements of the walls of the body are not

seen in every perfect insect, even when observed for a long time ;

and hence it might be supposed that the trachez and air-sacs in

many (or perhaps in all) insects may be capable of contracting

and dilating themselves by the tone and elasticity of their tissue.

Elasticity is certainly possessed in a high degree by all those

trachez which are not too wide in proportion to their length, or

too thin-walled in proportion to their width, as may easily be

seen in any such vessel, even of a recently killed insect, by com-

pressing it and then removing the pressure. All parts of the

respiratory system also possess a greater or less degree of physi-

cal contractility according to thew different nature. It is

greatest in the trachez, as these, when extended in width, or

still more in length, contract again to their previous dimensions ;

it is least in the air-sacs, which, when dilated, contract but little

and scarcely perceptibly on the removal of the cause of the ex-

tension. A tone, or organic contractility, seems on the con-

trary to be entirely wanting in all these parts. This view the

author supports by the following observations. Of several living

insects, especially Grylli, Acridia, Scarabeus stercorarius, and

Carabus granulatus, he opened the abdomen, and observed par-

ticular parts of their respiratory systems under the action not

only of the air, but also of cold water, concentrated sunlight,

and mechanical irritants, sometimes with a ver y strong lens ‘and

sometimes with the microscope, without ever remarking a con-

traction which indicated any tone of these parts. Nor could he

observe any such contractions in the trachez of Tenebrio molitor,

by examining them through the transparent parts of the skin of

that insect. Hence he considers that we are justified in stating

that respiration (and especially exspiration) is never effected in

any insect by the proper powers of the tracheze and air-sacs

alone, but that they require a pressure exerted upon them by

other surrounding structures. This pressure can be exerted only

by the wall of the abdomen, or in some insects by that of the

metathorax ; for although some of the viscera by their own

activity may be capable of exerting a pressure upon them, this

must be much less than that of the wall of the body. If no

respiratory movement of the wall be observed in a perfect insect,

the cause of this may be various.

1. The insect may be too small, and the movement too slight,

to allow its cbservation ;

M. H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 97

2. Or it may be too hairy or plumose to allow such a move-

ment to be perceived by the eye ;

3. Or it may have fasted for a long time, rendering the move-

ments so few and weak as to escape observation ;

4, Or the insect may be rendered dull and weakly by other

causes.

Here the author remarks that in insects in general respiration

by no means plays so great a part, and, although necessary, is

not so important as in birds and mammalia*. Many proofs of

this assertion are to be found, according to the author, in Sorg’s

memoir, ‘ Digestiones physiologice circa respirationem insecto-

rum et vermium’ (Rudolst.: 1804) ; and he cites the circum-

stance that many insects live in the earth or in rotten wood,

where they cannot possibly obtain an abundance of pure air for

their respiration. He also cites the observation of Sir Humphry

Davy (‘Consolations in Travel,’ Dialogue 2), that on the small

floating islands of Conferve in a lake near Tivoli he found an

immense number of the most various insects, although this lake

exhales so much carbonic acid and sulphurous vapour, that the

aquatic birds, which sometimes visit it, remain on its shores,

because, on the lake itself, these vapours would be fatal to them.

Moreover his own observations show that in many insects the

respiratory movements are few and weak.

If the above-described movements of the abdomen have really

an influence upon respiration, this must be a double one, in con-

* In a note subsequently written, the author observes :—‘ This is

going too far, as appears from the experiments of Treviranus on the

respiration of the lower animals (Treviranus and Tiedemann’s ‘ Zeitschr.

fiir Physiol.’ Bd. iv.).

* Results.—1. The quantity of oxygen taken up and of carbonic acid

exhaled by the same insect is very different in equal times, according as it

moves or rests, according as it is exposed to a higher or lower temperature

(greater in the former case), and according as it is full-fed or fasting.

‘(In Apis terrestris the quantities of carbonic-acid gas exhaled at 9-12°

R. and 14-23° R. are as 22: 174.)

«2. The quantity of carbonic-acid gas produced in respiration differs in

different insects. ‘The most active insects exhale the most carbonic acid,

Among these are the Bees, Humble Bees, and Lepidoptera. These are

followed by the Syrphi and probably many other Diptera. Then come

the Libellule and Beetles. The smallest amount of carbonic acid is ex-

haled by the larve of Lepidoptera and Beetles. A larva of Cetonia aurata

does not exhale a fifth of that produced by the perfect insect of the same

species.

“3. When the temperature of the air is 113° R. the Bee produces nearly

as much, and at a temperature of 22° R. far more carbonic acid than even

the Dove. Papilio Atalanta, even when it has been for several days with-

out food, exhales a far greater quantity of the gas at 15° R. than that bird.

Cats, Guinea-pigs, and Rabbits are inferior to Humble Bees in strength of

respiration at a temperature of 16-179 R. At this temperature Syrphus

nemorum is about equal to those animals.”

Ann. § Mag. N, Hist, Ser. 3, Vol. ix. 7

98 M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

sequence of the structure and distribution of the respiratory ap-

paratus.

1. In the abdomen itself. When its cavity is diminished, the

trachee, and the air-sacs when they occur, must be somewhat

compressed and a portion of the air contained in them driven

out through the stigmata. But when the cavity of the abdomen

enlarges again, and the pressure exerted upon the air-passages

contained in it is removed, these must furnish an entrance for the

atmospheric air, partly because the pressure of the external air

overcomes that upon the outer surface of the air-vessels, and

partly because the trachez at least may again dilate by their own

elasticity.

2. As regards the head and thorax, which, if we except the

thorax of the Staphylini and Carabidae, cannot expand and contract,

A portion of the air contained in the abdomen will he driven into

them through the air-vessels when the abdomen contracts. A

portion of this air then flows out through the stigmata of the

thorax (as is seen in the Locuste), but another portion inflates

the air-passages of the thorax and probably those of the head to

a greater or less extent. When the pressure on the abdomen

ceases, the trachez and air-sacs of the thorax and head contraet

by their proper elasticity, and again expel a portion of their con-

tained air, probably in part through the thoracie stigmata, at

least in those insects whose stigmata are constantly open, and in

part back into the abdomen.

The same applies probably to the movement of the air to and

from the extremities.

§ 19. In all the inseets examined, except the Hymenoptera,

only the contractions, and not the dilatations, of the abdominal

cavity are effected by the action of muscles. The means by

which the cavity is enlarged and the inspiration effected, appear

to be various in different insects and even in the same insect,

1. In those insects which only possess shrub-like trachee, the

latter appear to be a principal means of the dilatation of the

abdominal cavity during inspiration. The trachez, like the

arteries of the Vertebrata, possess a high degree of elasticity,

and, even after the insect’s death, regain their volume, after

being compressed, as soon as the pressure is removed. As they

are undoubtedly compressed, directly or indirectly, by the walls

of the abdomen during exspiration, it is to be expected that,

when this pressure ceases, they will again expand, react upon

the walls of the abdomen, and push these somewhat apart. This

applies also to most of those insects which possess vesicular as

well as ramified tracheze, and especially to those in which the

former are not too wide in proportion to their length. It is less

applicable to those whose vesicular trachez are very wide in pro-

M. H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 99

portion to their length, as is the case in the Acridia: these

tracheze, when compressed and emptied of air, do not completely

recover their original diameter by the agency of their proper

elasticity. The air-sacs, which exist in greater or less number

in many insects in connexion with the trachez, usually consist

of an extremely delicate membrane, in which no trace of a spiral

fibre-can be detected: when strongly dilated with air, they may

certainly contract a little by their proper contractility, if the

pressure from within ceases; but when compressed from without,

they cannot dilate themselves again by virtue of any inherent

elasticity. Consequently in those insects which have air-sacs or

very wide vesicular trachez in the abdomen, these structures

cannot contribute to the dilatation of the ventral cavity.

2. In those insects in which during exspiration the extre-

mities of the upper halves of several abdominal segments are

bent somewhat inwards (as in the Grylli, Acridia, Libellula,

Tabani, some Beetles [Carabus granulatus] and many Lepido-

ptera), these extremities, when the muscles cease to act upon

them, move apart again by their own elasticity, and thus assist

in enlarging the abdominal cavity.

8. In those insects in which the softer skin between the upper

and lower halves of the abdominal segments possesses consider-

able thickness and elasticity, and folds inwards during exspira-

tion, it appears, during inspiration, to press outwards again by

its own elasticity, recovering the plane in which it is stretched

during repose, and pushing apart the upper and lower plates of

the segments. In those, on the contrary, in which this skin is

comparatively thin and does not fold during exspiration (as in

Tabanus, Musca, Tipula, and the Beetles), it probably does not

act in the above way in the dilatation of the abdominal cayity,

For the contractility of this portion of the skin is very con-

siderable, and it may therefore be supposed that when it has been

somewhat compressed during exspiration, it will again extend

itself on the cessation of the pressure.

§ 20. From the statements contained in the preceding para-

graphs we may understand how the process of inspiration goes

on in perfect insects.

1. In those which possess only shrub-like trachez, these ex-

pand by their own elasticity as soon as the direct or indirect

pressure of the abdominal walls producing exspiration ceases, and

by their proper force cause the atmospheric air to place itself

in equilibrium with the air contained in them and penetrate

through the stigmata, If the abdominal walls also expand by

their own elasticity after the completion of exspiration, this dila-

tation can only be regarded as a removal of the obstacles to the

independent dilatation of the tracheze,

100 M.H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

2. In those, on the contrary, which possess air-sacs as well as

trachex, or in which some trachcz are very wide in proportion

to their length, the walls of the abdomen cause the inspiration,

either by their proper elasticity or, as in the Hymenoptera, by

muscular power.

§ 21. It is well known that insects when fully fed, and re-

quiring a greater amount of oxygen for the purpose of digestion,

respire far more frequently than when their alimentary canal is

empty ; the respiratory process also appears, at least in the

greater number of insects, to take place more completely and

powerfully. The movements of the abdominal plates and the

extension of the soft skin uniting them are then far greater than

when the alimentary canal is empty. The muscles moving these

parts will be more stretched than usual, and therefore will contract

to a far greater extent; so that the difference between the size of

the abdominal cavity in inspiration and exspiration is increased,

the air-passages are more strongly compressed, the air contained

in them more completely evacuated at each exspiration, and a

greater quantity of fresh air is taken in during inspiration, than

under other circumstances. This at least must be the case with

those insects which possess only ramose trachee. It probably

applies also to these insects at the time when their generative

organs, especially in the female, are much dilated and the abdo-

men inflated thereby ; but it is not known whether at this time,

if the alimentary canal be empty, the respiration goes on more

rapidly than before, when the sexual organs had attained no

great size. ‘The same theory cannot apply to those insects which

possess vesicular trachez or large air-sacs, as these vesicles are

not so elastic as to be capable of dilating again by their own

powers on the cessation of pressure. Perhaps these insects,

under the above circumstances, breathe more rapidly than the

others. The author considers that many of his observations are

in favour of this view.

§ 22. Is that movement of the abdomen of insects which is

connected with respiration a voluntary or an involuntary act?

This question is to be answered in the same way as the similar

one relating to the respiration of man.

After the decapitation of insects (Grylli, Scarabei, Tabani, and

Wasps) the abdomen has been seen to continue for a time con-

tracting and dilating in the same way as before the injury, from

which the author concludes that in these the respiratory move-

ments may go on quite involuntarily. But these movements

not unfrequently cease for a longer or shorter time in uninjured

insects, or they are limited to one or two segments; and the con-

tractions take place in these with unusual exertion, although the

remainder of the segments which otherwise act in respiration

M. H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 101

remain quite quiet: from this we may conclude that the will may

excrt some influence on the respiration.

§ 23. Certain phenomena lead to the belief that m many in-

sects various viscera have a subordinate action upon the respira-

tion of insects, or at least upon the distribution of air in them.

1. The pulsation of the dorsal vessel sets a number of tracheze

in motion, pushing them forwards and backwards, extending

them in length, and then permitting them to contract or contort

themselves again.

2. In those insects which possess a sucking-bladder connected

with the anterior part of the alimentary canal, this must produce

similar, but sometimes, by lateral pressure, still greater effects

upon the tracheze and air-sacs in its vicinity: in many such in-.

sects, especially Diptera, this bladder, which is sometimes of

great size, may be seen, even through the skin, slowly but inces-

santly contracting and expanding alternately to a very great

extent.

3. This applies also to the intestine and, although in a far

less degree, to the malpighian vessels, which, as may be ascer-

tained uot only from opened insects, but also from many unin-

jured ones (such as some species of Syrphus), are constantly

performing peristaltic movements. The strongest peristaltic

movements, which indeed were perceptible through the walls of

the abdomen, were observed by the author in Ophion luteus. In

the first segment of the abdomen, in which the intestine was

quite straight, they went on unceasingly, in such a manner

that the portion of intestine contained in it always remained

straight ; in the remainder of the abdomen, in which the intestine

is much contorted, they took place only at intervals, but each

time with great rapidity and violence, the intestine undulating

to and fro to a remarkable extent.

By the dragging of these viscera upon the neighbouring and

attached trachez, and also by the pressure which some of them

exert during their extension upon air-sacs in their vicinity, it

cannot be but that the air contained in these parts will be set in

motion. Partial movements of the air in the interior of the in-

sect must also be produced during the action of the muscles of

the limbs, as these muscles are penetrated and surrounded by

many air-vessels.

II. Imperrect Insects.

A. Of those which only undergo a partial metamorphosis.

§ 24, The structure of the abdomen in the young of Blatta,

Gryllus and Acridium is similar to that occurring in the perfect

insects ; so that it is probable that the respiratory process is the

same in both,

102 M.H.Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

B. Grubs and Caterpillars.

The traches of these larvae were examined immediately after

they had been opened down the back, both with the simple lens

and with the microscope, but no contractions could be observed

in them even when irritated mechanically or with alcohol.

§ 25. The larve of Vespa crabro and V. vulgaris, both when

within their cells and after removal therefrom, frequently shorten

and elongate their bodies, at the same time curving them laterally

either to the right or left. In the latter movement the convex

half of the body also becomes smoother, and the concave half

thicker than before, a portion of the fat and other structures

ae in the body being pressed from the former into the

atter.

The skin between each two contiguous segments is somewhat

thier and softer than in the segments themselves, and at the

point where the upper and lower halves of each segment come

together the skin is likewise thinner and softer, and forms a

projecting fold. From the entire anterior margin of each seg-

ment, except the two soft spaces on the right and left sides and

the spaces where the dorsal vessel and ventral ganglionic cord

lie, there runs a great number of nearly straight and pretty thick

muscular bundles, forming two superior and two inferior layers ;

these pass nearly to the corresponding margin of the preceding

segment, and not only shorten the body, but also, by acting on

one side, curve it to one side. Besides these, on each side, partly

from the upper end of the lower half of each abdominal segment

close to the seft skin, and partly from this soft skin itself, two

delicate and closely approximated muscular bundles pass imwards

and downwards to the lower half of the preceding segment,

attaching themselves partly to the anterior margin of this in the

vicinity of the ganglionic chain, and partly running further in-

wards aud forwards to apply themselves to the upper surface

of the straight muscles of the next anterior segment. These

latter muscles may flatten the body, and appear to be antago-

nisti¢ in the two halves of the body; so that when those of the

left side contract, those of the right side are relaxed, and vice

versd. The straight longitudinal muscles are likewise antago-

nistic in the two sides of the body. When the entire body con-

tracts in the direction of its length, during which the segments

themselves, consisting only of a soft skin, are somewhat short-

ened, it is extended again, after the relaxation of the muscles,

only by the elasticity of the cutis and of the contents of the

cavity.

All the tracheze are ramose, and. all the stems of each

side of the body are united, as in the perfect Wasps, by a coms

M. H, Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects; 108

mon cylindrical and elastic canal, which, however, is only of

moderate diameter.

The respiratory process in these larvee can only be effected by

the above-mentioned movements, both general and partial. If

the larva contracts longitudinally, when it does not gain so

much in breadth as it loses in length, the contents of the body-

cavity, and therefore the tracheary system, must be compressed;

and the air contained therein driven out of the stigmata, in

larger or smaller quantity according to the shortening. On the

cessation of the activity of the muscles, the air-vessels, being

freed from the previous pressure, must dilate again by virtue of

their elasticity, and cause the air to enter through the stigmata.

The same process of exspiration must also take place when the

larva bends strongly to one side; for as the convex side then

becomes smoother, and the structures contained in it are par-

tially driven over into the opposite side, it is more than probable

that its trachez also are then compressed and partly emptied of

air; and as the concave side is shorter and moreover filled with

a portion of the structures from the other side, its trachez also

must be compressed and compelled to part with their air.

§ 26. In the larve of the Scarabai, or at least in that of the

May Bug (Melolontha majalis), the epidermis of each abdominal

segment, except the last, forms two moderately firm plates, the

upper a little larger than the lower, united at each side by a

thinner and more flexible part of the epidermis. In these softer

parts are the stigmata. Both the upper and lower plates of

every two segments move upon each other by means of several

muscular bundles, of which some, and these the innermost, im-

mediately surrounding the abdominal cavity, run straight for-

ward from the hinder margin of one segment to the same margin

of the other, whilst others take an oblique direction from within

outwards and forwards, and others from without inwards and for-

wards. Of these oblique muscles some have the same insertions

as the straight muscles, but others pass from the middle of one

segment to the hinder margin of the preceding one. In each ab-

dominal segment, except the last, there are also two, and in some

even three pairs of pretty strong muscles, which all run from

the ends of the upper plate, over the softer parts of the skin,

inwards and downwards. Those of the inner pair pass straight

to the lower plate of the same segment, and are attached to this ;

those of the other one or two pairs run obliquely forward, and

attach themselves to the lower plate of the preceding segment.

The hindmost segment has only one pair of muscles, and these

are oblique.

By the muscles running obliquely from above downwards and

104 M.H.Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects,

inwards the segments of the abdomen may be rendered flatter,

and by the others it may be shortened. By means of these

latter muscles, moreover, the larva is enabled to curve its body

sideways, upwards, and downwards. It is also of great importance

to the larva, both in shortening and bending its body, that the

epidermis and cutis of each segment form several small folds

directed towards the body-cavity.

In examining a living strong larva, it will be seen that it not

unfrequently flattens its body greatly in places, and at the same

time narrows it from the sides, and that this contraction of the

body usually advances from before backwards over the different

segments, no more than a few segments being contracted at the

same time. The larva can likewise considerably shorten its body,

when the increase of thickness does not appear to compensate

fully for the abbreviation. But more commonly, and indeed

when the larva endeavours to crawl, only partial shortenings of

the body take place.

§ 27. The exspirations must take place, theoretically, as in

the Wasps and other Hymenoptera, when the body shortens, the

individual segments not gaining so much in width as they lose

in length, and also when the body curves to one side, but still

more when it is flattened from above and below. ‘These views

are confirmed by Bounet’s experiments on the respiration of

Caterpillars. According to these experiments, when Caterpillars

are immersed in water, more numerous and larger air-bubbles

escape from the stigmata the greater the movements made by

the animals. The inspiration must of course take place when

the pressure upon the air-vessels, produced as above, ceases.

As, moreover, the movements perceptible in the body-wall of

Caterpillars and the larve of Beetles and Diptera are chiefly con-

nected with the locomotion of these animals, it follows that their

respiration is also chiefly connected with their locomotion.

All respiration in these animals is subjected to the will, and

never involuntary.

§ 28. The Caterpillars of the Lepidoptera can shorten and

elongate their bodies considerably, but can neither flatten them

nor contract them at the sides in the same way as the larvee of

the Scarabei. When they shorten themselves, the individual

segments increase in width, but by no means sufficiently to com-

pensate for the shortening. This applies also to the narrowing

of the segments when the Caterpillar elongates itself. Some

segments are usually elongated at the same time that others are

shortened ; and the two processes take place progressively from

before backwards. ‘This at lcast is the case during the locomo-

tion of Caterpillars.

M. H. Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects. 105

C. Pupe and Nymphe.

§ 29. In undisturbed pupze of Lepidoptera no movements of

the body are to be detected, and therefore no movements that

can be referred to the act of respiration. The same thing ap-

plies to the pupz of Beetles, Hymenoptera, and probably of

other orders of insects. Nor can it be perceived, on opening

such pupz and irritating their trachez in various ways, that these

vessels contract or dilate.

From the absence of all such phenomena we might conclude

that in the pupz of the above-mentioned insects the tracheary

respiration is entirely interrupted. But, according to Sorg’s

observations, pupz of Lepidoptera and Ants die, although not

for some time, when kept in small receivers from which the ex-

ternal air is completely excluded ; and these creatures consume a

small quantity of oxygen, and give out a little carbonic acid.

According to the observations of Reaumur and Martinet also,

pupz die when their stigmata are covered with oil. If these ob-

servations be correct (and there seems no reason to doubt them),

the phenomena in question may be ascribed to two causes. In

the first place, it is possible and conceivable that the air may

penetrate the envelopes of the pupz as readily as those of birds’

eggs, and then enter ito a mutual action with the internal parts

of the insects. The permeability of these envelopes by air and

vapours is indicated by the fact that when dead larve or pup

are exposed to the air, they dry and lose considerably in weight.

In the second place, as the pup are not always exposed to the

same temperature, the air contained in their trachez must under-

go changes in its density ; and in consequence the trachee must

sometimes give out a portion of their contents, and sometimes

draw in a portion of the external air.

In any case it is certain that the respiration of pupe can only

be very weak. ‘This is shown by the observations of Sorg, and

also by the circumstance that the pupz of many insects, e. g. the

Bees, are enclosed in a nearly air-tight case, whilst others lie

deep in the earth. This weak respiration in pupz is remarkable,

inasmueh as it is in them that the most important changes in

the form and number of the different parts of the body takes

place. But it will not be difficult to give a satisfactory explana-

tion of these phenomena.

During the evolution of an insect within the pupa-skin, nearly

all the fat and likewise a quantity of muscles and other structures

disappear, but the materials of these parts pass into new combi-

nations and serve for the evolution or even for the formation and

evolution of other organs. They contain more or less oxygen

in their composition; aud it is conceivable that this may suflice to

106 M.H.Rathke on the Respiratory Process in Insects.

render the taking in of any considerable quantity of oxygen from

the atmosphere unnecessary. Analogous phenomena are pre-

sented by hybernating Mammalia and Reptiles, as in these,

during hybernation, respiration is almost entirely suppressed ;

and nevertheless whilst the fat so abundantly deposited almost

entirely disappears, some of the other organs, especially the testes

and seminal vesicles in the Mammalia and the ovaries and ovi-

ducts also in the Reptiles, are considerably increased in size and

gradually prepare a great mass of their secretions. It is, as many

phenomena indicate, the exaltation of nervous action and the

activity of the muscles that give rise im animals to a greater con-

sumption of atmospheric oxygen, and therefore to a more rapid

and powerful respiration, in order to replace the wasted portions

of the nervous and muscular systems ; far less oxygen is required

by the lower constituents of the organism to maintain themselves

in action or even to develope themselves further.

§ 30. Lastly, the question is to be answered whether insects

both inspire and exspire the air through all their stigmata.

Beautiful investigations for the solution of this question are

to be found in one of Bonnet’s memoirs*. “Bonnet’s principal

observations are as follows :—

1. If a Caterpillar be immersed in water so that only the hind-

most pair of stigmata are left free, it survives this experiment

for some time, whilst it soon dies if entirely immersed.

2. It also lives for some time if immersed so that only its

anterior pair of stigmata remain free.

3. When a Caterpillar is entirely immersed in water, an air-

bubble is not unfrequently seen to issue from one or other of its

stigmata, most commonly from one of the foremost or hindmost

pairs, and this is then alternately drawn in and pushed out.

4. When the stigmata of the foremost and hindmost pairs in

a Caterpillar are clogged with butter, and the rest left free, the

animal is more uneasy than when the experiment is reversed:

From these experiments it follows that Caterpillars inspire and

exspire by all their stigmata, but most through those of the fore-

most and hindmost pairs.

Moreover it is inconceivable that the whole mass of inspired

air should be exspired by other ways than those through which

it entered the body. This would be in opposition to the entire

structure of the respiratory system; for in a great number of

insects the stigmata are so constructed that they cannot be closed

by the animal, and consequently furnish the air with a means.

both of entrance and exit.

* Mem. de Math. et de Phys., vol. v. In Acridium stridulum the stig-

mata above the intermediate pair of legs appear to exspire only, and not

to-inspire: .

Mr: J; Miers on Villaresia. 107

XIII.—On Villaresia.

By Joun Miers, F.R.S., F.L.S, &e.

Turs genus of the Flora Peruviana is but little known, only one

species having been yet described. Poiret (in 1808) considered

it to belong to Auwrantiacee,;—an idea derived, no doubt, from the

vernacular name of the typical species, “ Naranjillo.’ Jussieu

(in 1821) gave a very correct description of that species, accom-

panied by analytical figures (Ann. Sc. Nat. xxv. tab. 3), and

placed the genus rightly in Aquifoliacee. Don (in 1832) de-

scribed the same plant under the name of Citronella mucronata,

when he assigned it a position near Cassine. Hooker and Arnott

(in 1834), in their enumeration of Chile plants (Hook. Journ.

Bot. i. 283), arranged the genus next to Myrsine. Jussieu

states that some botanists had considered it as belonging to

Menispermacee; and Dr. Lindley (in 1836) appears to have

then adopted similar conclusions in referring it to Schizandracee

(Introd; Bot. 553), but afterwards (in 1846) he retracted this

opinion (Veg. Kingd. 598), and, following the view of Jussieu,

placed it in Aquifoliacee. Endlicher pursued the same arrange-

ment in his ‘Gen. Plant.’ No. 5709.

On a former occasion, I adduced abundant evidence to show

that the Icacinacee do not belong to Olacacee, and that the

proper place of that family in the system is near the Aquifoliacee,

the structure in both cases being nearly similar, differing prin-

eipally in the estivation of the corolla, which is valvate in the

former and imbricate in the latter. In both families the ovarium

is normally plurilocular ; and when, as in Villaresia, it is one-

celled, this is always due to the abortion of the other cells—

a condition that also prevails throughout the Icacinacee ; it

therefore very rarely happens that more than one cell and a

single seed are perfected in this genus. I have recorded the

fact * that in Pennantia, where the fruit is generally unilocular

and monospermous, it sometimes occurs that two cells, each

l-seeded, are developed. I have witnessed the same excep-

tional occurrence in Villaresia, in a species growing at Kew,

where, on the same plant, some of the ovaries were 1-locular,

while others were distinctly bilocular, each with two ovules cols

laterally suspended from the dissepiment: Hence the rule is

general throughout both families, that, although the normal

condition of the ovary is plurilocular, there exists a general ten-

dency to the abortion of most of its cells; Thus in Ilex we have

constantly four, or more rarely five, cells, in Prinos six to eight,

in Cassine three, in Nemopanthes three or four, while in Byronia

* Huj. op. ser. iis ps 488; Contrib. Bot. i. 77, pl. 12. figs: 25=28.

108 Mr. J. Miers on Villaresia.

they number from twelve to sixteen; in Villaresia it is almost

universally 1-celled, as also is the case in Azxtoxicum, which

appears to belong to the same family. Although, as I have

mentioned, the ovary in the Icacinacee is generally unilocular,

it is constantly 3- or 5-celled in Emmotum.

Throughout both families there is a general tendency towards

the suppression of one of the sexes, so that the flowers are always

more or less polygamous ; and this is carried to such an extreme

in 4fxtoxicum, that they are constantly dicecious, when in all

other respects the structure corresponds with the Aqutfoliacee.

On the other hand, perhaps no genus in the family approaches

nearer to regular hermaphroditism than Villaresia.

One great peculiarity attends the development of the ovary in

this genus: the suppressed cells united in the normal axis form

a prominent longitudinal parietal expansion, which extends far

towards the centre of the single fertile cell; and from near the

summit of this expansion the two collateral ovules are suspended.

In the fruit, only one of these ovules arrives at maturity, and

that soon fills the entire cavity ; the seed therefore moulds itself

about the placental expansion, becoming thus bent round it, so

that its transverse section is hippocrepiform. A similar struc-

ture occurs in Bursinopetalum, as is well shown by Dr. Wight,

in his ‘ Icones’ (tab. 956). This latter genus is referred by Dr.

Wight to Olacacee, but it cannot belong to that family, on ac-

count of the structure of its ovary and the mode of suspension

of its ovules, in which respects there is a perfect analogy to the

structure of Villaresia.

I will shortly detail the observations I have recently made on

the peculiar structure of Bursinopetalum, and will endeavour to

indicate its real affinity.

Although, as before stated, the estivation of the petals in

Villaresia is broadly imbricative, their summits are always in-

flected and folded into each other, so that it is sometimes diffi-

cult to unravel a bud. This occurs also in Bursinopetalum and

in other genera of the family, as in the male flowers of 4ztoai-

cum, for example. The greater or less degree of inflection of

the summits of the petals is nearly universal in the [cacinacea,

and this occurs sometimes to a great extent; but as the estiva-

tion there is completely valvate, the separation of the parts in

the bud is quite easy.

Another peculiarity exists in Villaresia—the presence of hol-

low glands imbedded in the parenchyma of its leaves, each with

a pervious opening on the lower face, always situated within the

axils of the primary nerves or in the sinus of their first bifurca-

tions: this peculiarity is not confined to the typical species in

which I first observed it. Ruiz and Pavon notice the occurrence,

Mr. J. Miers on Villaresia. 109

which they attribute to the work of insects ; but this is not pro-

bable, because these porous glands present themselves regularly

in the axils, exactly in the same position, and appear as con-

stantly in the several Brazilian species as in those of Chilian

growth. Sometimes the base of the nerve, where it joins the

midrib, is expanded like a lamellar plate, forming a hollow pouch

beneath it, with the porous aperture in its mouth; generally the

hollow within the parenchyma is not much larger than the open

pore itself.

Villaresia was considered to be a genus peculiar to Chile, but

it has since been found in the Banda Oriental and in Southern

Brazil, and even within the tropics as far as 15° S. lat. These

Brazilian plants have all been considered by Reisseck as identical

with the type of Chilian growth ; but the characters here given

show them to be specifically distinct. In habit they all much

resemble those of J/ea, the leaves in some species of both genera

being often spinoso-dentate ; in others they are quite entire. It

is probable that they contain ¢heine, as in Ilex Paraguayensis

and other species of that genus; for the leaves of the Ilex Con-

gonha of Martius, which is a species of Villaresta, are used in

Brazil as tea, the Brazilian term congonha being synonymous

with the word yerba, as the tea of Paraguay is called. It may

sometimes be difficult to distinguish the plants of Villaresia from

those of I/ex; but a ready test is always to be observed in the

flower, the pistil in the former genus being furnished with a

lengthened style, while in the latter the stigma is always quite

sessile: the fruit of the one can never be confounded with that

of the other. Many of the Brazilian species have much larger

and thinner leaves, and the inflorescence is frequently terminal

in subfasciculated spikes: they bear much the appearance of

Leretia, a Brazilian genus of the Zcacinacee—a family differing

chiefly from the Aquifoliacee in the estivation of the corolla and

the mode of development of the fruit. In the before-mentioned

species of Villaresia growing at Kew, where some of its flowers

had a 2-celled ovary, with two ovules in each cell, suspended

from the summit of the dissepiment, I found that, in this case,

it had two styles.

All the species belonging to the genus form erect trees having

straight trunks, with copious frondose heads; but Prof. Reisseck

states, in his generic diagnosis (in Mart. Flor. Bras. fase. xxviil.

p- 75), that the plants are sometimes scandent. From this it may

be inferred that he alludes to the Villaresia scandens of Hasskarl ;

but that plant (from Java) cannot belong to the genus, nor even

to the same family *.

* In Retzia, i. 152; Walp. Ann. iv. 431: it differs from Villaresia in its

scandent habit, its 2-locular ovarium with only a single pendent ovule in

110 Mr. J. Miers on Villaresia.

The-following emended generic charaeters are founded on my

own observations, except those of the fruit and seed, which are

copied from the description of Jussieu.

VintaresiA, R. & P. ;—Citronella, Don ;—Flores hermaphroditi

vel rarius polygami. . Sepala 5, acuta, imo connata, zstiva-

tione imbricata, persistentia, Petala 5, libera, sepalis alterna,

oblonga, nervo mediano prominulo intus instructa, margine

tenui, undulato-crenata, zstivatione quincuncialiter imbricata,

apicibus valde introflexis et inter se complicatis. Stamina5, cum

petalis alternantia, et iis paulo breviora ; filamenta complanato-

subulata; anthere introrse, cordato-reniformes, 2-loculares,

longitudinaliter dehiscentes. Ovarium sessile, conicum, s-

pius subgibbum et 1-loculare, intus carina parietali (e loculis

abortivis in axem centralem congestis) valde prominente no-

tatum, ovulis 2 collateralibus a summo carine suspensis ; vel

rarius complete 2-loculare et ovulis 2 collateralibus in quoque

loculo ad apicem dissepimenti affixis. Stylus brevis, erassius-

culus, in ovario uniloculari unicus sublateralis ; in ovario 2-lo-

culari styli 2; stigma obliquum, obtusum. Drupa globosa,

parece carnosa, endocarpio lignoso semisepto longitudinali

superne latiore, incomplete 2-loculata, abortu monosperma,

Semen cavitati loculi conforme, hinc circa semiseptum lon-

egitudinaliter plicatum ; integumenta dupla, tenuia, interius in

rimulas albuminis immissum ; embryo intra albumen copiosum

carnosum apicem versus nidulans, parvus; radicula supera,

teres, cotyledonibus complanatis orbiculatis duplo longior.

Arbores vel arbuscule Chilenses et Brasilienses, sempervirentes ;

folia alterna vel subopposita, elliptica, integra, vel spinoso-

dentata, se@pe rigide coriacea, glaberrima, petiolata; inflores-

eentia axillaris vel terminalis, sepius spicatim racemosa; flores

albi, parvuli, citriodort.

1. Villaresia mucronata, R. & P., Flor. Per. et Chil. in. 9, tab. 231;

A.Juss. Ann. Se. Nat. xxv. 14, tab. 3. fig. 2 ; Gay, Chile, ii.12;

Reiss. in Mart. Flor. Bras. fase. xxviii. p. 75 (in parte) ;—Citro-

nella mucronata, D.Don, Edinb. Phil. Journ. xin. 243 ;—Citrus

Chilensis, Molina ;—ramulis flavidis, opacis, striatulis; foliis

each cell, and its exalbuminous seed with large fleshy cotyledons. On this

account it seems more likely to be allied to Chailletia, with which it appears

to agree in the structure of its flower and fruit. I know the plant only

from description: from its glabrous leaves, white corymbose flowers, which

are free, and not connate with the petiole, its entire petals, and simple long

glabrous style, it is perhaps near to, if not identical with, Chailletia (Di-

chapetalum) Timoriensis, DC., with which it also agrees in its geographical

position. The Chailletia dichapetalum, R. Br., from Madagasear, is scan-

(lent.

Mr. J. Miers on Villaresia. 111

ovato-oblongis, apice longe mucronatis, utrinque acutis, in-

terdum imo obtusioribus, coriaceis, margine cartilagineo in-

tegris vel rarius subsinuato-dentatis et obsolete spinosis,

supra lucidis, late viridibus, subtus pallidioribus, opacis, costa

mediana prominente ; nervis anastomosantibus venisque reti-

culatis utrinque prominulis, subtus in axillis et in dichotomiis

nervorum glandula cava immersa poro aperto donatis; petiolo

brevi, rugoso, sub lente puberulo; paniculis terminalibus,

folio multo longioribus, spicatim racemosis; rachi flavida,

tomentella, ramis 3-floris patentibus calycibusque pubes-

centibus; petalis flavido-albis, glabris, odoratissimis ; drupa

oliveeformi.—Chile, v. v., in provinetis centralibus Naranjillo

dicta, in australioribus Guilli-patagua nuncupata.

A tree growing in the central provinces of Chile, and extend-

ing as far to the southward as 35° lat.: it grows to the height

of 10-20 feet. In the Viceroy’s report to the King of Spain,

enumerating the useful trees and shrubs of Chile, the Naranjillo

of Aconcagua is said to be 50 or 60 feet high, and of sufficient

girth to furnish logs 18 inches square and 21 feet in length.

I have never seen or heard of its attaining any approach to

that size. It has an erect trunk, with a broad spreading

head and copious foliage. The wood is white and tough, with

a fine grain, and is easily worked; when sawn, it makes good

barrel-staves. The leaves are thick and rigid, of a pale, bright,

shining green, generally elliptic and acute at both extremities,

with a sharp mucronate apex, a thick yellowish cartilaginous

border, which is generally entire, rarely obsoletely spinose,

13-24 inches long, ?—1 inch broad, on a fleshy thickened petiole

2 lines long. The terminal inflorescence is a spicated raceme,

ferruginously pubescent, 3 or 4 inches long, its numerous alter-

nate branchlets, bracteated at base, being very patent, and 4-6

lines long, each bearing at its apex 3-6 almost sessile flowers ;

the sepals are suborbicular, pilose, with ciliate imbricated mar-

gins, 4 line diam.; the petais are oblong, 2 lines long, 1 line

broad, cuneate at base, internally furnished with a raised eari-

nated nervure, the margins crenated, broadly and quincuncially

imbricated in estivation, the summits of the three more internal

ones being inflected and plicated together; the stamens are

about two-thirds the length of the petals; the ovary and short

style are the length of the stamens, and glabrous. The fruit,

which I have not seen, is said to be 6-8 lines long and 4-5 lines

in diameter*,

Var. leta;—foliis late ovatis vel obovatis, e basi 3—5-nerviis

* A figure of this plant, with analytical details, will be given in the

‘Contributions,’ vol. ii. Plate 67 a.

112 Mr. J. Miers on Villaresia.

hine obtusis, rotundatis aut subcordatis, apice breviter et

acute mucronatis, margine cartilagineo spins obsolete den-

tato-spinosis, rigidulis, supra nitentibus et pallide viridibus,

subtus opacis et flavescentibus, costa mediana superne paulo,

subtus valde prominente, hine in axillis nervorum poroso-

glandulosis; petiolo brevi, lato, superne profunde canaliculato,

in junioribus puberulo; racemis terminalibus, seepe duplis,

folio brevioribus, floribus dense agglomeratis, ramis_brevis-

simis, puberulis, imo bracteatis, apice 2-floris; floribus sessili-

bus, ebracteatis.—v. v. ad Limache; v. s. in herb. Mus. Par.,

Rancagua, in herb. Hook., Valparaiso (Cuming, 556), Colcha-

gua (Bridges).—An species distincta ?

This variety is very distinct, in its constantly broader, larger,

and more rounded leaves, the margin being often obsoletely

spinose ; the inflorescence is much shorter, and the flowers are

more aggregated; the leaves are 2-24 inches long, 14-13 inch

broad, on a petiole 1-2 lines long; the inflorescence is usually

2 inch, seldom 2 inches long; the alternate branchlets, being

less than a line in Jength, bear one or two flowers*.

2. Villaresia pungens, n. sp.;—ramulis teretibus, pallide glaucis,

subpuberulis; foliis glaberrimis, obovatis, basi rotundis et

subcordatis, apice acutis et aciculato-mucronatis, margine

eartilagineo undulato-crispatis et crebre aciculato-spinosis,

supra nitentibus leete viridibus, subtus pallidioribus, utrinque

reticulatis, subtus nervis arcuatis costaque prominentibus,

elandulis porosis nullis, aut raris in axillis nervorum ; petiolo

brevissimo, supra complanato, subtus convexo, et transversim

ruguloso.—Concepcion, v..s. in herb. Hook. et Mus. Brit.

(Cuming), sine flore.

This plant differs from the typical species in its larger leaves,

which are nearly sessile, very broad and subcordate at base, less

coriaceous, very shining, the margin being very crispately undu-

lated, and armed at the distance of 1 or 2 lines with very sharp

patent spines 1 line long; the poriferous glands are generally

wanting, or, if present, are much smaller, and seldom in the

axils of the nervures. The leaves are 24-34 inches long, 14-24

broad, on a petiole ] line long and 1 line broadt.

3. Villaresia Congonha, nob. ;—Villaresia mucronata, Reiss. (non

R.& P.) in Mart. Flor. Bras. fase. xxviii. p.75, tab. 22 et tab. 14.

fig. 18 ;—Ilex Gongonha, Mart. Reiss. (edit. Angl. 11. 100) ;

Lambert. Pin. ii. Append. tab. 6; G. Don. Dict. 11.18 ;—Cas-

* This variety, with analytical details, will be represented in the ‘ Con-

tributions,’ vol. ii. Plate 67 B.

+ A representation of this plant will be given in the same work, PI. 68,

Mr. J. Miers on Villaresia. 118

sine Congonha, Mart. Isis. 1824, p. 589; St. Hil. in Guillem.

Arch. Bot. i.31; Spreng. Syst. i. 939 ;—Myginda Congonha,

DC. Prodr. ii. 18; G. Don, Dict. ii. 16 ;—ramulis foliis ob-

longo-ovatis, imo acutis, apice obtusioribus et valde mucro-

natis, margine crassiusculo cartilagineo reflexo, rarius integro,

sepissime breviter et remote sinuato-spinosis, coriaceis, utrin-

que subopacis, pallide viridibus, concoloribus, supra reticu-

latis, subtus costa, nervis tenuibus venisque paulo prominulis,

et hinc vesicula immersa poro aperta in axillis omnibus ner-

vorum donatis, petiolo subbrevi, canaliculato ; racemis axil-

laribus et terminalibus, subspicatis, bracteatis, flavido-pilosis ;

ramis brevissimis, 8-floris, floribus parviusculis, sessilibus,

bracteolatis, ramis basalibus iterum ramosis; sepalis parvis,

rotundato-acutis, ciliatis; petalis oblongo-linearibus, sub-

spathulatis, suberectis, cucullatis ; staminibus brevissimis, ses

palis vix longioribus; ovario glabro, ventre 2-sulcato.—Bra-

silia, in prov. australioribus et centralibus, v. s. in herb. Hook. ;

Rio Grande et Entre Rios (Tweedie).

This plant is considered by Dr. Reisseck to be identical with

the typical species, of Chilian growth: it certainly resembles it

in general appearance, but has several distinctly characteristic

features. The leaves are differently shaped, and not so shining

above ; the racemes are usually axillary, and much shorter; the

flowers only half the size; the petals are more linear, and the

stamens proportionally shorter. In Tweedie’s specimens, the

leaves are 1? inch long, 1 inch broad, on a petiole 14 line long ;

in the drawing given in Lambert’s work, of a plant from the pro-

vince of Minas Geraés, which I have not seen, and which is pro-

bably a distinct species, the leaves are 4—44 inches long, 24 inches

broad, on a petiole 3-4 lines long. In both, the racemes do not

exceed a length of 9 lines, and are often shorter; their lateral

branchlets are 1-2 lines long, bearing on their summits a cluster

of three to six extremely small sessile flowers; the sepals are +

the length of the petals, and are seated on a 5-lobed hispid torus:

the petals are little more than 3 line long, and } line in breadth;

they are erect (not expanded as in V. mucronata) ; in estivation

their summits are more deeply inflected: the stamens are ¢ the

length of the petals; the ovary and style ? of their length. The

ovary is glabrous, gibbous on the dorsal side, 2-sulcate on the

ventral face, the style being somewhat excentrical, and with a

clavate stigma*,

4. Villaresia cuspidata, n.sp.;—Villaresia mucronata, Reiss. in

parte (non R. & P.) ;—yramulis angularibus, flavido-opacis,

* This species will be also shown in the same work, Plate 69,

Ann, § Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 3. Vol. ix, 8

114 My. J: Miers on Villaresia.

. + foliis ovatis vel ellipticis, utrinque acutis, apicé mucrone longo

valido cuspidatis aut retusis, crasso-coriaceis, margine cartila-

gineo integro crasso reflexo, supra nitidis, pallidiusculis, reti-

culato-venosis, nervis immersis leviter sulcatis, subtus valde

_ -flavido-opacis, minute nigro-punctulatis, costa, nervis arcuatis

. venisque prominentibus, rarius in axillis nervorum glandula

porifera donatis, longe petiolatis; petiolo flavido-opaco, sub-

ruguloso, superne profunde canaliculato ; racemis axillaribus

et terminalibus 3-4, fasciculatis, folio tertia parte brevioribus,

subspicatis ; brachiis patentibus, imo bracteatis, summo flores

3 sessiles bracteolatos gerentibus ; rachi brachiisque flavido

puberulis.—Prov. Minas Geraés, v. s. in herb. meo; Salgado,

ad Rio San Francisco.

This species differs from the preceding in having still thicker

leaves, which are quite entire, nigro-punctulate beneath, and

rarely with poriferous glands in the axils of the nerves; the pe-

tiole is three or four times the length of that of the former. The

leaves are 2-23 inches long, 11-2: + inches broad, on a petiole 5

or 6 lines in length. The racemes are 9-12 lines long, the lateral

branchlets 1 lime long. The flowers are much smaller than in

V. mucronata, being about 14 line in diameter when expanded ;

the minute sepals are nearly glabrous, membranous, with ciliate

margins, concave, suborbicular, acute at the apex, and imbri-

cated ; they are adnate upon an externally pilose deeply 5-lobed

fleshy torus: the petals are elliptic, with an internal carimated

nervure, three times longer than the sepals; the stamens are

two-thirds the length of the petals, and as long as the ovary and

aie which-are quite glabrous*.

5. Villaresia megaphylla, n. sp.;—ramis angulatis, striatis, opacis ;

foliis majusculis, oblongis, imo acutis, summum versus breviter

attenuatis, acumine calloso, integerrimis, margine undulato,

submembranaceis, glaberrimis, nervo marginali tenuissimo

revoluto nitido, supra pallide viridibus, opacis ; costa mediana

immersa, hine sulcata, inferne prominente et striata; nervis

tenuissimis venisque haud reticulatis utrinque vix prominulis

et eglandulosis, impunctatis; petiolo longiusculo, subtenui,

semitereti, supra canaliculato, imo articulato ; paniculis axil-

lartbus et terminalibus, paulo supra basin brachia 5-8 arete

approximata et fere fasciculata emittentibus, divaricatis, folio

dimidio vel triente brevioribus, spicatim racemosis; ramis

remotiusculis, brevibus, patentibus, imo bracteatis, apice flores

parvos, 3-5 sessiles bracteolatos gerentibus; sepalis parvis

bracteolisque puberulis ; petalis oblongis, glabris, et stamini-

* A drawing of this plant will be given in the ‘ Contributions,’ vol. ii,

Plate “70.

Mr. J. Miers on Villaresia. 115

bus eequilongis; ovario dense albido-piloso, uniloculari; stylo

subexcentrico, breviusculo, glabro.—Proy. Rio de Janeiro, v, v.

circa Freichal, ad pedem montium Organensium.

This and the following species are very dissimilar in appear-

ance to any of the preceding, bearing somewhat a resemblance

to the genus Leretia; but their floral structure is quite in accord-

ance with Villaresia, and some have the same porous glands in

the axils of the nervures that characterize the genus. The leaves

are 74 inches long, 3 inches broad, on a petiole 10 lines long:

the radiating divisions of the inflorescence, in my specimen,

are 2 inches long; but as they are in a young state, they pro-

bably would be double that length when fully matured; the

lateral branchlets are 1 line long, quite patent, and bear three or

five sessile flowers at their apex: the flower expanded is 23 lines

in diameter; the sepals are obovate, somewhat acute, imbricate,

and pilose; the petals are lanccolate-oblong, nearly three times

as long as the sepals, with a prominent internal keel; they are

inbricated in eestivation, with their apices inflected : the stamens

are three-fourths the length of the petals, and longer than the

pistil: the ovary is obovate and pilose, 1-celled, with two sus-

pended ovules*.

Var. acuminata ;—foliis longius acuminatis, panicule brachiis

folio fere xequilongis, ramis remotioribus et paulo longioribus,

floribus majoribus, ovario interdum 2-loculari cum stylis 2.

—v. v. in hort. bot. Kew. cult.

The differences above mentioned may only be the result of

culture; but I think the plant must be referred to the species

above described, which I found at Freichal. The leaves in this

cultivated variety are 64-74 inches long, 23-3 inches broad, on

a petiole of 5 or 6 lines; the radiating branches of the inflores-

cence are 2-6 inches long, the main stems nearly glabrous; the

lateral branchlets alternate, 1-4 inch apart, and quite patent, are

2-3 lines long, and pubescent: the flowers expanded are 3 lines

in diameter.

6. Villaresia virescens, n. sp.;—glaberrima, ramulis teretibus;

vix striatulis; foliis ellipticis vel oblongis, utrinque acutis,

apice acuminatis, integerrimis, submembranaceis, margine

cartilagineo nitido reflexo, obscure viridibus, opacis, subtus

pallidioribus; nervis tenuibus venisque vix prominulis, eglan-

dulosis et epunctatis, breviter petiolatis: paniculis racemoso-

spicatis, simplicibus, axillaribus et terminalibus, breviusculis ;

floribus sessilibus in apice ramorum brevissimorum glome-

* This species, with analytical details, will be seen in the same work,

Plate 71.

116 Mr. J. Miers on Villaresia.

rulatis ; sepalis pilosis; petalis glabris, intus carinatis ; ovario

glabro; stylo brevi, subexcentrico; stigmate clavato, sub-

bilobo.—Prov. Rio de Janeiro; v. s. in herb. meo, Iguassa, ad

pedem montis Serra de Tingoa.

A species analogous to the last mentioned, with smaller leaves,

acute at both extremities, with much shorter petioles. The

leaves are 44-5 inches long, 13-2 inches broad, on a petiole

8 lines in length. The inflorescence consists of a short simple

panicle, in which the lateral branches are so short and approxi-

mated that the whole bears the appearance of a spike of agglo-

merated flowers: the sessile flowers are nearly 2 lines in dia-

meter; the sepals are oblong, membranaceous, obtuse, and

slightly pubescent ; the petals are 1 line in length and three

times as long as the sepals, they are smooth, carinate within ;

the stamens are nearly equal to them in length, and as long as

the pistil; the ovary is almost glabrous.

7. Villaresia ramiflora, un. sp. ;—glaberrima, dichotome ramosa,

ramulis striato-angulatis ; foliis lanceolato-oblongis, vel ellip-

ticis, imo cuneatis, apice longiuscule sensim acuminatis, acu-

_ mine obtusiusculo calloso, integerrimis, margine cartilagineo

rubello nitido revoluto, supra viridibus subopacis, costa ner-

visque immersis sulcatis, subtus ferrugineo-pallidis; costa

striata, nervis tenuibus venisque subprominulis, cavitate porosa

versus axillas nervorum, aliisque minutis vagis; petiolo sub-

tenui profunde canaliculato: panicula ramosa, terminali, pe-

tiolo 3-plo longiore ; floribus parvulis, sessilibus in ramis sub-

elomerulato-spicatis ; sepalis villosis; petalis ovatis, paulo

acutis, intus carinatis, sepalis 2-plo longioribus; staminibus,

sepalis pistilloque zquilongis ; ovario glabro, vel pilis paucis

in sulco ventrali munito; stylo brevi; stigmate clavato.—In

montibus Organensibus prov. Rio de Janeiro, v. v.

This species is near V. megaphylla, but has many distinct fea-

tures. Its leaves are 4-5 inches long, 1?-2 inches broad, on

a petiole 4-5 lines long. The panicle is little more than an inch

long; it has several alternate branches, 4-6 lines long, the

lateral branchlets being extremely short or almost obsolete, each

bearing three sessile flowers in its apex, which make the branches

appear glomerate-spicate; the flowers expanded are smaller than

any of the preceding.

8. Villaresia paniculata, nob.;—Leonia paniculata, Mart. hd.

~ Bras. No. 420; DC. Prodr. vi. 669 (in adnot.) ;—Leretia

paniculata, Mart. Flor. Bras. fase. xvi. p. 17 in not. ;—foliis

oblongis, basi attenuatis, apice obtusis vel acutis, coriaccis;

nervis tertiarlis vix distinctis; paniculis terminalibus, con-

Mr. H. W. Bates on the Coleoptera of the Amazon Valley. 117

tractis, folio brevioribus ; drupa oblonga, 1-sperma.—lIn syl-

vis prov. Rio de Janeiro.

I have not seen this plant, which evidently is very closely

allied to, if not identical with, one of the three last-named spe-

cies. The size of the leaves is not given by DeCandolle, nor the

characters of the flower; but its fruit and seed are completely

those of V. mucronata. The calyx is said to be 5-partite, with

puberulous ovate sepals; the drupe oblong and 1-sceded, the

sced being plicated round the prominent longitudinal indurated

placenta, which is enlarged by other two abortive cells, and

projects far into the cavity of the fertile cell, the seed being

suspended from its summit. The specimen, being fructiferous,

appears to have had no flowers, as Prof. DeCandolle says of it,

“flore ignoto.”

XIV.—Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley.

Cotvorrera : Lonercornes. By H.W. Barss, Esq.

[Continued from vol. viii. p. 478. ]

Genus AUTHOMERUS.

Thomson, Class. des Céramb. p. 338.

Syn. Macronemus, Dej. Cat.; White, Cat.

Char. emend. Body subcylindrical. Muzzle moderately

broad, quadrate; front plane; antenniferous tubercles short,

prominent, widely separated at their bases. Antenne naked,

excessively elongated, in some species being five or six times the

length of the body, capilliform ; the joints slightly increasing in

length to the apex, the eleventh joint generally the longest ; the

basal joint short, very slender at the base, abruptly enlarged into

an ovate club. Palpi normal. Prothorax unituberculated on

the sides. Elytra rounded at the tip. Femora clavate ; tarsal

joints short. Prosternum greatly constricted between the large

anterior coxee.

The sexes are not distinguishable, as in Longicornes gene-

rally, by the relative length of the terminal antennal joint in

most of the species; there is a sexual character, however, in the

apical ventral segment, the ¢ having in that part a deeply im-

pressed fovea. The genus was established on certain curious

species which agreed in having greatly elongated and hair-like

antennz, and strongly bowed fore tibie. I have extended the

definition so as to embrace the Alphus Lacordairet of Dejean’s

catalogue—an insect which differs from all other A/phi, including

A. tuberosus of Germar, to which it has otherwise some resems

blance, in the curiously abrupt dilatation of the first antennal.

118 . Mr. H.W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera . . ~

joint—a feature characteristic of the genus Hthomerus. 4. La-

cordairet differs from the other species in having straight fore

tibize, and in having rather less elongated antennz, whose arti-

culations are much shorter in the ? than in thed.

The species are nocturnal in their habits. They are of rare

occurrence, and are found in the daytime crouched on leaves,—

Ai. Lacordairei, however, being seen only closely adhermg to

decayed boughs. In those species which have strongly bowed

fore tibize, the anterior femora are greatly enlarged and furnished

on the inner side with a sharp ridge, which fits a corresponding

groove along the tibie. In the crouching position, the fore legs

are closely folded, the almost invisible antennz laid backwards,

and the whole insect assumes a rigid aspect, well calculated to

deceive its enemies. 4. Lacordairei, on the other hand, possesses

passive means of defence of quite a different character: its co-

lours and markings give it a deceptive resemblance to a dead

pupa covered with a fungous growth, such as is often seen ad-

hering to trees in damp climates. The deception is perfect, the

insect having on each side of its body a large spot coloured and

reticulated like a wing seen through the integument of a pupa.

Thus we see here another instance of the widely different means

Nature employs, within the same genus, to maintain the exist-

ence of her specific forms. very species exists by virtue of

some endowment which enables it to triumph over the infinite

diversity of adverse circumstances that surround it at all stages

of its life. This concerns us here, inasmuch as the general

principle has an important bearing upon the systematic arrange-

ment of species, a knowledge of the fact that structures are

adapted to the ends just mentioned being necessary to avoid

errors in estimating their affinities. Longicornes are greatly

subject to these adaptations, those parts of structure being mo-

dified, from species to species, on which we depend for the esta-

blishment of genera, thus rendering, in this family, real generic

definitions almost impossible.

1. Aithomerus antennator, Fabricius.

Lamia antennator, Fab. Syst. Eleuth. ii. p. 288. 36.

4B. clongatus, tenuiter tomentosus, niger vel brunneus, variegatus :

_ elytris ineequalibus, lineis tenuibus argenteo-albis inscriptis, basi

elevatis, apud medium subnudis nitidulis. Mas segmento ultimo

ventrali simplici: foemina eodem fovea magna impresso. Long.

_ 34-42 lin. SQ.

Head dark brown. Antenne pitchy brown, the apices of the

joints paler. Thorax with two dorsal tubercles in a transverse

line with the lateral ones, all ur of equal size; the surface

punctured ; dark brown or blackish, varied with lighter brown.

of the Amazon Valleys. - 119

Elytra with short but strongly elevated and crested centro-basal

ridges, the space between the two being also elevated and clothed

with a silky fulvous-brown pile; the sides in the middle have

each a very large depression: the surface of the elytra is punc-

tate-granulate in rows, one of which runs straight along the disk

on each side, continuous with the centro-basal ridge ; others are

diverted out of their course by the lateral excavations, within

which the surface is extremely irregular; the disk near the

suture is irregularly punctured ; towards the apex are some cle-

vated lines; the disk is naked and shining: the colour is gene-

rally nearly black, in some specimens silky brown of various

shades ; there are also numerous very slender silvery-white lines,

two of which, more conspicuous, oblique on the disk, form an

inverted V. Body beneath and legs dark brown, covered with a

slight pile, and varied with paler shades. Anterior femora

dilated ; tibize curved and grooved on the inner side. Antenne

capilliform. In the male the apical ventral segment is simple ;

in the female it has a large deep transverse fovea near the apex.

This species I met with at Para, at Obydos in Brazilian Guiana,

and at Santarem ; it is found also at Cayenne. I have received

it from M. Depuiset, of Paris, as M. ruficornis, var. I think

there can be no doubt it is the Lamia antennator of Fabricius ;

his description (somewhat better than the Fabrician descriptions

usually are) seems to suit our insect sufficiently well. 1 have

thought it better to give a more detailed description, for the

sake of fixing the Fabrician name with more precision. The

white lines are faint or wanting in some examples.

2. Aithomerus rufescens, n. sp.

4i. elongatus, tomentosus, brunneo-ferrugineus : elytris inzequalibus,

basi elevatis, omnino brunneo-tomentosis: antennis pedibusque

ferrugineis. Mas segmento ultimo ventrali apice fortiter bisinuato ;

foemina latet. Long. 4 lin. 3.

Head rufous brown. Thorax tuberculated asin . antennator,

clothed with rusty-brown pile, faintly punctured. LElytra with

short but strongly elevated and crested centro-basal ridges, the

space between them being slightly elevated; the sides in the

middle have each a very large depression; the surface of the

elytra along the discal portion is impunctate, being clothed with

pile, and there is no line of granulations in continuation of the

centro-basal ridge: the strongly flexuous line along the disk is

present, the lateral ones are broken and confused within the ex-

cavation, as in 42. antennator ; the whole surface is rusty tomen-

tose and opake ; there are indications of white lines in the same

position as in the preceding Species. Body beneath, legs, and

antenne ferruginous red. The apical ventral segment in the

120 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

male is strongly bisinuated at the tip. Anterior femora dilated ;

tibize curved and grooved within. Antenne capilliform.

Taken at Santarem. The distinctness of this species from the

foregoing depends more upon the structure of the ventral apical

segment than on the general colour and clothing, which seem to

be variable in these species.

3. Aithomerus Lacordairei, n. sp.

i. subcylindricus, cano-tomentosus, fronte, vertice et thoracis vitta

dorsali violaceo-brunneis: elytris utrinque apud humeros macula

magna lineata alam mentiente instructis, in medio prope basin

fuscis, apices versus canis tuberosis. Long. 63 lin. g @.

Head rather broader, and front more plane, than in the preced-

ing species; epistome and cheeks hoary white, rest of the head

dark brown ; antennz yellowish, partially clothed with fine hoary-

white pile. Thorax somewhat rugose transversely; lateral tuber-

cles acute, dorsal ones only slightly raised, hoary white, a broad

stripe of a violet-brown colour down the centre. Elytra with the

centro-basal ridges short, obtuse, punctate-granulate, chiefly in

rows, but more confused in the middle towards the base; on

each side near the shoulders is a large yellowish spot traversed

by the rows of granulations, which are of a darker colour and

varied by discoloured punctures in the interstices, the whole

producing an imitation of a wing; the basal space between the

two spots is blackish; the apical half of the elytra is hoary-

white, tomentose, varied with dusky, and having white tubercles

in rows continuous with the granulate punctures of the basal

part. Body beneath and legs yellowish testaceous, clothed un-

evenly with hoary-white tomentum. Fore femora and tibie

simple. The antenne in the male are about three times, in the

female about twice, the length of the body.

Taken at various places on the Lower and Upper Amazons,

closely clinging to dead boughs. As I have before stated, this

species is the Alphus Lacordairet of Dejean’s Catalogue, accord-

ing to French collections.

Genus Myoxinvs (Dej. Cat.?), nov. gen.

Head narrow across the vertex, the antenniferous tubercles

being very prominent and directed upwards. Antenne simple,

the basal joint pyriform-elavate, though somewhat slender,

shorter than the third. Palpi with their terminal joints slender

and pointed, as in Lamiaires generally. Thorax with the sides

furnished with a short simple spine, without conical tubercle ;

the disk having three smal] acute tubercles. Hlytra with short,

strongly raised and abrupt, crested ccntro-basal ridges; their

tips rounded. Mesosternum narrowed behind, but broader than

of the Amazon Valley. 121

long, its front oblique and bituberculated. Prosternum simply

rounded.

The narrowness of the head across the vertex, and the con-

sequent approximation of the antenniferous tubercles, which at

the same time are very prominent, amply distinguish this genus

from Acanthoderes, as well as from the following, Alphus. It

has, in common with Alphus, the comparative slenderness of the

basal joint of the antennee ; but this is more pyriform and shorter

in comparison with the third in Myoainus than in Alphus.

The form of the thorax and the crested ridges of the elytra con-

tribute to give the species a peculiar facies. The name was first

given, in Dejean’s Catalogue, to an undescribed species; the

genus has never been characterized; the species to which the

generic name was applied I have seen in collections, and it

appears different from the one I took; both belong, however,

decidedly to the same genus. M. Thomson (Classif. des Céram-

bycides, p. 337) unites the genus to Alphus. It is more nearly

allied to Alphus than to any other genus; but I think the

characters given above will show that it should be separated

from it.

Myoxinus pictus, Erichson.

Acanthoderes pictus, Erichs. Conspect. Ins. Peruan. p. 144.

I took this species at Kga and St. Paulo. It is sluggish in its

motions, and is found on dead branches of trees, to the bark of

which the insect is assimilated in colours. I have nothing to

add to the excellent description given by Erichson in the place

quoted.

Genus ALpuvus, Thomson.

Thomson, Classif. des Cérambye. p. 10.

M. Thomson notices the shape of the basal joint of the an-

tenne, but, I think, not with sufficient detail to show the differ-

ence in that respect between this genus and its allies. In Alphus

this jot is very gradually thickened, and is nearly equal in size

to the third; therefore it is not pyriform in shape, as is the rule

in the Acanthoderite. The genus differs from Myozxinus in the

greater breadth of the head across the crown; the head, however,

is much narrower than it is in Acanthoderes and the allied genera;

the muzzle also is much more obtuse. The genus, in fact, forms

a connecting link between the Acanthoderite and the Acantho-

cinitee, the chief character of the latter group being the great

length of the basal joint of the antenne, which exceeds that of

the third. The other characters of Alphus which require men-

tion are the sockets of the fore haunches, which in most of the

species are angulated exteriorly ; the fore tarsi, which are not

dilated in the male; and the mesosternum, which is much nar-

122 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

rowed behind, asin Myowinus. As the genus is very imperfectly

known at present, I add a list of all the described species, in-

eluding those introduced in the present memoir.

1, A. leuconotus, Thoms. Classif. p. 10, = sellatus, De. Cat. sec.

Chevrolat. South Brazil.

2. A. pubicornis, Serville. South Brazil.

Oreodera pubicornis, Serv. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. iv. p. 21.

; Aigomorphus pubicornis, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus.

3. A. centrolineatus, n.sp. Amazons and Venezuela.

4. A. senilis,n. sp. Amazons.

5. A. scutellaris, n. sp. Amazons.

6. A. canescens (Dej. Cat.?), n. sp.* South Brazil.

7. A. tuberosus, Germar.

Lamia tuberosa, Germ. Ins. Sp. nov. p. 477.

8. A. subsellatus, White.

Alphus subsellatus, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. p. 375.

The Atdilis griseofasciata of Serville, included by White in

this genus, does not belong to it. Its proper position, as shown

by the length of the basal joint of the antenne and other cha-

racters, 1s amongst the Acanthocinite.

1. Alphus centrolineatus, n. sp.

A. oblongus, modice convexus, fusco-ferrugineus, tomentosus, pilis

- cervinis passim vestitus: thorace fusco bilineato : elytris punctatig,

punctis setiferis, apice oblique truncatis, apud medium linea abbre-

viata, sutufali, communi, fusca ornatis. Long. 5 lin. dQ.

Head moderately broad, tomentose. Antenne in both sexes

half as long again as the body, dull ferruginous, spotted with

hoary tomentum, pubescent, more densely so beneath than above ;

the terminal joimts more slender and less hairy than the pre-

ceding. Thorax with large lateral tubercles, and two impunctate

obtuse dorsal ones, the interstices coarsely punctured: on each

side of the upper surface is a longitudinal dark brown line.

Elytra punctured throughout ; the punctures closer and granu-

lated towards the base, each furnished with a short blackish

* Alphus canescens, n. sp.— Oblongus, antice leviter attenuatus, tomento

cinereo-olivascente vestitus. Caput parvum, fronte inter antennas

concava. Antenne corpore duplo longiores, infra dense ciliate,

canescentes, articulorum apicibus nigris. Thorax grosse punctatus,

supra breviter tricarinatus. Elytra grosse irregulariter punctata,

olivascentia, apud medium canescentia, apicibus breviter truncatis,

carinis centro-basalibus parum elevatis postice prolongatis. Subtus

niger, pilis cinereis vestitus. Pedes cinereo-pubescentes. Long. 7 lin.

Rio Janeiro.

of the Amazon Valley. ©... . 123

bristle: the centro-basal ridges are scarcely indicated: the sur-

face is dull ferruginous, tomentose, with a few streaks of hoary

colour; in the middle of the suture is a short, abruptly limited,

dark-brown line. Body beneath black, thinly clothed with

hoary pile. Legs ferruginous, clothed with similar pile and

also with long pale hairs.

The elytra in the male taper towards the apex, which is

obliquely truncated, the outer angle being slightly produced ;

in the female, the elytra are of equal breadth, and are obtusely

rounded towards the tips, which are simply truncated obliquely.

This species, which is nearly allied to A. pubicornis, Serv.,

of Rio Janeiro, I found at Obydos, in Brazilian Guiana, on de-

cayed branches. I have a specimen, ?, also from Venezuela.

2. Alphus senilis, n. sp.

A, oblongus, tomento cano-olivascente vestitus: thorace punctato,

tuberibus lateralibus productis, dorsalibus tribus acutis: elytris

granulato-punctatis, fasciculis pilorum ornatis, apice eg oa

rotundatis, regione scutellari fusca. Long. 8 lin.

Head punctate, tomentose, slightly depressed between the an-

tenn. Antenne half as long again as the body, ashy ; the tips

of the joints blackish. Thorax with very acute prolonged lateral

tubercles, and three acute and prominent dorsal ones arranged in

a triangle; the surface closely punctured. Elytra oblong, mode-

rately convex, rounded at the tips; the centro-basal ridges pro-

minent, crested with tubercles, the scutellar space between them

very thickly impressed with large, regular, oblong punctures ;

this space is of a dusky or brown colour ; the rest of the surface

is olive-ashy, coarsely granulate-punctate; each elytron has

three indistinct incomplete longitudinal ribs, and along each of

these is an interrupted row of small fascicles of hair. Body

beneath and legs clothed with hoary tomentum.

On dead branches, Obydos and Para.

3. Alphus scutellaris, n. sp.

A. oblongus, tomentosus, cinereus, thorace brunneo, spatio triangu-

Jari apud scutellum violaceo-brunneo : thorace punctato, tuberibus

lateralibus productis acutis, dorsalibus tribus obtusis : elytris gra-

nulato-punctatis, fasciculis parvis pilorum ornatis, apice singulatim

rotundatis. Long. 43 lin.

Head punctured, tomentose. Antenne half as long again as

the body, ashy; tips of the joints blackish. Thorax with very

acute-pointed lateral tubercles, two obtuse dorsal ones, and a third

behind, smaller, also obtuses the surface coarsely punctured,

pubescent and brown in colour. Elytra with moderately raised

crested centro-basal midges, the scutellar space between them

124 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

densely and regularly punctured, violet-brown in colour; the

rest of the surface is ashy-white, sparingly punctured; each

elytron has two or three incomplete raised lines, along each of

which is a row of very small linear pencils of dark-coloured hair.

Body beneath and legs black, clothed with ashy pile.

This species I found at Caripi, near Para. It is closely allied

to the preceding, and is probably a variety of it; but its much

smaller size, different coloration and punctation, give it so di-

stinct a character that, in the absence of connecting links, I am

obliged to treat it as a separate species.

The present genus terminates the succession of generic forms

which lead from the Acanthoderes type to that of Acanthocinus

and Letopus. I shall now return to a series of forms which ap-

pear to have branched off from Acanthoderes, especially from

those species resembling Pteridotelus in general structure.

[To be continued. ]

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

Museum. By Dr. Abert GUNTHER.

[Concluded from p. 59.]

Narrix.

Physiognomy entirely that of Tropidonotus. Body stout, cy-

lindrical ; belly rounded; tail rather long. Temple shields of

moderate size. Scales smooth, in 19 rows, without apical groove;

anal entire, subcaudals two-rowed. ‘Teeth of equal length, not

grooved, of moderate length.

Natriz levissima. P). IX. fig. 4.

We have employed for this new genus an old name well

adapted for the snakes of the family of Natricide, but entirely

abandoned by later herpetologists, and superseded by that of

Tropidonotus. ‘The present species has so completely the phy-

siognomy of Tropidonotus, that we may be justified in giving a

very short description. The anterior frontals are small, triangular,

somewhat pointed anteriorly; two nasals, nostril between; a

large loreal ; one anterior and two posterior oculars ; six rhombic

temporals, the anterior in contact with the lower ocular only ;

eight upper labials, the eye over the fourth, the fifth slightly

entering the orbit. Scales quite smooth, rhombic, in 19 rows.

Ventrals 175; anal 1; subcaudals 76. Upper and lateral parts

uniform blackish ash ; ground-colour of the abdomen yellowish ;

a blackish band commences at the throat, and, gradually be-

coming broader and more irregular, covers nearly entirely the

in the Collection of the British Museum. 125

ventral and subcaudal plates, leaving only their narrow outer

edges yellowish. Length of the head 1 inch, of the trunk 24,

of the tail 9.

This snake is probably from the East Indies.

Spilotes Salvini. Pl. IX. fig. 5.°

Scales in 19 rows, slightly keeled ; one anterior and two pos-

terior oculars; eight upper labials, the fourth and fifth of which

enter the orbit, the sixth very small, triangular, not quite so

large as the fourth, the seventh the largest; one anterior and

two posterior temporals, the anterior not much larger than, and

in contact with, the oculars; the lower posterior temporal is in

contact with the seventh and eighth labials, but not with the

front temporal.

Head rather thick ; neck and tail slender ; body compressed.

Rostral rounded, rather small; anterior frontals half as large

as the posterior; vertical five-sided, with the posterior angle

slightly obtuse, not twice as long as broad; occipitals obtusely

rounded behind, as long as the vertical; the anterior ocular

just reaching to the corner of the vertical; loreal square.

Scales on the anterior part of the body much imbricate, in very

oblique rows, those of the vertebral line of the anterior part of

the body larger than the rest ; each scale with two grooves at the

apex. Ventral plates 215; anal entire; subcaudals 130. All

the maxillary teeth of equal length. Ground-colour yellow, with

broad black cross-bands, which are more regular and distinct

from the ground-colour on the posterior half of the body than

on the anterior, where they are more confluent, and many scales

within the bands remain entirely or partly yellow. Lach scale

of the yellow interspaces has a black tip. ach shield of the

head with black margins; occipitals black, with some symme-

trical small yellow spots ; suture of the eighth and seventh upper

labials black. Lower parts yellow, many of the plates with

black margins.

This species was discovered by O. Salvin, Esq., at Ezabal

(Guatemala).

Zamems gracilis.

Habit slender. Yellowish-olive, with a single series of large

brown round spots edged with black, along the anterior half of

the body; the spots become indistinct posteriorly, and only

the black edges continue to form cross-bars on the back, being

merely spots on the tail; head with two brown black-edged

cross-bands, the anterior between the eyes, the posterior on the

crown of the head, forming an acute angle on the vertical ; the

brown spot on the neck is produced forward within the limbs of

the band across the crown ; an irregular series of black spots on

126 Dr, A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

each side of the belly, which is uniform yellow. “Scales smooth;

in 21 series. Upper labials 9, the fifth and sixth coming into

the orbit; two anterior and two posterior oculars ; occipitals

rounded posteriorly, without larger scale behind.

Head rather narrow ; body and tail elongate, Rostral shield

moderate; the upper anterior ocular is in contact with the

vertical; the lower is small, apparently a separate portion of the

fourth upper labial; the sixth labial forms the lower third of the

posterior margin of the orbit. Temporal shields small, scale-like,

in four transverse series; the front series is composed of two

shields which are in contact with the oculars. The posterior

pair of chin-shields are separated from each other by imter-

mediate scales, ‘Two very indistinct grooves at the apex of the

scales (invisible in numerous scales). Ventral shields 219; anal

bifid ; subecaudals 120. Length of head 7 lines, of trunk 17

inches, of tail 8 inches.

I have mentioned this species as var. B. of Zamenis ventri-

maculatus (Colubr. Sn. p. 106), expressing my doubts as to its

being distinct from it. Having found other specimens in the

museum at Fort Pitt, said to have come from Western India

(Kurrachee), I can no longer hesitate in considering them as

a separate species. There are five specimens in the British

Museum.

Psammophis teniata.

Allied to Ps. stbilans, but having only one anterior temporal

in contact with the oculars. Anterior ocular not reaching to

the vertical. Yellowish olive, with four green longitudinal

bands edged with black ; labial shields without any markings.

Specimens of this snake have been known to me for several

years ; but I hesitated to consider it as a distinct species until

lately, when I had an opportunity of examining several others

in the Fort Pitt Museum: they quite agree with those in the

British Museum, and also come from India, very probably from

the western parts.

Phragmitophis tricolor.

Herpetodryas tricolor, Schleg. = Cyclophis tricolor, Gthr., is

differs so much in its physiognomy from the other species of

either of the genera to which it has been referred, that it will

be better to establish for it a separate genus, for which I pro-

pose the name of Phragmitophis. The technical character by

which it may be distinguished from Cyclophis is—loreal none,

united with the posterior frontal.

Cyclophis, Phragmitophis, Dryocalamus, and Hydrophobus form

a separate group in the family of Dryadide, which approaches

the Calamaridz and Coronellide, either by having some shields

in the Collection of the British Museum. 127

of the head united, or by the body being: moderately elongate,

surrounded by not numerous series of scales. The last of the

genera mentioned appears to be undescribed.

Hypropuosvs.

Head slightly depressed, broader than the neck; body and

tail moderately slender, compressed, the ventral shields being

angularly bent on the sides; loreal distinct, two anterior and

two posterior oculars ; one nasal, pierced by the nostril. Scales

in thirteen rows, smooth, short, rounded, with a single groove at

the apex. Teeth equal in length, smooth.

Hydrophobus semifasciatus. Pl. IX. fig. 6.

Shields of the upper surface of head regular ; anterior frontals

more than half the size of the posterior; vertical five-sided ;

occipitals rounded behind, much longer than vertical ; rostral

broader than high ; loreal square, the upper ocular does not reach

to the vertical. Seven upper labials, the third and fourth en-

tering the orbit. Six small temporals, that on the side of the

hind portion of the occipital being elongate, twice the size of the

others ; two are in contact with the oculars. Two pairs of chin-

shields, the anterior being thrice the size of the posterior. The

chin-shields are in contact with five pairs of lower labials. Back

of the trunk broad, rounded. Ventral shields 232, anal bifid,

subcaudals 84.

The ground-colour is pure white; back of trunk and tail

erossed by fifty dark-brown bands, which are much broader than

the interspaces between them, and do not extend downwards to

the ventral shields. Upper part of the head brown to the

posterior half of the occipital.

Length of head 3 lines, of trunk 75 lines, of tail 27 lines.

A single specimen (locality unknown) has been presented by

T. C. Eyton, Esq.

Philodryas Reinhardtii.

Prof, Reinhardt (Vidensk. Medd. naturh. Foren. Kjébenh.

1860, p. 224) refers Philodryas viridissimus to those snakes the

scales of which are provided with two grooves at the apex, whilst

Dr. Wucherer of Bahia describes those scales as one-grooved

(Proc. Zool. Soc. 1861, Dec. 10.). I was induced by these

contradictory statements to examine fifteen specimens of this

snake, and found that those from Guiana had two-grooved scales

and those from Brazil one-grooved. This led to a closer exami-

nation and search for other accompanying characters, whereby I

was fully convinced that two species are confounded under the

name Ph, viridissimus. The northern species (Pl, IX, fig. 8) has

128 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

the body much more compressed, and the ventral shields di-

stinctly keeled ; the scales on the middle of the trunk are rather

short, rounded behind, two-grooved; the rostral shield is more

depressed, considerably broader than high; six pairs of lower

labial shields are in contact with the chin-shields. Ventral

shields 228, subcaudals 128. This is the true Philodryas

(Coluber) viridissimus of Linné, who states Surinam to be its

native country, and 217 ventral and 122 subcaudal shields.

The southern species (Pl. IX. fig. 7) has the body more rounded,

and no trace of a keel on the ventrals; the scales on the middle

of the trunk are lanceolate, one-grooved; the rostral shield (in

fact, the whole snout) is more elevated, as high as broad; five

pairs of lower labial shields are in contact with the chin-shields.

Ventral shields 191-196, subcaudals 108-110. All the five spe-

cimens of this species which I have examined are from Brazil

(two from Bahia); and I name it after Prof. J. Reinhardt in

acknowledgment of his having been the first who introduced this

important character into science. Prof. Reinhardt enumerates

the isolated instances in which the dots have been observed by

herpetologists (p. 229) ; Dendrophis punctulata must be added

to them, the grooves having been observed by Dr. Gray, who

named this species after the “ black dots”? visible at the tip of

each scale (King’s ‘ Australia’ 1. App. p. 432). The grooves

in this species are more distinct than in any other I have seen,

being quite of a black colour.

Dromicus mentalis. Pl. 1X. fig. 9.

Scales smooth, in nineteen rows, with two distinct grooves at

the apex. Upper labials seven, the third and fourth entering the

orbit; loreal square. Only five pairs of lower labials are in

contact with the chin-shields. Five scale-like temporals.

Rostral shield oblique, much broader than high, just reaching

the upper surface of the crown. Anterior frontals half the size

of the posterior. Vertical oblong, with the lateral edges nearly

parallel, much shorter than the occipitals, which are slightly

rounded behind. The single anterior ocular extends to the upper

surface of the crown ; two posterior oculars. The anterior tem-

poral shield, which is not much larger than the posterior ones, is

in contact with the lower ocular, and very slightly with the upper.

Ventral shields 189; anal bifid ; subcaudals 112.

Ground-colour brownish olive; a black band from the eye

running backwards and joining a black horseshoe-like band on

the nape of the neck. A series of large black rhombic spots on

the anterior part of the trunk, partly confluent into a zigzag band ;

they become less distinct posteriorly, the hind part of the trunk

and the tail being nearly uniform blackish brown, with irregular.

in the Collection of the British Museum. 129

lighter spots. Lower parts of the head and each of the 50

anterior ventral shields with one, two, or three triangular black

Lge ; the posterior ventrals and the subcaudals being uniform

rown.

This is a West Indian Snake; but from what island, we cannot

say. It is readily distinguished by the shields of the head. D.

antillensis and D. rufodorsatus have six pairs of lower labials in

contact with the chin-shields.

Ruamnoruts (Dendrophide).

Scales smooth, with a single groove at the apex, those of the

vertebral and outer series very large, the others very narrow ;

ventral shields slightly keeled. yes very large. Posterior

maxillary teeth very large and compressed.

Rhamnophis ethiopissa. Plate X.

Scales in 17 rows, those of the vertebral series elongate, irre-

gularly six-sided. Head thick, snout as long as the eye; shields

of the head regular; posterior frontals not much larger than

the anterior; vertical large, broad anteriorly, tapering behind ;

occipitals rounded, not much longer than vertical. Nasal divided,

loreal oblong ; anterior ocular high, in contact with the vertical ;

tivo narrow posterior oculars ; eight upper labials, the fourth and

fifth entering the orbit ; one large temporal, in contact with both

oculars ; two scales, larger than the others on the neck, behind

the temporal ; three pairs of chin-shields, the middle twice the

size of the anterior, the hind pair divergent. Ventrals 175; anal

bifid ; subeaudals 152.

Bluish green, iridescent, each scale with a black margin; the

green passes into yellow on the tail, and forms there narrow lines

along the series of scales. Two blackish spots on the occiput,

and a black line through the eye.

Length of head nine lines, of trunk 24 inches, of tail 12 inches,

West Africa.

Diemansia cucullata.

Scales in thirteen rows ; upper labials six, the third and fourth

forming the lower edge of the orbit, the second labial in contact

with the posterior frontal; rostral broad, low, very obtuse

superiorly ; shields of the head regular, all more or less rounded

posteriorly and slightly imbricate ; vertical twice as long as broad ;

one anterior and two posterior oculars ; one temporal is in con-

tact with the lower ocular, four or five scale-like temporals behind.

176 ventrals, 1 bifid anal, 47 subcaudals.

Brownish black, belly marbled with a lighter tint; the snout and

the lateral parts of the head are greyish, punctulated with black 5

Ann. § Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3, Vol. ix. 9

130 Dr. A. Giinther on new Species of Snakes

the crown of the head is black, and is united with the back by a

narrow band of the same colour, running along the median line

of the neck ; neck with an oblong light-greyish spot on each side

of the band. Lower jaws brown, marbled with a lighter tint.

The single specimen sent by Mr. Krefft from the neighbour-

hood of Sydney is not in a good condition, half-dried, and appa-

rently immature ; it is nine inches long.

Diemansia torquata. Pl. IX. fig. 10.

Scales in fifteen rows, smooth. Brownish olive, each scale with

a short white line at the basal portion of its outer margin; skin

between the scales black ; a brownish-black streak, edged with

yellow, across the rostral shield and the loreal region, extending

to the orbit. Posterior oculars yellow ; a yellow streak edged

with black from the eye to the angle of the mouth, continued

into another similar band across the neck ; another yellowish

cross-band at some distance behind the former; the space be-

tween the two cross-bands dark brown, the whole forming a

collar. Chin yellowish, marbled with grey ; belly shining grey,

a blackish band along the middle of the anterior half of the belly ;

tail reddish olive posteriorly.

Head flat ; loreal replaced by the conjunction of four shields,

as in the typical species ; six upper labials, the third and fourth

entering the orbit; two anterior temporals, the upper in con-

tact with the lower postocular, the lower intercalated between the

fifth and sixth labials. Scales without groove at the apex. Ven-

tral plates 206 ; anal bifid; subcaudals 84.

Length of the head 7 lines, of the trunk 16 inches, of the tail

Ginches. ~

Habitat.—Percy Islands.

Hoplocephalus temporalis. Pl. IX. fig. 11.

Scales in nineteen rows ; six upper labials, the second of which

is pointed above, the third truncated; temporal shields small,

numerous, in three series; two temporals are in contact with the

post-orbitals, and a third below is intercalated between the two

posterior labials.

Description — Body stout, thick ; tail rather short ; head short

and broad, distinct from neck; eye small, pupil subelliptical.

Rostral shield triangular, nearly as high as broad, rounded above ;

anterior frontals small, broader than long, posterior frontals of

moderate size, rounded posteriorly ; vertical five-sided, much

longer than broad, with parallel outer edges, and a pointed pos-

terior angle ; occipitals of moderate size ; two posterior oculars,

one anterior just reaching to the upper surface of the head; the

postfrontal, nasal, ante-orbital and second upper labial meet at

in the Collection of the British Museum. 131

a point and replace the loreal. Six upper labials; the first is

_ lower than the following, the third and fourth enter the orbit.

The chief character by which the species may be readily distin-

guished is the increased number of temporal shields, as stated

above. Scales round the neck small. Chin-shields of nearly

equal size ; several scales between the hinder chin-shields and the

first ventral; 129-182 ventrals, 1 anal, 35-37 subcaudals; a

series of four teeth behind the grooved front tooth. Uniform

olive-brown or chestnut-brown above, uniform yellowish below.

The five specimens in the British Museum are from South

Australia (locality unknown); the longest (adult female) is 20

inches, the head being ? inch and the tail 22 inches long. It

feeds on frogs.

Hoplocephalus nigrescens. PI. IX. fig. 12.

Scales in fifteen rows; six upper labials, the second of which

is pointed above, the third truncated. Uniform blackish olive

above ; ventral shields whitish, blackish on the sides; the entire

head, superiorly and inferiorly, of the same colour as the back.

Description.—Body rather elongate, rounded ; tail somewhat

short, not distinct from trunk ; head oblong, depressed, hardly

distinct from neck’; eye small, pupil subelliptical. Rostral shield

very broad and low, and very obtuse superiorly ; anterior frontals

moderate, broader than long, rounded in front ;_ posterior frontals

rather large, five-sided, each with two hinder edges forming toge-

ther a right angle; vertical six-sided, longer than broad, with

parallel outer edges, an obtuse angle in front, and a pointed one

behind ; occipitals oblong, obtusely rounded behind ; superci-

liary moderate ; two posterior oculars, one anterior just reaching

to the upper surface of the head; the postfrontal, nasal, ante-

orbital and second upper labial meet at a point and replace the

loreal ; six upper labials : the first is very low, situated below the

nasal, the third and fourth enter the orbit; front series of tem-

porals formed by two shields, one of which is in contact with the

postorbitals. Chin-shields of nearly equal size, several scales

between the hinder chin-shields and the first ventral, 173 ven-

trals, 1 anal, 87 subcaudals ; the median line of the upper part

of the tail is occupied by a series of large hexagonal scales ; a

series of small teeth behind the grooved front-tooth.

Length of the cleft of mouth 5 lines, of the tail 25 lines ; total

length 153 inches. This species was discovered by Mr. G. Krefft,

n the environs of Sydney.

Callophis nigrescens.

Upper parts dark-blackish ash, lower uniform whitish ; head

with symmetrical black markings, one of which descends from

132 M. W. Lilljeborg on two remarkable Crustacea

the occipital to the angle of the mouth (as in C. trimaculatus) ;

a black horseshoe-like collar, with the convexity directed forward ;

a black line runs from the collar to the tip of the tail, along the

vertebral series of scales ; a series of roundish black spots, in-

distinctly edged with white, along each side of the anterior part

of the trunk. Tail coloured like the body, without black rings.

Upper labials seven.

Thirty inches long. Two specimens, from the Fort Pitt Col-

lection, are in the British Museum. ‘They are said to be from

British India, locality unknown.

P.S.—Elapomorphus mexicanus and Hydrophobus semifasciatus

(Pl. IX. figs. 1 & 6) are represented twice their natural size.

Add to the first list Yretanorhinus variabilis, from Cuba,

which has lately been received through the kindness of Prof.

Peters. This raises the total number of species in the British

Museum to 612, which are represented by more than 4.100 spe-

cimens. According to a statement of Prof. A. Duméril (Arch.

Mus. ix. 1857), the Paris Collection contains 5238 species.

XVI.—An Account of two remarkable Crustacea of the Order

Cladocera. By W. LitisEsore*.

[Plate VIII.]

Tur two Cladocera which I am about to describe are of so

remarkable a structure, that I have not thought myself justified

in delaying their description, as I had previously intended, until

Thad an opportunity of issuing a continuation of my treatise on

the Cladocera, Ostracoda, and Copepoda. Both are found in our

fresh waters, and are widely disseminated. Baron G. C. Ceder-

stroém, to whom, in this branch of knowledge, we are so greatly

indebted, first drew my attention to the one species, and also

transmitted to me specimens of the other. The former differs

so widely from all Cladocera hitherto known as to form a separate

family ; but the latter belongs to the Polyphemide, although in

some respects it strikingly deviates from the other members of

that family.

That the former has not previously been noticed may be

ascribed to the circumstance that it is so transparent as to be

seen only with difficulty, although it is larger than any other

Cladocera,—on which account it may well be contained in a glass

of water without being seen, even with the aid of alens, The

other seems to be very rare, and probably has its abode in deep

water,

* From ‘ Ofversigt af Kong. Vet. Akad. Forhandl.’ Read May 16, 1860.

of the Order Cladocera. . . ~ 133

Leptodora* hyalina, nov. gen. et sp.

Corpus elongatum, teretiusculum, testa vel cute tenuissima, hyalina,

in segmenta 6-7 divisa obtectum. Caput longum, conico-obtu-

satum, rostro carens, supra postice gibbum et area ephippiiformi

punctata preeditum, et altius quam thorax positum, ita ut postice

deorsum inflexum et sub angulo fere recto cum thorace conjunctum

sit. Margo anterior thoracis, ubi pedes sunt adfixi, una cum

margine inferiore capitis angulum fere rectum format. Ad mar-

ginem posteriorem et superiorem segmenti thoracici postremi apud

specimina adulta feminina adest saccus magnus oviferus, vel “ ma-

trix,” quee exit ex apertura inter hoc segmentum et segmentum

abdominale primum+t. Abdomen longum, segmentis quinque,

ramis caudalibus exceptis, compositum. Cauda postice divisa et

ramos duos supra aculeatos gerens. Corpus totum valde hyalinum,

et aqua vix obscurius est, qua de caussa hoc animal ceteris Clado-

ceris pulchritudine excellit, eo magis quia oculus nitore insigni

preestat.

Antennze primi paris breves, ad apicem papillifere, in latere inferiore

capitis prope oculum insite.

Antenne secundi paris, sive remi, maxime, trunco magnitudine in-

solita insigni, ramorum quadriarticulatorum alter 28, alter 29

setas ciliatas gerens. Apud specimina juniora una vel altera seta

deest.

Mandibulze apicem versus attenuate, apice unguiformi et prope eum

denticulis duobus et aculeo mobili preeditee. Maxillee desunt.

Pedes elongati, prehensiles, ut maxillee servientes minimeque bran-

chiales, setis armati, et plerumque quadriarticulati; sex paria,

quorum par primum longissimum. Secundum ad quartum par

fere sequalia, anteriora tantummodo sequentibus paulo longiora.

Quintum par antecedentibus multo brevius, et sextum par omnium

brevissimum et tantum articulis duobus constans.

Labrum magnum et crassum, valde retractile et os obtegens. La-

bium ramis corneis corroboratum. Césophagus tenuissimus et

longissimus, ad extremitatem ventricularem ¢laustro cardiaco in-

structus, semperque motus peristalticos praebens. Ventriculus in

extremitate posteriore corporis (in segmento antepenultimo et

penultimo) situs, ab cesophago distinctus et quam hic multo cras-

sior, parictibus sat crassis preeditus, et fere ad anum sphincteribus

constrictum porrectus.

Cor perspicuum, in parte dorsali thoracis situm, suturis et rimis,

quarum posteriores sese perspicue pro sanguine aperientcs, de-

lineatum, et antice in vas sanguiferum produetum.

Ovaria duo, in segmento primo. et secundo vel etiam tertio abdominis

sita, in cellulas septis pro ovis disjunctas dispertita. Ova in serie

simplici, saltem interdum, posita sunt, et eorum latitudo 0:06 mill.

Genus masculinum minime vidi, neque feminas pullos in matrice

* From Aezros, tenuis, and depa, pellis.

+ In sacco ovifero ova tantummodo tria vidi.

134 M. W. Lilljeborg on two remarkable Crustacea

portantes. Apud specimina juniora matricem minimam observa-

vimus. Ova in matrice semper serie simplici posita fuerunt.

Oculus magnus, ex magno numero oculorum simplicium compositus,

partem anteriorem capitis explens, pigmento fusco-nigro. Pone

oculum videmus ganglia cephalica coalita, alterum pone alterum

positum, anteriore naturam ganglii ophthalmici preebente. E parte

posteriore exit nervus, qui postea in duos nervos, qui cesophagum

ad latera circumdant, divisus est. Interdum hic nervus ab initio

est divisus.

Motus saltatorius, non celeritate insignis. Victus ex animalculis

constat. Pullos Cyclopum prehensos pedibus Leptodore vidi.

Longitudo corporis cum ramis caudalibus circ. 8 millim.

From the long cylindrical form of the body, the numerous

natatory bristles on the second pair of antenne, and more

especially the long and narrow cesophagus, together with the

distinct ventricles, situated in the hinder extremity of the body,

and from the situation of the ovarium, Leptodora is distin-—

guished from all other Cladocera. With the Polyphemide it

agrees in not having the body covered with an arched shield,

but differs in its long cylindrical form. This family appears,

however, to come the nearest to it, on account of the absence of

the arched shield, the form of the mandibles, and the absence

of a branchial appendage to the legs; and, altogether, it would

seem that the here-described Bythotrephes, Leydig, by reason

of its long legs and long-extended abdomen, the most nearly

resembles it. But the Sida or Daphnella brachyura resembles

it most in the form of the head. I have not found in any

Cladocer that the digestive canal bore any sign of transition

to the form here described; but in the Rotatoria we sometimes

find a similar long and narrow cesophagus, with a distinet sto-

mach. ‘The ovaria also bore some resemblance to those in the

Rotatoria.

In younger individuals (PI. VIII. fig. 2) the abdomen had only

four segments besides the caudal branches, while in older ones

there were five.

The Leptodora moves with a long horizontal spring, but is

not remarkably quick. Its extraordinary transparency makes it,

while living, a particularly interesting object for observation.

The first time I took it, and placed the vessel in which it was

kept in the sunshine, I was unable to see the animal itself, but

its shadow only, when it moved.

Baron Cederstrém took it in a lake at Bolltorp, in East Goth-

land ; also in the Ring Lake, in Scania. I have myself taken it

in the last-mentioned place ; also in the Malar Lake, where it is

pretty numerous. But it is only found in pure water, and at a

long distance from the land.

of the Order Cladocera. 185

Bythotrephes longimanus, Leydig.

Naturgeschichte der Daphniden, p. 244. figs. 73-75.

Corporis forma Polyphemo sat similis, abdomine vero magis evoluto

et porrecto, ad apicem setam maximam et longissimam gerente, et

pedum pari primo maximo. Caput omnino capiti Polyphemi

simile, paulo deflexum. Organum adfigendi (Leuckart) deest.

Matrix sive saccus oviferus maximus, supra thoracem situs, et an-

tice vergens. Abdomen pone matricem porrectum et segmentis

tribus compositum. Segmentum ultimum setam caudalem con-

tinuam maximam, corpore pluries longiorem gerit. Apud fe-

minam adultam hee seta duas dilatationes annulares teste bi-

aculeatas preebet. Infra basin hujus setze est fissura analis, et ad

fissuree latera aculeus validus.

Antenne primi paris minutze, processui communi adfixee et papillas

tres vel quatuor portantes.

Antenne secundi paris magne, birames, ramo uno tribus, et altero

quatuor segmentis, quorum primo brevissimo, composito. Ramus

trisegmentatus setis ciliatis septem, quarum segmentum primum

et secundum unam, et tertium quinque setas gerit. Ramus quadri-

segmentatus setis ciliatis octo, quarum segmentum secundum unam,

tertium duas, et quartum quinque setas gerit.

Mandibulz 0-045 mill. longze, ad apicem inferiorem bipartitee, parte

una aculeis mobilibus vel setis, et altera parte dentibus vel proces-

sibus acuminatis tribus, quorum uno minimo, armata.

Maxillze duze, minute, lobuliformes, pone os et mandibulas posite,

antice vergentes, parte interiore crassiore et aculeis instructa, et

parte exteriore apice setifero.

Pedum quatuor paria, omnia prehensilia, ad apicem setis aculeatis

armata minimeque branchifera. Pedes primi paris maximi, et

ceteris multo longiores, segmentis quatuor compositi, setisque

majoribus apicalibus quatuor instructi. Hee sete ad marginem

posteriorem aculeos mobiles portant. Testa segmenti basalis ad

marginem inferiorem et exteriorem processum parvum emittit.

Segmentum secundum intus processum acutum et postice setas

sex vel septem, quarum duas ad apicem inferiorem, gerit, et seg-

mentum tertium duabus setis posterioribus instructum est. Pedes

secundi et tertii paris, qui etiam segmentis quatuor compositi

sunt, ad latus interius segmenti secundi appendicem aculeis apica-

libus instructam habent, et quatuor setas majores apicales por-

tant. Pedes quarti paris brevissimi, tantum biarticulati, seg-

mento ultimo setis pluribus, saltem 6 vel 7, quarum una in pro-

cessu brevissimo posita, instructo.

Labrum magnum, processibus duobus, quorum posterior latior et

magis obtusus et ad apicem setosus est. Tubus intestinalis sim-

plex et simili modo atque apud Polyphemum formatus.

Cor magnum et fere quadrangulum.

Motus motui Polyphemi similis, sed ob setam magnam caudalem,

que impedimento est, minus velox.

Longitudo corporis ad basin setz caudalis circ. 1-1? millim.

136 = M. W. Lilljeborg on two remarkable Crustacea.

With regard to its structure, Bythotrephes has the greatest

affinity to the genera Polyphemus, Podon, and Evadne, and

evidently belongs to the same group. From the first two,

which it most nearly resembles, it differs in its more perfect

abdomen and long caudal bristle. From Evadne it deviates even

more widely.

It appears to be very rare. Baron Cederstrém took a few

specimens in the lakes m Jemtland and in Wombs Lake, in

Scania, which were communicated to me; and I have myself

taken a solitary specimen in the Malar Lake, near Flottsund.

Of this I noticed that it remained at the bottom of the vessel

in which it was contained, in consequence of the long caudal

bristle being a hindrance to it in swimming. It is therefore

probable that, in its free state, it abides less in proximity to the

surface of the water than the Polyphemus, and that it is from

this cause that it is so seldom obtained. F. Leydig found it in

the stomach of Coregonus Wartmanni, taken in the Lake of

Constance, in Switzerland. He did not succeed in procuring

one alive, whence he supposes that it dwells near the bottom.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIII.

Fig. 1. Leptodora hyalina; a full-grown female, seen from above and

somewhat from the side: 6, the antennz of the second pair ;

k, matrix. |

Fig. 2. A younger female, seen from the side: a, an antenna of the first

pair; 0, base of an antenna of the second pair; f, gullet; g, sto-

mach; h, heart; 7, ovaria; k, matrix; /, head-ganglia.

Fig. 3. One antenna of the first pair.

tg. 4. Both branches of one antenna of the second pair.

fig. 5. One mandible seen under a glass cover.

Fig. 6. Upper lip lifted up (d), under lip (e), and both mandibles in their

natural position.

Fig. 7. Ovarium.

Fig. 8. The front of the body, seen from above, to show the muscles pass-

ing to the second pair of antennz: a, antennz of the first pair ;

J, gullet; h, heart; m, the nerve-cord, passing from the back

ganglion of the head, which behind separates and encompasses

the gullet.

Fig. 9. Bythotrephes longimanus; a full-grown female: a, antenne of

the first pair: 5, antenna of the second pair; c, a mandible ;

d, legs; e, upper lip; &, matrix.

Fig. 10. A younger specimen, | millim. long; sex unknown: f, heart.

Fig.11. A leg of the third pair, seen from the inner side: a, with an

appendage provided with prickles or points.

ee ee

Prof. F. M‘Coy on the Natural History of Victoria. 137

XVII.—WNote on the Ancient and Recent Natural History of

Victoria. By Freprrick M‘Coy, Professor of Natural

Science in the University of Melbourne, and Director of the

National Museum of Victoria, &c.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,

I drew up the following remarks as part of the preface to the

local Catalogue of the collection of Victorian objects prepared

for the International Exhibition to be held next year in London.

As I believe, however, that some of the observations on the de-

velopment of life in the geological periods may be interesting to

geologists, as well as this first announcement of my identification

of the various Canadian compound Graptolites in Victoria, and

my recognition of Zamites and Teniopteris in our coal-beds, con-

firmatory of my view of their Mesozoic age, published more than

a dozen years ago, in your Journal, I beg of you to do me

the favour to permit me to occupy a little space once more in

your pages.

I have the honour to remain, Gentlemen,

Your most obedient humble servant,

Freperick M‘Coy.

The most extraordinary character of the Recent Fauna of

Australia is the appearance of isolation from the types inhabit-

ing other parts of the world, produced by the great number of

species belonging to genera not found in any other country, and

by a large proportion of the species not only belonging to ge-

nera peculiar to the place, but by these generic groups being fre-

quently separated from the genera of animals inhabiting similar

latitudes, existing under similar circumstances, and performing

the same vital functions elsewhere, by characters of such high

ordinal importance as to indicate families, tribes, and even orders

not found anywhere else, and sometimes even affording the only

examples of strange departure from the general anatomical plan

on which all other animals are formed. It is a point of the

highest interest to ascertain by the aid of paleontology how far

back in the carth’s history this isolation dates from ; and on this

point I propose offering a few preliminary remarks, as the space

allowed for the notice on the ancient and modern natural history

of Victoria precludes the possibility of entering upon extended

specific details.

Nearly all the great geological works draw attention to the

fact that in the oolitic rocks of England bones and teeth are

found, indicating the former existence there of marsupial ani-

mals of the same family as the common Bandicoot (Perameles) of

138 Prof. F. M‘Coy on the Ancient and Recent

Australia generally, and of the Myrmecobius of South Australia

particularly—such types of general structure of insectivorous

Marsupialia existing nowhere now on the face of the earth except

in Australia; and these fossil bones near Oxford are accompanied

by myriads of marine shells of the genus Trigontia—a genus not

now existing in any other than the Australian seas, where four

species of it are not uncommon. Such facts are very commonly

received as indicating a continuance to the present day in Au-

stralia of the fauna which disappeared in all the rest of the world

with the close of the Mesozoic period; and this again carries

with it the belief that Australia was the most ancient country in

existence, having remained as dry land above the level of the sea

for a period corresponding to that in which all the Mesozoic and

Cainozoic formations of the rest of the world were being depo-

sited. I am enabled to state that there is no sufficient founda-

tion for this theory, from the great quantity of fossils which I

have lately examined as Palzontologist to the Geological Survey

of Victoria; and from evidence of this kind I can offer a sketch

of the ancient successive changes of organic life in this country.

Paleozoic Period.

The Azoic rocks, I can now state, were succeeded in Victoria,

exactly as in Wales, Sweden, North America, and other parts of

the world in the northern hemisphere, by a series of rocks en-

closing fossil remains of the well-known genera and even specific

types of animal life characterizing those most ancient fossiliferous

strata termed Lower Silurian by Sir R. Murchison, and Cambrian

by Professor Sedgwick. In the slates, north of Melbourne,

containing the auriferous quartz-veins of the gold-fields, I have

recognized abundance of the double Graptolites for which I

formerly proposed the genus Diplograpsus, so characteristic of

strata of this age; and, what is curious, I have found of this

genus no peculiar or new species, but, on the contrary, the iden-

tical forms so abundant in the northern hemisphere: thus the

most abundant and widely distributed species in Victoria is the

Diplograpsus pristis, perfectly identical with specimens occurring

in the slates of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Bohemia, Sweden,

New York and Canada; the next most common is the D. mucro-

natus of Hall, so abundant in the Utica slates of New York, and

which I also recognized in the slates in Ayrshire and Radnorshire;

the D. rectangularis (M‘Coy) is the next most common Victorian

species, and perfectly undistinguishable from those I originally

described from the slates of Dumfriesshire ; the D. ramosus (Hall)

described by the American paleontologist as from the “ Utica

slates,” near Albany, but which I also detected in Scotland, is

likewise represented by well-preserved specimens in the National

Natural History of Victoria. 139

Museum from our strata, although a rarer species than the

others. The forms called D. folium and D. bicornis in Europe

also occur. Of the short leaf-shaped Graptolites allied to the

D. folium of Hisinger and D. ovatus of Barrande from those

ancient beds in Sweden and Bohemia, for which Professor Hall

has recently founded the subgenus Phyllograptus, I can ideutify

in the utmost profusion in several localities north of Melbourne

his typical species P. typus, which he describes as so abundant

in the similar slates of Canada, in the Decades of the Palzeonto-

logy prepared by him to illustrate this portion of Sir W. Logan’s

‘Geological Survey of Canada;’ and it occurs in Victoria in all

the extremes of varied form which he describes it to assume

in America; several of the specimens, I might add, prove

clearly the fact of which he seemed to have some doubt when he

first announced it, and which was generally rejected by European

geologists—namely, the quadripartite arrangement of the cell-

lamine. Of the Twin Graptolites, for which I formerly proposed

the genus Didymograpsus (also characteristic of strata below the

Upper Silurian), we have in Victoria the D. serratulus (Hall)

identical with that from the New York slates; the D. caduceus

(Salter), identical with his Quebec examples, is very common ;

and the D. furcatus (Hall), identical with the New York “ Utica

slate” species, also occurs, though more rarely. Also we have

that compound species, the Graptolites gracilis (Hall), exactly

identical with the New York and Canada forms, and, more curious

still, many of those extraordinary compound radiating forms,

the Graptolites Logani (Hall), G. quadribrachiatus, and G. octo-

brachiatus (Hall), so recently discovered in abundance in Canada,

and peculiar to that country, except for the present announce-

ment of their occurring in Victoria, in the slates at Castlemaine.

Of the simple, or doubtfully twin, Graptolites, I have also deter-

mined the Graptolites Ludensis (Murch.), G. tenuis (Portlock),

G. latus (M‘Coy), and G. sagittarius (Hisinger), occurring in

various localities within a hundred miles north of Melbourne in

abundance of well-preserved specimens identical in every respect

with specimens of the same species occurring in the similar

slates in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. In Victoria, as in most

of the European and American Graptolite localities, the slates

containing abundance of these bodies frequently contain no

organic remains of Mollusca; one of the exceptions to this rule

occurs in the black Graptolite slate of Pen Cerrig, near Builth,

in Radnorshire, where, with the Graptolites D. mucronatus and

D. pristis, I discovered in 1851 an immense profusion of a small

Brachiopod shell, which I published under the name of Siphono-

treta micula. Kuropean geoiogists in general will, I have no

doubt, be as much astonished as I was to recognize exactly the

140 Prof. F. M‘Coy on the Ancient and Recent

same Graptolites, accompanied by the same little Brachiopod

shell in. the similar black slates of the “Deep Creek” section

north of Melbourne. The characteristic genus Hymenocaris of

these ancient beds in Wales also occurs here in a peculiar spe-

cies, the Hymenocaris Salteri (M‘Coy). In many other neigh-

bouring localities I have recognized so many of the ordinary

Bala and Snowdon fossils as to enable me to suggest the map-

ping of the Bala beds to the Geological Survey; and over them

are clear representations of the Mayhill Sandstone: but, con-

fining ourselves to the details now first made known of the con-

tents of the Graptolite beds, we have the astonishing fact of the

specific identity of the marine fauna over the whole world during

the most ancient palzozoic period. This had already been re-

cognized over an extended area in the northern hemisphere; but

the extension with the present detail to the southern hemisphere

cannot fail to give rise to the most interesting geological specu-

lations. I now proceed to give the first distinct announcement,

based on specific identifications, of the existence of the Upper

Silurian formation in the southern hemisphere; and here, too,

geologists will learn with interest the fact that at Broadhurst

Creek, in Victoria, the rocks are filled exclusively with a profu-

sion of specimens of the Wenlock Shale Trilobite, the Phacops

(Odontochile) longicaudatus, so abundant at Cheney Longville in

Shropshire and many Wenlock-Shale localities in Britain ; and

the cuttings in Johnston-street, in Melbourne, have afforded us

the Orthoceras bullatum, so abundant a Ludlow-rock fossil in

Wales. Here, again, we can point now for the first time to the

marvellous fact of the specific identity of the inhabitants of the

seas of the-most widely distant poimts of the northern and

southern hemispheres during this second great geological epoch

of the zoological history of the earth.

2. Upper Paleozoic Period.

Professor Morris, Professor Dana, and myself have formerly

pointed out a considerable but more general resemblance be-

tween the Upper Paleozoic rocks underlying the coal beds of

New South Wales and Tasmania, and the lower part of the Car-

boniferous Limestone formation of the whole world (there having

as yet been no distinct identifications to prove the existence in

Australia of the intermediate Middle Paleozoic or Devonian

formations). Here we have the extinction of the characteristic

Trilobites, Graptolites, Corals, and Mollusca marking the Cam-

brian and Silurian epochs in Hurope and North America, as well

as in Victoria, at the close of those periods occurring in the

southern hemisphere synchronously with this great change in

the northern half of the world; and the new generic creations

Natural History of Victoria. 141

marking the Upper Paleozoic period succeeding them similarly

at this fourth great step in the creative changes of the earth in

Australia as at the antipodes. Thus amongst the palzonto-

logically important class the Crustacea, the genera Phacops,

Odontochile, Portlockia, Calymene, and Beyrichia, which abound

in the Lower Paleozoic rocks of Victoria, as in Wales, are re-

placed by Phillipsia, Brachymetopus, and Bairdia—Crustacean

genera characteristically distinguishing the Carboniferous rocks

in England and Russia from the earlier Lower Paleozoic beds ;

again, amongst the Brachiopodous Mollusca, numerous species

of the genus Producta characteristically separate at a glance the

Carbeniferous formations of Europe and America from the Lower

Paleozoic rocks; and exactly the same geological date marks

the appearance of the same genus in the rocks of Victoria.

Then, again, in the vegetable kingdom, the Carboniferous Upper

Paleozoic period is strikingly distinguished from the Lower Pa-

leeozoic deposits by the various sections of the great genus Lepi-

dodendron and its related forms. I rejoice to be able to announce

that, in Victoria, this period is similarly marked by a large di-

stinct species of one of the sections of Lepidodendron, which I

identified in a block of sandstone collected (without other fos-

sils) by Mr. M‘Millan, from the Avon ranges in Gipps Land.

This fossil is of the same species as the only Paleozoic coal-

plant ever collected in New South Wales, where it was found by

the lamented Leichhardt near the borders of Queensland, on the

Manilla river, fully two hundred mites north of the localities

affording the plants associated with the coal of the Hunter, and

other parts of New South Wales (which I believe to be Mesozoic),

and by him given to the Rev. W. Clarke of Sydney, who sent it

- to me about twelve years ago for determination, during the

controversy as to the age of the plant-beds of the Newcastle

New South Wales beds, on which occasion I confidently pro-

nounced, not only that it was a true Paleozoic coal-plant, but

that it never came from the beds in dispute,—in which latter

point I now find I was correct. To my friend Sir Charles Lyell,

as well as to other geologists, I believe this identification of a

true Palzeozoic Carboniferous flora in Gipps Land will be of the

highest interest, from the ingenious theory which they suggested

to reconcile the difficulties arising from Prof. Morris and myself

having indicated the strong connexion between the plant-beds

associated with the coal of New South Wales and the Mesozoic

coal-deposits of Europe, while we both agreed that the under-

lying marine beds were clearly Lower Carboniferous (Paleozoic),

and the Rev. Mr. Clarke, the local authority, insisted that they

were all of one age. The theory was this:—that possibly, owing

to the immense geographical distance between Australia and the

142 Prof. F. M‘Coy on the Ancient and Recent

typical sections of Europe, the plants growing on the land might

have been those of the Oolitic period, while the sea contained

the living inhabitants characteristic of the Paleozoic times. I

combated this theory at the time by pointing to the similar

Mesozoic coal-plants in Richmond, Virginia, at no great distance

from the usual Paleozoic coal-flora of other American coal-fields,

both remote from the typical European sections of the two coal-

floras, but distinctly maintaining there their old-world peculiar

forms. Nothing can, however, exceed the geological interest

attaching to the distinct announcement I am now able to make of

the land vegetation which first appeared, in the extreme remote-

ness of the Upper Palzozoic times, having been formed absolutely

on the same type as that of the same period in the northern

hemisphere; and here I am able to advance another step in the

comparison between the ancient and modern natural history of

Victoria and that of the antipodes, by showing that the wonderful

identity in the marine fauna of the two hemispheres during the

Paleozoic periods applied also to the productions of the dry

land, which latter is also now shown to have emerged at the

same period in Australia as the greater bulk of first dry land in

Europe and America (the Devonian evidence being small excep-

tions to the otherwise first great appearance of dry land during

the Carboniferous period) *.

8. Mesozoic Period.

The evidence of Mesozoic formations in Australia has been

much disputed, resting until lately only on the characters of the

fossil plants associated with the coal of New South Wales and

Tasmania. This plant evidence is much more forcible now than

ever, inasmuch as I have had opportunities of carefully investi-

eating the fossil plants associated with coal seams in Victoria, at

Cape Patterson and Bellerine, and for this colony I can now not

only emphatically repeat the arguments which I used fourteen

years ago, when writing on the plants associated with the coal

of New South Wales+ and Tasmania, namely, that all the genera

and some of the species were closely allied to, or identical with,

those of Mesozoic coal-beds, and that all the characteristic Palao-

* Tt will be interesting to geologists to know that, up to a few months

ago, Mr. Clarke had no stratigraphical evidence to bear out his view of the

plant-beds being Paleozoic, or underlying the beds with marine Palzozoic

fossils; and no such sectional evidence has been found by Mr. Selwyn, the

Government geologist, in his careful surveys of the coal-bearing sections of

Victoria and Tasmania; and the only section (Stony Creek, Maitland) now

relied on by Mr. Clarke is, I think, clearly a deceptive appearance produced

by a fault drawn on a section in which the vertical scale was enormously

out of proportion to the horizontal one.

+ Annals of Nat. Hist. ser. 1. vol. xx. pp. 145, 226, 298,

Natural History of Victoria. 143

zoic coal genera, asCalamites, Lepidodendron, Sigillaria, Stigmaria,

&c., were completely absent, but I can add the very important

fact that the Pecopteris australis (certainly identical with an

Indian species from the Rajhmahal beds), with the Phyllotheca

and other well-known plants of the beds associated with the coal

in New South Wales and Tasmania and Victoria, are associated

with numerous species of genera and even families of plants

highly characteristic of the Mesozoic and more recent (as distin-

guished from the older) eras. Thus I have characterized four

very distinct species of Zamites in the Bellerine beds, one only

being rare (the Z. ellipticus, M‘Coy, so called from its broad

ovate leaflets), the three others being abundant: of these the

most strongly marked is the Zamites Barklyi, which I have de-

dicated to His Excellency the Governor, in commemoration of the

lively interest he has taken in the geology of the colony; and

another the Zamites longifolius (M‘Coy), I have also seen from

the New South Wales beds. No Cycadeous plants are known

anywhere in true Paleozoic coal-beds. I have also characterized

a species of Teniopteris almost identical with the 7. vittata of —

the Yorkshire (Scarborough) Oolitic coal-beds, and which I have

described in a paper before the Royal Society of Victoria under

the name Teniopteris Daintreei, after the gentleman who first

collected it from the rocks associated with the coal of Cape Pat-

terson ; and it also occurs commonly in the two other Mesozoic

coal localities near Melbourne, the Barrabool Hills and Belle-

rine. As the Baron de Zigno, in his recent writings on the

Jurassic fossil flora, adopts my view instead of the Rev. Mr,

Clarke’s, as to the Mesozoic age of these Australian plant beds,

because, as he says, the early statements of that gentleman, that

the various characteristic Palzozoic genera Lepidodendron, Sigil-

laria, &e., occurred abundantly in them, had not been verified *, it

will be of high interest to European geologists to learn that up

to the moment at which I write no trace of them has ever been

found in the beds containing the Glossopteris, Phyllotheca, Peco-«

pteris australis, the Teniopteris, or the Zamites, and that the

only Lepidodendron or characteristic Paleeozoic Carboniferous

genus found was hundreds of miles from the beds containing the

(as I believe) mesozoic plants, and not mixed with them. One ar-

gument used by the Rev. Mr. Clarke against the Mesozoic age

of these plant-beds was the supposed absence of marine Mesozoic

fossils in Australia; but even this argument (of no value, as I

pointed out by a reference to Richmond, Virginia) has failed

* Not only have they not been verified, but I can confidently state now

that any of the supposed recognitions of such genera only rested on mis«

conceptions of portions of the ordinary mesozoic forms previously made

known.

144 Prof. F, M‘Coy on the Ancient and Recent

within the last few weeks: for a friend of Mr. Clarke’s having

collected a number of fossils from Wollumbilla, in the northern

part of New South Wales, the latter gentleman sent them to Mel-

bourne with a request that I “would determine the geological

epoch to which they belonged ;” and here, without at all entering

on the description of the species, I can state that they furnish a

most complete answer to the objection, and are the marine equi-

valents of exactly the same age as that I assign to the plant beds,

2. e., Lower Mesozoic, not older than the base of the Trias, and

not younger, I think, than the lower part of the great Oolite.

The collection contains large Belemnites of the general aspect of B,

giganteus, B. pazillosus and similar Lias and Lower Oolite forms,

Pentacrinus, and a number of large species of Serpula, Lima,

Pecten, Arca, Nucula, Rhynchonella, &c., having the general facies

of Lower Oolitic, Liassic, and Triassic forms*. And thus we reach

the next great onward step in our attempt at a comparison of

the natural history of Australia and other countries in the

ancient periods, the history of whose creations can only be traced

by paleontology; and we find that at this the Oolitic epoch to

which allusion was made at the commencement of this paper,

the whole facies of the fauna of the sea and the flora of the land

had undergone just such changes as marked the geologically

corresponding creations in India, Yorkshire, Germany, and

America. I may remark that in the Wollumbilla fossils there

are no Trigonia, although from the remarks in the first para-

graph it is obvious that English geologists would expect them ;

but in their place I recognized a distinct species of Professor

Bronn’s muschelkalk genus Myaphoria, enabling me to suggest,

on paleontological grounds, the presence of triassic beds in

Australia.

4. Tertiary Period.

The next epoch in the Ancient Natural History of Australia,

represented by the deposition of the widely spread Tertiary forma-

tions, could not have been contemplated by those who indulged

in the speculations referred to in the beginning of this paper ; for

we find that here, as in Europe, the greater part of the country

sank under the sea during the Tertiary period, and every trace

of the previous creations of plants and animals was destroyed

and replaced by a totally different new set, both of plants and

animals, more nearly related to those now occupying the land

and sea of the country. This, then, quite puts an end to the

* In a note received from Mr. Clarke since learning my impression of

the age of these fossils, I am happy to state he announces his willingness

now, as a new view, to consider his ‘‘ Wianamatta beds,” connected with

the disputed Coal beds, as Lower Mesozoic. ‘

Natural History of Victoria. 145

speculations based on the supposition that Australia, unlike the

rest of the world, had remained as dry land since the Oolitic

period, and that tue living little Myrmecobius and Perameles or

Bandicoots were the associates of those little marsupials which

lived at the time of the deposition of the Stonesfield or Colly-

weston slate of the Oolitic period in England. The fact really

is, that in Victoria there is a rich Tertiary Dicotyledonous flora,

totally unlike the Mesozoic one; and in Victoria, as in New

Zealand, India, North and South America, and Europe, the races

of animals now inhabiting the land were preceded in the most

recent Tertiary or Pleistocene time by gigantic antitypes, as

it were, characterized by the same anatomical peculiarities which

mark the recent inhabitants of the place. Thus, as New Zealand

had her little Kiwis or Apterya preceded by an equally wingless

but gigantic bird, the Moa or Dinornis, and South America had

her existing peculiar little Sloths preceded by the colossal Mega-

therium and Mylodon, presenting the same peculiarities of ana-

tomical conformation, so the Wombat and Kangaroo, the most

peculiarly characteristic genera now inhabiting Australia, were

preceded by the gigantic Diprotodon and Nototherium, in some

measure uniting the osteological peculiarities of those genera; and

their bones are found, like those of the extinct gigantic Irish Elk

(Megaceros) of the same period, apparently bogged or mired in

the mud of the ancient Pleistocene lakes. With these, at Lake

Timboon and other localities in Victoria, true Kangaroos (M/a-

cropus) are found (M. Titan) of a size greatly exceeding the

living ones. With these in some of the caverns, as at Mount

Macedon, are found remains of recent species of Hypsiprymnus,

Hydromys, and the carnivorous Dasyuri and the Canis Dingo or

native dog, the recognition of which latter, I think, settles the

point of its being truly an indigenous animal. I have likewise

recognized the bones of the Wombat (Phascolomys) in the solid,

hard, stony, ferruginous auriferous drift called “cement” by

the gold-diggers, at a great depth in the sinkings at Dunolly,

the material being so hard that the jaws could only be cleared

by a stone-mason’s chisel; this determination enables me to say

that the age of the gold-drift of Victoria, like that of Russia, is,

as Sir R. Murchison showed for the latter country, that of the

“mammaliferous crag” of England.

The marine Tertiary fauna of Victoria is highly interesting in

a natural-history point of view, from the extraordinary evidence

it affords of the ‘“ law of representation, or representative forms,”

which it presents. Thus a series of beds about ten or twelve

miles from Geelong, which I believe to be Lower Miocene, and a

series of beds on the opposite shore of Hobsou’s Bay, between

Mt. Eliza and Mt. Martha, which I believe to be Upper Kocene,

Amn. 8 Mag. N, Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 10

146 Prof. F. M‘Coy on the Ancient and Recent

present the most extraordinary series of species of Voluta, repre-

sentative of those of the Eocene clay of Barton cliff in Hamp-

shire, and of the Miocene beds of the basins of Paris and Vienna,

that can be conceived: the V. spinosa, V. modesta, and V. sutu-

ralis of the European Miocene beds are so exactly represented

by species in the Geelong beds, that it requires a close examina-

tion to perceive the difference; and similarly the English and

French series of Eocene species, V. luctatriv, V. spinosa, V. lyra,

V. ambigua, and V. digitalina are “represented” in the most

curious and exact manner by a similar series of species in the

Victoria beds, having the same relations of form between them-

selves, and specifically almost undistinguishable at first sight

from their northern analogues—the likeness being rendered

stronger by the recognition of this complete parallel series im each

hemisphere: and yet there is a minute difference (considered

generic by some writers) separating the two series from each

other,—the Eocene Tertiary Volutes of Europe having a regular

sharp-pointed spire and forming the genus Volutilites of Swain-

son, while the Australian “ analogues” have the distorted mam-

millated tip to the spire characteristic of the recent Volutide.

Then, again, the common Cassidaria depressa of the Lower Mio-

cene of Germany is so exactly represented by an equally common

species in our beds of the same age, which I have named Cassi-

daria reticulospira, that the two can be distinguished only by the

character indicated of a reticulation of the extreme whorls of the

spire. The Trivia avellana of the same European beds is exactly

replaced by the almost identical Trivia avellanotdes (M‘Coy) in

the Victoria beds, and so on through a long series of repre-

sentative forms, giving us the first distinct proof, in our progres-

sive sketch of the development of life in Victoria, of the action

of the “ law of representation of specific centres” which plays so

important a part in the distribution of organic life on our globe

at the present day, but which, as we have seen, apparently had

no effect in the more ancient times.

As bearing upon that question of great interest to the European

geologist, the palzontological evidence of progressive changes of

temperature in our earth, geologists will be interested to know

that, as the living species in the European Miocene Tertiaries

are generally inhabitants not of the neighbouring seas but of

mre southern warmer latitudes,so I observe exactly the same

fact in Victoria, the recent shells mingled with the extinct ones

in our Miocene deposits being usually forms not living in our —

bay or in the adjacent seas, but inhabitants of New Zealand (as

the Pectunculus laticostatus, which is common in the fossil state

with us, though not now living nearer than New Zealand) and

the warmer latitudes of Adelaide and Northern Australia,—thus

Natural History of Victoria, 147

showing here, as in Europe, the gradual cooling of our globe

during the Eocene and Miocene periods. To refer again to the

mistaken popular theory alluded to in the first paragraph, in

which the suggestion is dwelt on of the present existence in the

Australian seas of the possibly oolitic Trigonig, I think it of

great interest to state that the four living species of Trigonia

seem to have been created only during the modern period, and

are represented in our Tertiary deposits by a totally distinct

species—the Trigonia semiundulata (M‘Coy).

5. Recent Period.

As the space assigned to me has been far exceeded, I can only

offer a few remarks on the Existing or Recent Natural History

of the country, which is so much better known than that which

has preceded. The recent Mammalia and Birds of Australia

are so fully known from the admirable works of my friend Mr,

Gould, that I shall not allude at all to them, further than to

correct an error which seems to be universal in books, and occurs

even in the memoirs of Mr. Ronald Gunn, of Tasmania, namely,

that the large Dasyurus maculatus is only found in Tasmania,

and not on the Australian mainland. I have had seven or eight

specimens collected for the National Museum from the Yarra

Mountains and other hilly localities within thirty or forty

miles from Melbourne. Contrary to my preconceived opinion,

I have satisfied myself that the native Dog (Canis Dingo) is

truly an indigenous animal, both from its mereasing in numbers

(with little variety) towards the interior of the continent

remote from man, and from having identified its bones mingled

with those of recent and extinct animals all in one state of pre-

servation in the bone-caverns recently opened beneath the basalt

flows at Mount Macedon.

Of Reptilia the great Hydrosaurus varius, called Iguana by the

colonists, and often 5 feet in length, is the most important of

the Lacertilia ; several smaller types are also common near the

coast, as the Hinnulia teniolata, Cyclodus gigas, and Grammate-

phora muricata; and the G. barbata and Trachydosaurus rugosus

(called Dew-lizard by the colonists) become gradually common

as you approach the warmer country near the northern boundary

of the colony, butdo not occur, [ believe, south of the dividing

range. Of Batrachia the Ranhyla aurea is the exceedingly com-

mon Green Frog of the country, and is so unlike Hy/a in its

habits, which agree completely with Rana, that its generic sepa-

ration from Hyla (contrary to the opinion of several able autho-

rities) is I think quite necessary. In two other Frogs, species of

Lymnodynastes, the unexpected habit is found, in this arid, watere

é 10*

148 Prof. F. M‘Coy on the Ancient and Recent

less country, of habitually living buried to a considerable depth

in the sandy ground during the day, coming up to feed by mght,

when in their turn they furnish food to the snakes on the dry

plains. The Chelonian reptiles are not found nearer than the

River Murray, where the only species known, Chelodina longi-

collis and C. oblonga, are those described by my friend Dr. J. BE.

Gray, of the British Museum, to whom our National Museum is

so greatly indebted for the most valuable and friendly aid. The

Snakes of the colony are rather numerous, and all, with one ex-

‘ception, poisonous ; and that exception—the Carpet-Snake (M/o-

relia variegata)—is only found in the warmer northern part of the

colony. On the other hand, the venomous Snakes, properly so

called, with isolated fangs, are scarcely found, the only example

of Australian Viperide being the Death or Deaf Adder of colo-

nists, the Acanthophis antarctica being extremely rare in Victoria,

and only found in the warm districts near the northern bound-

ary. The rest of the Snakes belong to the Colubride ; and as the

Snakes of Victoria have not yet been enumerated, I may just

mention those I have ascertamed. The Hoplocephalus superbus

is a very abundant snake near Melbourne, and this poisonous

snake is often unfortunately referred to erroneously under the

name of “ Diamond Snake” in accounts of experiments on the

bites of poisonous Snakes and antidotes,—the true, harmless

Diamond Snake (Morelia spilotes) of New South Wales not

having as yet been observed in the colony of Victoria. The

Hoplocephalus curtus is a still more abundant and venomous

species around Melbourne, where it is usually called “ Tiger

Snake” from the brown transverse banding of most specimens ;

it differs remarkably from all the others of the genus in its power

of dilating the sides of the neck, when irritated, into a broad, flat,

leaf-like hood as in the Cobra. These two species become more

rare towards the north, not having been observed in the warmer

regions. Hoplocephalus Gouldi is extremely rare, | having only

seen one Victorian specimen, it being here replaced by the only

new species I have met with, namely, the Hoplocephalus flagellum

(M‘Coy), the common Iittle ‘‘ Whip Snake” of the colonists,

having 19 and 17 rows of scales as constantly as its representa-

tive in W. Australiahas 15. The beautiful little H. coronoides of

Tasmania also occurs in Victoria, but is rare. Of Diemansia we

have only one species, the D. reticulata, one of the commonest of

the small snakes towards the Murray boundary of the colony, but

not found in the cooler localities towards the southern coast.

The beautiful “ Black Snake” of the colonists (Pseudechys por-

phyraicus) is a formidable and very poisonous species, but has

become very rare of late years in Victoria. The most dangerous

of all the snakes of the colony, both from its size (usually about.

Natural History of Victoria. 149

five feet), its abundant distribution everywhere through the

colony, and the fatal venom of its bite (frequently killing dogs

and occasionally men), is the “ Brown Snake” of the colonists —

the Pseudonaja nuchalis, closely related to the Naja or Cobra of

India. The statement published in Melbourne some years ago

of the occurrence of a species of true Boa in Victoria only rested

on a mistaken determination of the common Carpet-Snake (Mo-

relia vartegata),in which the obvious characters which distinguish

the Pythons of India, Africa, and Australia from the true Boas,

confined to America, were overlooked.

In the class of Fishes many species remain yet to be deter-

mined. The more important species used as food are the

“ Schnapper ” of colonists (Pagrus unicolor), abundant and often

of great size, with large numbers of which the market is regu-

larly supplied, and which is caught and dried in great quantities

by the Chinese fishermen in Hobson’s Bay, and supplied to

their countrymen on the various gold-fields. The next most

important species, from its being almost equally abundant at

times in the market, and of equally large size and superior flavour,

is the great Cod-perch, the “ Murray-cod ” of the colonists—the

Grystes Peel of Mitchell, or Oligorus Macquariensis of modern

writers. A very much larger (occasionally five feet in lengt®)

and finer fish for the table, only an occasional visitor however,

is the “ King Fish ” of colonists, which seems to me completely

identical with the great“ Maigre ” of the Mediterranean—Sciena

aquila. Dr. Giinther, the most recent European writer on

ichthyology, in hisGeneral Catalogue of Acanthopterygian Fishes,

states that the family Scienide, to which this fish belongs, has

never been found in Australia. The fishes commonly called

“Mullet ” (Dajanus Diemensis) and “ Whiting” (Sillago pune-

tata) by the colonists are common in the fish-shops for the table,

together with three species of “ Flathead,” Platycephalus nema-

tophthalmus, P. tasmanius, and P. levigatus, which are caught

abundantly in the bay at all times. Another tolerably good table-

fish is known to the colonists, and is found in the market under

the name of “ Pike,” though, like all the other fishes bearing the

names of English species, it has little resemblance and no affinity

to the fish of that name in Europe: it is the Sphyrena obtusata

and S. Nove Hollandie. The so-called “ Herring ” of the fisher-

men is the Centropristis Georgianus, with which the market is

also abundantly supplied. The “ Baracoota,” which visits us

regularly, and is in some request for the table, is certainly the

Cape of Good Hope Thyrsites atun. The small Ling, the Lota

breviuscula, is occasionally procured for food on the coast, but is

chiefly remarkable for the old full-grown fish (about a foot long)

having, two or three years ago, been stated by some fishermen

150 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Mollusca

to be the young of the great Newfoundland Cod: it was in vain

that I pointed out the generic difference in the number of the

fins, &c., and that these supposed young were adult ; the “ prac-

tical men ”’ carried conviction so far with them, that the merchants

of the town subscribed some hundreds of pounds, twice, to fit out

a vessel to commence a great cod-fishing, on a supposed cod-

bank a few miles out, as a mercantile speculation. The Dory

(Zeus Faber) isa rare visitant, but whether as delicious here as in

Kurope I cannot say, although a party of my scientific friends

actually ate one of the three specimens I have known to

occur during the seven years I have been in the colony, in-

stead of sending it to the Museum. A Guard-fish (Hemirham-

phus), a Tunny (Thynnus), and an Hel (Murena) are also com-

monly used for food. Amongst useful fishes not good for food,

I may mention the common European Sunfish (Orthagoriscus

Mola) as not uncommonly caught in the Bay, for its Jarge sup-

ply of oil.

Of Crustacea few kinds are used for food in Victoria: there

are no true Lobsters and no Crabs (Canceride) fit for the table ;

but a spiny Crayfish of about the same size and shape as the

English species 1s very common at the Heads, and is supplied

alsundantly to the market : it is nearly identical with the H. annu-

licornis. The gigantic Murray River Crayfish (the Astacozdes ser-

ratus) is now sent down alive in great numbers to the market for

the table. The smaller River Crayfish (the Astacoides quinquecari-

natus) is also often eaten in the country, but is not sent to market ;

it forms the chief food of the so-called “ Murray Cod,” from the

stomach of one of which I took twenty nearly perfect.

Melbourne University, 30th September, 1861.

XVIII.—On some new Species of Cylichnide, Bullidze, and Phili-

nide, from the Seas of China and Japan. By Axruur ADAms,

F.L.S. &c.

Genus Cyzicuna, Lovén.

1. Cylichna japonica, A. Adams.

C. testa cylindracea, rimato-umbilicata, epidermide fusca tenui seepe

obtecta, utrinque rotundata, apice perforato, transversim tota sub-

tilissime striata, striis antice distantioribus; apertura lineari, an-

tice dilatata; labio tenui, elongato, simplici; labro margine vix

recto, postice valde producto et rotundate angulato.

Hab. Korea Strait; 46 fathoms.

Next to C. arachis, Quoy, which was likewise obtained in the

from the Seas of China and Japan. 151

Korea Strait, this is the largest species of Cylichna; it differs

from that species in being more elongated and less robust, and

in the angle of the outer lip being produced and angulated,

extending considerably beyond the apex.

2. Cylichna proxima, A. Adams.

C. testa ovato-cylindracea, utrinque rotundata, alba, solida, nitida,

subopaca, transversim tota minutissime striata, apice profunde

umbilicato; apertura lineari, in medio constricta, antice dilatata ;

labio plica crassa obliqua instructo; labro in medio recto, antice

arcuato, postice subproducto rotundato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms.

Resembles C. Sarsiz, Phil.; but the aperture is constricted in

the middle; it is also like C. concinna, A. Adams, but is stouter

and not produced anteriorly, and the angle of the outer lip is

rounded.

3. Cylichna venustula, A. Adams.

C. testa ovato-cylindracea, utrinque subangustata, alba, solidula, ni-

tida, transversim tota subtilissime striata, apice perforato; aper-

tura lineari, antice dilatata; labio arcuato, plica obliqua instructo,

antice vix truncato ; labro margine regulariter arcuato,

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

Has the form of C. alba, Brown, and the sculpture of C. con-

cinna, but differs from the latter in being more robust, and in

the inner lip being furnished with a distinct oblique plait.

4. Cylichna rimata, A. Adams.

C. testa ovato-cylindracea, rimato-umbilicata, alba, tenui, nitida,

utrinque striata, apice perforato ; apertura lineari, antice acumi-

nata, producta, rima umbilicali lata; labio tenui, arcuato, sim-

plici; labro postice producto, rotundato ; margine rectiusculo.

Hab. Korea Strait ; 46 fathoms.

Most like C. umbilicata, Mont.; but the last whorl is not

acuminate posteriorly, the aperture is produced in front, and

the inner lip is long and arcuated.

5. Cylichna latiuscula, A. Adams.

C. testa parva, ovato-cylindrica, antice acuminata, postice latiore,

rimato-umbilicata, alba, tenui, levi, nitida, apice profunde perfo-

rato ; apertura angusta; labio tenui, simplici, arcuato; labro pos-

tice producto, late rotundato.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

Most like C. rimata, A. Adams, but is shorter and much wider

152 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Mollusca

posteriorly, and the angle of the outer lip is more rounded ; it

wants, moreover, the transverse strize at each end.

6. Cylichna lepidula, A. Adams.

C. testa cylindracea, nivea, solida, nitida, polita, in medio vix angus-

tata, postice truncata, apice vix perforato ; periomphalo acuto ;

apertura lineari; labio calloso, plica valida, distincta; labro mar-

gine inflexo.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms.

This species differs from all others described, in the periom-

phalus, or hind part of the body-whorl enclosing the sunken

apex, forming an acute well-defined ridge. It is a small, white,

highly polished, opake shell.

7. Cylichna consobrina, A. Adams.

C. testa cylindraceo-ovata, vix rimata, alba, solidula, longitudinaliter

_ striata, utrinque striata, striis distantibus ; apertura angusta ; labio

antice valde plicato ; labro subarcuato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

Most like C. rimata, but is more solid, longitudinally striated,

and wants the conspicuous umbilical fissure of that species.

8. Cylichna paraliela, A. Adams.

C. testa cylindracea, rimata, albida, solidiuscula, utrinque striata,

longitudinaliter strigosa; anfractu ultimo lateribus parallelis ;

apertura lineari, antice producta ; labio callo reflexo rimam tegente;

labro margine recto, postice producto et angulato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 16 fathoms.

Most nearly resembles C. involuta, A. Adams; but the aper-

ture is produced and pointed anteriorly, the sides of the body-

whorl are nearly parallel, and the outer lip forms posteriorly a

produced angle.

9. Cylichna assimilis, A, Adams.

C. testa cylindracea, sordide alba, solida, breviuscula, postice truncata,

dilatata, antice acuminata, sub lente cbsolete tota transversim

striata; apertura lineari; labio incrassato, plica evanida; labro

margine rectiusculo, postice subproducto et rotundato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

A small species, somewhat resembling C. involuta, A. Adams,

but much shorter, dilated behind, narrowed in front, and with

the hind angle of the outer lip rounded.

from the Seas of China and Japan. 158

10. Cylichna pumila, A. Adams.

C. testa parva, alba, tenui, ovato-cylindracea, in medio subconstricta,

utrinque rotundata, longitudinaliter substriata; apertura latius-

cula; labio tenui, arcuato, simplici; labro margine in medio in-

flexo.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 16 fathoms.

A small, thin, elongate-oval species, somewhat contracted in

the middle. It is very unlike any other hitherto described.

11. Cylichna candidula, A. Adams.

C. testa cylindracea, alba, transversim tota confertim striata, postice

subtruncata, antice producta et subacuminata ; apertura lineari ;

labio subincrassato, antice obsolete uniplicata; labro margine in

medio rectiusculo, postice vix producto, rotundato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms.

This species partakes of the character of C. venustula and

concinna with regard to sculpture and general appearance, but

is elongated and cylindrical.

12. Cylichna inedita, A. Adams.

C. testa cylindracea, postice subtruncata, antice acuminata, alba,

tenui, longitudinaliter strigosa ; apertura lineari, antice producta ;

labio elongato, flexuoso ; plica parictali conspicua; labro margine

recto, postice subproducto, rotundato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

A small, thin, strigose species, with the aperture anteriorly

produced, and with an elongate subspiral fold at the fore part of

the inner lip.

Genus Tornatina, A, Adams.

In addition to the two species of this genus described below,

I have obtained, by deep-water dredging, 7. voluta, Quoy and

Gaim.; 7. olivula, A. Adams; 7. pusilla, Pfeiff.; 7. simplex, A.

Adams; 7. planospira, A. Adams; T. fusiformis, A.- Adams ;

T. gracilis, A. Adams; and 7. truncata, J. Adams ; some of which

have also occurred in the Yellow Sea.

1. Tornatina delicatula, A. Adams.

T. testa cylindraceo-ovata, alba, tenui, nitida, spira truncata, apice

mammillato, longitudinaliter substriata; apertura lineari, antice

154 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Moliusca

dilatata; labio plica obliqua conspicua; labro margine vix ar-

cuato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

In the obtuse subtruncate spire and papillary apex, this spe-

cies resembles 7. pusilla, Pfeiff.; but it is longer and more

slender, and the aperture is more produced anteriorly.

2. Tornatina succincta, A. Adams.

T. testa cylindracea, in medio coarctata, vertice truncato, alba, longi-

tudinaliter tota striata, transversim fasciata, fasciis pallidis sub-

distantibus ; apertura lineari, in medio angustata, antice dilatata ;

labio obsolete plicato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 16 fathoms: Awa-Sima; low water.

In form this species most resembles 7. ¢runcata, J. Adams ;

but it is more elongated and much narrower, and marked with

indistinct pale bands; the whorls of the spire are visible, but

sunken, and the parietal plica is not conspicuous.

Genus Vorvuta, A. Adams.

The animal of this little genus, described by me in 1850, but

which is not generally known to conchologists, has hitherto

eluded our researches. The shells are only obtained by deep-

water dredging, but, judging from their form, sculpture, colour,

and texture, appear to belong to the family Cylichnide. During

the voyage, I have obtained all the species hitherto described,

includmg V. mucronata, Phil., and V. angustata, A. Adams,

from the China Sea, and V. striatula, eburnea, and rostrata, A.

Adams, from the Sea of Japan. V. acuminata, Brug., the type

of the genus, is called an Ovulum by Hanley, and is an inhabitant

of the British seas. I now give brief diagnoses of six new

species.

1. Volwula opalina, A. Adams.

V.. testa elongato-ovali, rimata, alba, semipellucida, leevi, nitida, an-

tice obsolete transversim striata, mucrone brevi in angulo pro-

ducto labri incluso; apertura angusta; labio tenui, obliquo, in-

curvato ; labro regulariter arcuato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

2. Volvula spectabilis, A. Adams.

V. testa elongato-ovali, postice acuminata, antice rotundata, mucrone

brevi non producto, tenuicula, alba, nitida, minutissime trans-

yersim striata; apertura mediocri; labio tenui, elongato, vix flexu-

oso; labro regulariter arcuato.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms,

from the Seas of China and Japan. 155

3. Volvuia cylindrella, A. Adams.

V. testa cylindraceo-ovata, utrinque obtusa, transversim tota striata,

striis confertis, mucrone brevi acuto non producto; apertura

lineari; labio subtortuoso ; labro margine rectiusculo.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

4. Volvula ovulina, A. Adams.

V. testa elongato-ovali, subventricosa, transversim tota striata, umbi-

licata, antice gibbosula, mucrone parvo acuto in angulo producto

labri incluso ; apertura lata ; labio tortuoso, elongato, antice late

reflexo; labro regulariter arcuato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

5. Volvula radiola, A. Adams.

V. testa subcylindracea, utrinque acuminata, mucrone producto,

acuta, alba, opaca, transversim tota striata, striis distantibus ;

apertura lineari, antice dilatata; labio obliquo, recto, subincras-

sato; labro margine recto.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

6. Volvula attenuata, A. Adams.

V. testa ovato-cylindracea, utrinque angustata, transversim tota

striata, striis distantibus, mucrone acuto producto ; apertura lineari,

antice vix dilatata; labio subtortuoso, obliquo; labro margine

subarcuato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms.

Genus Haminra, Leach.

Besides the three new species of this genus which I am about

to describe, the following were also obtained from the Sea of

Japan :—H. rotundata, A. Adams; H. brevissima, A. Adams ;

HH, pygmea, A. Adams; and H. succinea, Conrad.

1. Haminea fulgida, A. Adams.

IT, testa elongato-cylindracea, alba, tenui, nitida, subpellucida, utrin-

que rotundata, transversim tota striolata, striolis minutissimis con-

fertis; apertura angusta, antice dilatata; margine columellari

acuto, arcuato ; labro rectiusculo, postice producto et angulato.

Hab. Shan-tung (Kala-hai).

This is a beautiful white, shining, semipellucid species, most

like H. curta, A. Adams, but more elongate and narrower, and

engraved with very fine close-set transverse striole.

2. Haminea lucida, A. Adams.

HZ, testa cylindraceo-ovata, vix rimata, utrinque rotundata, diaphana,

vitrea, transversim tota striata, striis minutissimis confertis ; aper-

156 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Mollusca

tura angusta, antice producta ; margine columellari tenui, arcuato;

jabro postice rotundato.

Hab. Gulf of Lian-tung; Hulu-Shan Bay.

Like H. brevissima and pygmea, A. Adams. An examination

of the animal shows it to belong to Haminea, the genus which

in'all probability includes its above-named congeners. In my

Monograph of the family (Sow. Thesaurus, Bulla), they are

arranged under Cylichnidz.

3. Haminea strigosa, A. Adams.

H. testa cylindraceo-ovata, utrinque rotundata, alba, nitida, sub-

opaca, transversim tota minutissime striolata, longitudinaliter stri-

gosa; apertura angusta, antice dilatata ; margine columellari sim-

plici, arcuato ; labro recto, postice producto et rotundato.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

White, with longitudinal slightly raised streaks, and entirely

transversely striated. In form it resembles H. lucida, A. Adams ;

but the aperture is rounded anteriorly, and not produced as in

that species.

Genus ScarpHanpER, Montfort.

Five species only of this limited genus have hitherto been

described from Europe and America; and I now add brief dia-

enoses of six Asiatic species found by myself in the Sea of Japan.

The shells, except to a person well acquainted with the family,

might be mistaken for species of Philine, but are known by their

distinct though sunken spire. They are also, being external

shells, stronger and more distinctly sculptured; whereas the

species of Philine are thin, more simple, and contained within

the mantle of the animal.

1. Scaphander japonicus, A. Adams.

S. testa ovata, elongata, postice angustata, sordide alba, transversim

‘ suleata, sulcis subconfertis puncticulatis ; spira occulta ; apertura

postice coarctata, antice dilatata; labio tenui ; labro postice pro-

ducto et obtusim angulato, antice rotundato; margine regulariter

arcuato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

The punctate strize are common to most of the species of this

genus. The present species nearly resembles S. lignarius in

form, but is much smaller (only half an inch long) ; it is also

less ventricose, and the*transverse grooves are puncticulate.

2. Scaphander Cumingit, A. Adams.

S, testa oblongo-ovata, postice constricta, albida, transversim oblique

from the Seas of China and Japan. 157

suleata, suleis confertis puncticulatis; apertura ampla, postice

valde coarctata, antice dilatata et vix effusa ; labio elongato, ex-

terne subreflexo; labro postice producto et acute angulato; mar-

gine postice inflexo, antice crenulato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

Differs from S. japonicus, which it equals in size, in the last

whorl being posteriorly constricted, in the close-set oblique

grooves, in the narrowness of the last whorl, and in the acute

hind angle of the outer lip.

3. Scaphander elonyatus, A. Adams.

S. testa tenui, alba, clongato-ovata, utrinque angustata, transversim

suleata, sulcis distantibus, punctatis ; apertura antice producta et

dilatata, postice coarctata; labio tenui; labro margine regulariter

arcuato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

This species is clongate and narrowed at both ends, and the

punctate grooves are wide apart. The spire of this and of all

the other species is “ truncata umbilicata,” or “ occulta,”

4. Scaphander sulcatinus, A. Adams.

S. testa elongato-ovata, solidiuscula, postice angustata, fulvescente,

nitida, transversim sulcata, sulcis simplicibus, distantibus ; aper-

tura postice coarctata, antice dilatata; labio simplici; labro mar-

gine regulariter arcuato.

Hab. Korea Strait ; 46 fathoms.

This is a small, smooth, rather solid species, transversely sul-

cate; the grooves fine, simple, and more strongly marked at the

posterior extremity.

5. Scaphander Sieboldii, A. Adams.

S. testa parva, oblonga, alba, subtenui, postice coarctata, in medio

gibbosula, transversim suleata, sulcis distantibus, punctatis ; aper-

tura ampla, antice valde dilatata, postice angusta; labio postice

reflexo, antice tenui arcuato ; labro margine vix recto, postice pro-

dueto et valde angulato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms.

The only species at all resembling this is S. pectinalus, from

which, however, it differs greatly; it is very loosely convolute,

and the last whorl is gibbose in the middle.

6. Scaphander dilatatus, A. Adams.

S. testa ovata, postice angustata, laxe convoluta, alba, tenui, trans-

versim striata, striis crebris, simplicibus; spira parva; apertura

ampla, postice angusta, antice valde dilatata; labio tenui; labro

158 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Mollusca

margine regulariter arcuato, postice producto et acute angu-

lato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms.

This is a slightly convolute, thin, oblong species, with the

transverse lines waved but not punctate, and the aperture

greatly dilated.

Genus Arys, Montfort.

This genus is one of the many good ones established by

Denys de Montfort, who also gave us Scaphander, Trophon,

Phos, and Typhis, and who did his best to illustrate his work

by engravings of his own, which are certainly rude and not

always accurate. For the better understanding of the genus, I

have thrown my Japanese and Chinese species into subordinate

but, I think, convenient groups.

Subgenus Arys, Montfort.

Testa ventricosa, transversim striata.

1. Atys amphorella, A. Adams.

A, testa ovoidea, ventricosa, in medio gibbosula, rimata, tenui, leevi,

nitida, luteola, antice angusta, postice subacuminata; labio sub-

recto, antice v.x truncato; labro arcuato, postice producto, tor-

tuoso, rotundato.

Hab, Lo-shan-kow ; Shan-tung.

Atys tortuosa, A. Adams, is the nearest approach to this spe-

cies, which, however, is not striated, and the outer lip has not the

spiral twist so conspicuous in that species. My Chinese species

is shaped hike a little fat Amphora.

2. Atys scrobiculata, A. Adams.

A. testa ovoidea, ventricosa, postice angustata, antice acuminata,

sordide alba, late et profunde umbilicata; umbilici margine angu-

lato ; apertura utrinque valde producta ; margine columellari recto,

simplici, antice rotundato.

Fab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

The only shell which resembles this singular little species is

A. tortuosa, A. Adams; but the great peculiarity of the aperture,

which is pointed at both ends and produced beyond the body-

whorl, distinguishes it from all others.

Subgenus Roxan1, Leach.

Testa solida, ovoidea, transversim lineato-punctata.

3. Roxania punctulata, A. Adams.

KR. testa ovoidea, solida, perforata, utrinque rotundata, decussatim

Rates)

Jrom the Seas of China and Japan. 159

striata, transversim profunde sulcata, sulcis valde punctatis ; aper-

tura angusta, antice dilatata; labio recto, antice truncato ; labro

postice producto, rotundato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms,

No species hitherto described resembles this: the nearest

approach to it is R. Cranchii, Leach. AR. insculpta, Totten, is

sculptured rather like it. The shell is solid, very strongly

punctate-striate, and deeply umbilicated; and the inner lip is

truncate anteriorly.

Subgenus Aricuta, Ehrenberg.

Testa subcylindracea, transversim striata.

4. Alicula translucens, A. Adams.

A, testa cylindraceo-ovata, tenui, pellucida, utrinque transversim

striata, striis distantibus, area intermedia glabra; apertura

angusta; labio recto, antice truncato; labro margine in medio

rectiusculo, postice tortuoso et producto, antice crenulato.

Hab. Port Hamilton; 10 fathoms (mud).

This species most nearly resembles Alicula succisa, Ehrenberg,

from the Red Sea, but is narrower and more cylindrical in form,

and is thin and nearly transparent.

5. Alicula secalina, A. Adams.

A, testa cylindraceo-ovata, rimata, apice subtruncato vix perforato,

cornea semiopaca, transversim tota striata, striis distantibus in

medio obsoletis ; apertura lineari; labio obliquo, subincrassato ;

labro in medio rectiusculo.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

This is a small, grain-like, horn-coloured species, with the

apex small and truncate, and the outer lip hardly produced be-

yond it.

6. Alicula volvulina, A. Adams.

A. testa cylindraceo-ovata, rimata, utrinque acuminata et transversim

striata, striis distantibus, alba, tenui, opaca, nitida; apertura an-

gusta ; labio obliquo flexuoso, antice incrassato ; labro regulariter

arcuato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms.

A little white shining species, acuminate at both ends, like a

Volvula, but with the sunken spire and twisted outer lip of an

Atys.

Subgenus Sao, H. & A. Adams.

Testa pyramidata aut pyriformis, postice attenuata, antice gibbosa.

160 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Mollusca.

7. Sao folliculus, A, Adams.

S. testa obovata, umbilicata, solidula, basi dilatata, gibbosa, leevi,

postice transversim striata, apice profunde perforato; apertura

antice dilatata, postice angusta; labio incrassato; labro postice

valde producto et acuminate angulato.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

The only species resembling this is S. pyriformis, A. Adams,

from the China Sea; but that species is much more ventricose,

and more attenuated posteriorly.

8. Sao phiala, A. Adams.

S. testa cylindrico-pyramidali, antice attenuata, infra periomphalum

subconstricta, rimata, utrinque transversim striata; vertice pro~

funde perforato; apertura lineari, postice coarctata, antice dila-

tata; labio recto, elongato, simplici; lJabro postice valde pro-

ducto.

Hab. Mino-Sima ; 63 fathoms.

The peculiar contraction at the anterior part of the body-

whorl just below the apex, the produced angle of the outer lip,

and the straight simple mner lip are the chief peculiarities of

this species.

9. Sao elliptica, A. Adams.

S. testa parvula, alba, tenui, elongato-ovata, antice subdilatata, lon-

gitudinaliter strigosa, utrinque transversim striata; apertura li-

neari, antice dilatata; labio recto, in medio calloso; labro margine

arcuato, postice producto, rotundato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 16 fathoms.

A small, white, longitudinally strigose, ovate species, differing

in form and appearance from any other of the group.

Genus Puiitne, Ascanius.

1, Philine scalpta, A. Adams.

P. testa oblongo-ovata, alba, tenui, semipellucida, longitudinaliter

subplicata, plicis irregularibus, lineis transversis exaratis undulatis

distantibus insculpta; apertura ampla; margine columellari tenui,

acuto; labro regulariter arcuato, postice rotundato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 30 fathoms: Korea Strait; 46 fathoms.

Bulla exarata, Ph., or Haminea sinensis, A. Adams, is the only

species resembling this in sculpture; but the form is very dif-

ferent : the body-whorl in that species is large, and the outer Jip

narrowed posteriorly and greatly produced.

2. Piiline crenata, A. Adams.

P. testa ovata, alba, solidiuscula, postice subangulata, transversim

Witte

Bibliographical Notices. 161

valde sulcata, sulcis transversim excavato-punctatis, eorum mar-

ginibus crenatis; apertura dilatata; margine columellari antice

oblique truncata; labro semicirculari, postice parum producto et

rotundato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 30 fathoms: Korea Strait; 46 fathoms.

No species has been described resembling this, which is nearly

as large as P. Coreanica. The edges of the transverse grooves

are conspicuously crenate, and the puncta or pits are transversely

oblong.

3. Philine acutangula, A. Adams.

P. testa subquadrato-ovata, alba, tenui, postice subtruncata, trans-

versim sulcata, sulcis excavato-punctatis ; anfractu ultimo lateribus

subparallelis; apertura aperta; labro margine semicirculari, an-

gulo ejus postice incurvato, producto et acuto.

Hab. Gulf of Lian-tung; Hulu-Shan Bay.

The nearest approach to this species is Ph. scutulum, Lovén ;

but the produced sharp hind angle of the outer lip will serve

readily to distinguish it.

4 Philine striolata, A. Adams.

P. testa parva, ovata, alba, ‘tenui, semipellucida, postice rotundata,

longitudinaliter plicata, transversim striolata, striolis confertis,

subtilissimis; apertura dilatata; margine columellari arcuato ;

labro regulariter semicirculari, postice producto, rotundato,

Hab. 'Tsu-Sima; 380 fathoms.

In form this little species most nearly approaches Bullea

pruinosa, Clark, from the British Seas; but in sculpture it is

entirely different, being very finely transversely striated.

Shanghai, China,

May 15, 1861.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

Forest Creatures. By Cuartres Boner, Author of ‘Chamois-

Hunting in the Mountains of Bavaria,’ &c., &c. Small 8vo.

London: Longman, 1861.

THAT an intimate connexion should exist between the chase and the

study of natural history is not surprising. From the time when the

conqueror of Arbela bade the Nimrods and Gordon-Cummings of his

generation bring their hunting trophies and experiences to the Sta-

gyrite sage, this connexion seems to have lasted down to our own

day, which has seen the works of Mr. A. E. Knox and the late Mr.

Charles St. John—men whom one hardly knows whether to regard

as scientific sportsmen or sporting men of science, ‘To such a class

Ann, & Mag, N, Hist. Ser. 3. Vol, ix. ll

162 Bibliographical Notices.

belongs the author of the modest little octavo whose title stands at

the head of this article. If Mr. Boner has failed to express himself

so happily as the writers we have just named, and to invest the sub-

jects and scenes he describes with the absorbing interest that per-

vades their works, it is for reasons of which, as critics from a zoological

point of view, we need not complain, but prefer leaving his occasional

faults of style to our more exclusively literary brethren. The author

says in his preface, that he wishes it ‘to be understood that the book

is wholly without scientific pretension ;” but we must remark that

its scientific merits are no less present because they are unassumed.

The animals treated of in ‘ Forest Creatures’ are seven in number,

namely, the Wild Boar, Roe, Red and Fallow Deer, Capercally (we

prefer the spelling of the old Scottish law-books to our author’s

** Capercailie,’”’ or to the more common, more inconvenient, and

equally un-English ‘“‘Capercailzie”’), Black Grouse, and Golden Eagle.

There is also a chapter headed ‘‘ Homer a Sportsman,” which might

be read with pleasure even by Mr. Gladstone; and another of *‘ Hints,”

which might be read with profit even by Mr. Grantley Berkeley.

In England we are apt to imagine that none but our own country-

men have any right to be regarded as sportsmen. Our vanity has

been flattered by amusing sketches and descriptions of fully-armed

Frenchmen engaged in the pursuit of skylarks, or of a band of

German students discharging a volley at a covey of partridges, from

which, on thé consequent fall of a single victim, the whole body of

jigers would forthwith burst into a joyous hunting-song, to the

astonishment of the British spectator. Mr. Boner’s book may help

to correct these grossly exaggerated notions, and serve to show that

there is as much true sportsman-like feeling in Germany as in Eng-

land. Indeed, it may be shortly safd that sporting is peculiar to no

age and to no nation. :

But we must limit our remarks in this direction, and apply our-

selves more especially to the zoological points of interest in the work

we are noticing. Mr. Boner’s account of the Wild Boar is especially

deserving of attention; for in no modern English works are the pe-

culiar habits of that “knightly beast” described. Quite recently

also;-doubts, apparently well founded, have been expressed as to

whether or not our domestic swine have descended from the wild

Sus serofa*, which even now has an extensive range throughout

Europe,. though there is, we believe, no record of its existence in

‘England since the time of the first Plantagenet king, some seven

hundred years ago. The Boar seems to be somewhat of a favourite

with our author; and a well-executed representation of its head—no

inappropriate device at this season of the year—glows on the green

‘cover of his work.

We beg leave to draw the attention of physiologists to what is re-

corded of the Roe-deer by Mr. Boner. He announces, as ‘‘a new ~

wonder in natural history,” a discovery which he says has been

* See Mr. Bartlett’s “‘ Remarks on the Japanese Masked Pig,” reprinted

‘in our last volume (pp. 501, 502) from the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological

‘Society’ for 1861, pp. 263, 264, it

Bibliographical Notices. 163

made by Professor Bischoff, of Munich, respecting the conception

and gestation of that species. It is stated that—

“The rutting-season of the Roe is at the end of July and in Au-

gust, this being the only time when the organs of the male and

female are in such a state as to make procreation possible.

‘In a few days, at most, after the rutting, the egg progresses in

the usual way through certain channels—a process unnecessary to:

describe here,—and then arrives in the uterus; and here, without:

undergoing any change whatever, it lies dormant 43 months.

**In this undeveloped state it had always been overlooked by na-

turalists ; moreover, as the uterus remains also quite unchanged, the

belief that the doe was not pregnant seems to be confirmed.

** As will be remarked, all the circumstances were such as to mis-

lead the investigator, and to incline to false conclusions.

** But in the middle of December the germ, which had been lying”

so long inactive, suddenly quickens, and, with the same fast progress

as is observable in other Mammalia, developes so considerably, that

in from twenty-one to twenty-five days all the parts of the egg and

all the organs of the embryo are so formed as to undergo no further

change before birth, except an increase in size.

. “The different gradations in the development of the embryo, the

various appearances which present themselves in the more or less

advanced stages of growth, have been omitted as quite unnecessary,

and, to many a reader, wholly unintelligible. These, however, have

all been circumstantially noted down, and drawn with the strictest

accuracy ; and, moreover, the delicate germ and its infinitesimal’

tendril-like offshoots have been preserved, so that their progress to-

wards maturity may be followed day by day and week by week, and’

the eye of the uninitiated, even, behold and comprehend what once

Science alone could see.

** And for such discovery, and clear display of it, we are indebted

to Dr. Louis William Bischoff, at this moment Professor at the Uni-

versity of Munich*”’ (pp. 44-46).

Now the extraordinary circumstance above related is not entirely

new to English naturalists, though it may be so to many of our

readers, for no comprehensive work on British Mammals has been:

published since those of Prof. Bell and Prof. MacGillivray, which

appeared, the one simultaneously with, the other but shortly after Prof.

Pockel’s paper in Miiller’s ‘ Archiv’ for 1836, wherein attention was

first directed to the subject. Yet, if we are not mistaken, the dis-

covery of the distinguished Bavarian physiologist has been noticed

in some of our scientific journals; and we believe that the proof of

his theory is considered satisfactory. However, we look forward to

Prof. Bell telling us all about it in the new edition of his ‘ British

Mammalia,’ which is understood to be in preparation.

Two chapters are devoted to the Red-deer ; and a subject which

* «Tn case any of my readers should be desirous of studying the subject

with more scientific accuracy than it is possible to do from this sketch, the

title of Prof. Bischoff’s treatise is subjomed; ‘ Entwickelungsgeschichte

des Rehes.’ Giessen, 1854.” :

11*

164 Bibliographical Notices.

has not, that we are aware of, hitherto received much attention from

naturalists is very fully treated. This is the fact that the ‘slot” or

footprint of the animal reveals to the practised eye a faithful indica-

tion of its age, sex, size, and condition. Of course all this is well

known to every good forester, but we are ignorant of any work im

which the particulars are recorded ; and here numerous illustrations

are introduced, serving to explain the differences which may be ob-

served. The Fallow-deer comes next in the book, but this theme is

less dwelt upon; and then a few pages are occupied by the Caper-

‘cally and Black Grouse, without any new facts in their history being,

we believe, alleged, though Mr. Boner graphically describes the

scenery of their haunts, and the methods employed of shooting the

cocks of both these fine birds in the season of courtship—undoubtedly

an unsportsmanlike practice, according to English notions, but one

which, from their polygamous habits, may be indulged in without

fear of too much diminishing the stock, and which, from the great

extent of the German forests, added to the desultory wanderings of

the birds at other periods of the year, is almost rendered necessary.

We cannot afford space to dwell on the Eagle-nesting exploits of

Count Arco, who seems to possess the combined powers of MM.

Blondin and Leotard, so great is his skill in balancing and leaping.

An account of this gentleman’s great feat at Rohrmoos has already

been published in the English newspapers*. We can only regret

that the custom of Eagle-destroying, which has even now deprived

the Highlands of Scotland of so much of the ornithological interest

they formerly possessed—and this without any great advantage to

the sportsman—has been extended to South Germany. If Eagles’

nests were always placed in the dizzy situation represented in Mr.

Boner’s frontispiece, we might rest assured that, in the absence of an

enemy endowed with Count Arco’s perseverance and gymnastic

accomplishments, they would be pretty safe; but we fear the selec-

tion of such almost impregnable fortresses is rather the exception

than the rule.

The illustrations to ‘Forest Creatures’ are well designed by the

artist ; but, we are sorry to say, the wood-cutter has done his best to

spoil the spirit shown by the draughtsman, by his extremely clumsy

execution. Should this little book, as it certainly deserves, attain

the honours of a second edition, the publishers will do well to have

the figures re-engraved.

Some naturalists there may be who will say that works like this of

Mr. Boner’s are of no scientific use, but are merely fit to amuse fox-

hunting gentlemen during a frost, or shooting squires in showery

weather. With such opinions we decidedly disagree, and recommend

to their notice a little anecdote related in pages 219, 220 (whether

it is true or not does not in the least signily), which the author in-

troduces by the remark, ‘A trifle, if it be seen by one, even the

most uncultivated, who understands the technical peculiarity, and

knows what inference is to be drawn from it, may throw sudden light

* Vide ‘The Field’ for June 8, 1861.

Bibliographical Notices. 165

on a subject, and clear up that which was before shrouded in mys-

tery.” Herein lies the explanation of the utility of all field-observa-

tions.

Report on the Geological Survey of the State of Iowa. By JamMEs

Hatt (State-Geologist) and J.D. Wurtney (Chemist and Mi-

neralogist). Vol. I. Part 1. Geology ; Part 2. Paleontology.

Iowa, 1858.

In 1812 was published (in the ‘ Journal de Physique’ for February)

the first geological map of the United States of America, by William

Maclure ; and this was improved and republished at Philadelphia in

1817. Other independent observers, among whom were A. Eaton,

L. Vanuxem, 8. G. Morton, I. Lea, G. W. Featherstonhaugh, and

W. Darby, continued to advance the knowledge of the geology and

paleontology of the United States until about 1835, when consider-

able impetus was given to geological research by two circumstances ¢

—firstly, Murchison’s elucidation and arrangement of the Silurian

strata, and the consequent clear systematization of the Palzeozoic

rocks in Europe and America; and secondly, the institution of spe-

cial geological surveys by the Governments of several of the States of

the North American Union and by the Federal Government itself,—

the national importance of geological maps and reports having been

recognized by the United States and by the English Governments at

about the same time.

The geological surveys of the following States were commenced

about this period :—Maine (C. T. Jackson), New Hampshire (C. T.

Jackson), Vermont (Z. Thompson and C. B. Adams), Massachusetts

(E. Hitchcock), Rhode Island (C. T. Jackson), Connecticut (C. U.

Shepard and J. G. Percival), New York (W.W. Mather, E. Emmons,

L. Vanuxem, J. Hall, J. E. Dekay, L. C. Beck, and T. A. Conrad),

New Jersey (H. D. Rogers), Pennsylvania (H. D. Rogers), Delaware

(J. C. Booth), Maryland (J. T. Ducatel), Virginia (W. B. Rogers),

Ohio (W. W. Mather), Tennessee (G. Troost), Indiana (D. D. Owen),

and Michigan (D. Houghton). Most of these State-surveys have

been prosecuted with vigour by the geologists above named and

others, and have been productive of good maps and memoirs, and of

valuable collections and descriptions of fossils and minerals. Sub-

sequently the State of Kentucky was preliminarily examined by

L. P. Yandell and B. F. Shumard in 1846, and geologically surveyed

by D. D. Owen in 1854-55; and Missouri has been reported on by

G. C. Swallow. The States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and

Illinois were geologically explored by D. D. Owen in 1839-52;

Wisconsin by the late J. G. Percival in 1854; and Iowa was more

specially surveyed by James Hall and J. D. Whitney in 1855-57,

and the results of their labours are published in the Report before

us. Previous to making any remarks on this work, we may mention

that in the Southern States geological surveys have been established,

——in North Carolina (D. Olmsted and E. Emmons), South Carolina

(M. Tuomey and O. M. Lieber), Alabama (M. Tuomey), Georgia

166 Bibliographical Notices.

(G. White), and Mississippi (B. L. Wailes); that Arkansas has been

reported on by the late eminent geologist, D. D. Owen (1857-60) ;

Texas is under examination by B. F. Shumard, and Illinois by A. H.

Worthen; and that the geological constitution of the Western Terri-

tories of the United States has been learnt chiefly by means of the

various expeditions, exploring, surveying, and military, undertaken

since 1840.

- Few of the State-surveys, except those of New York and Penn-

sylvania, rival in their results that of Iowa, whether we look to the

elucidation of the geology of the country in letterpress, sections, and

map, to the description and figuring of the characteristic fossils,

or to the style and preparation of the books themselves.

We have, however, only the first portion of the Report before us ;

and that is divided into two large volumes,—one devoted to the de-

scriptive geology, and the other to the paleontology, chiefly of the

eastern counties of the State of Iowa. Messrs. Hall and Whitney

were assisted by Messrs. A. H. Worthen, B. J. Hall, E. Hungerford,

and E. A. Cooley in their geological explorations. They describe

the country as being composed of nearly horizontal strata, of Paleeo-

zoic age, often covered by heavy drift-deposits of clay, sand, and

gravel. The strata have a N.W.-S.E. strike, and dip gently, with

undulations, to the N.E. The lowest rock is the Potsdam Sandstone

(500 feet seen), exposed in the valley of the Upper Mississippi and

its branches, especially the Upper Iowa River: above this follow the

Calciferous Sandstone, or Lower Magnesian Limestone of D. D. Owen

(200 feet thick) ; the St. Peter’s Sandstone of D. D. Owen (80 feet);

Trenton Limestone (100 feet), including the Black-river and Birds-

eye Limestones ; Galena-limestone (250 feet) ; Hudson-river Shales

and Limestones (100 feet) ; [the Medina sandstone and Clinton rocks

seem to be wanting ;| Niagara Limestone (150 feet); Leclaire Lime-

stone (more than 500 feet); Onondaga-salt Limestones, &c. (180 feet);

Helderberg (Upper) Limestones (more than 50 feet); Hamilton

Shales and Shaly Limestones (60 feet) ; Chemung Shales and Sand-

stones (80 feet): Carboniferous Limestones—Burlington Limestone

(encrinital) ; Keokuk Limestone and Chert (Archimedal) ; Warsaw

Limestone (Archimedal) ; St. Louis Limestone (concretionary) ; [the

Ferruginous Sandstone of Missouri and the Kaskasia Limestone of

Illinois are wanting ;| lastly, the Coal-measures.

The lowest of these rocks occur only in the northern part of the

State; the Coal-measures occupy the central and southern portions ;

and the whole series can be seen in section along the Mississippi by

traversing the entire length of the State.

The geological formations of Iowa are those which are found to

the eastward in New York and Pennsylvania; but, with one or two

exceptions (especially the Potsdam Sandstone), they gradually be-

come thinner towards the west. Thus the Cambro-Silurian rocks,

from the Potsdam Sandstone to the Niagara Limestone inclusive,

which are from 8000 to 10,000 feet thick on the borders of New Eng-

land, or along the Appalachian chain, have a thickness of only about

1380 feet in Iowa.

Bibliographical Notices. 167

. The Coal-measures of the State are geologically continuous with

those of Illinois and Wisconsin. They are unconformable to the-

older Palaeozoic rocks, and overlap the edges of the slightly inclined

strata of Devonian and Silurian age. As yet, in Iowa the Coal-

measures have been proved to the depth of 500 feet only; whilst

in Missouri they are 640 feet thick, in the Mississippi Valley 1000

feet, in Pennsylvania upwards of 6000 feet (and, including the Con-

glomerate, nearly 8000 feet), in Cape Breton more than 10,000 feet,

and in Nova Scotia upwards of 14,000 feet. Only one or two seams

of coal (from 3 to 5 feet or more thick) and a cannel-coal are worked

in Kastern Iowa.

In Western Iowa the Permian formation is said to be represented

by gypsiferous rocks; and the Lower Cretaceous rocks are well-

developed both there and in the neighbouring Territories of Kansas

and Nebraska. Mr. Hall, from the evidences already collected in

the West, is inclined to believe in the existence of an extensive de-

velopment of Jurassic rocks along the eastern side of the Rocky

Mountains.

** It would appear,” observes the author, ‘‘ that, from the earliest

Silurian times, the Great West, or the region of the Rocky Moun-:

tains, has been an ocean which successively received the finer sedi-

ments derived from eastern lands, or which produced within its own

area the calcareous deposits,—but ever an ocean, not only to the

close of the Carboniferous period, but still later through the Per-

mian, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods ; showing apparently no evi-

dences of dry land till about the beginning of the Cretaceous era, or

perhaps a little earlier ; while, in later Tertiary periods, the conti-

nental fauna and flora have been remarkably developed over the same

area. ‘Thus, while the older Palzeozoic formations have been. largely

accumulated in the East, in successive beds, having altogether a

thickness of several times the height of our highest mountains (in

Towa), they have greatly diminished in the West. At the same time,

while the post-palzeozoic formations are very thin or often absent in

the East, they have accumulated in vast amount along the line of

the Rocky Mountains, from one end of the continent to the other.”

. 141).

Phe geography of the country is described by J. D. Whit-

ney, in chapter 1; the general geology, by J. Hall, in chapters 2

and 3; the geology of the Desmoins Valley, by A. H. Worthen, in

chap. 4; the geology of certain counties, by A. H. Worthen and

J. D. Whitney, in chaps. 5 and 6; and the chemistry and economic

geology by J.D. Whitney, in chap. 7. It is stated that “the geo-

logical structure of the State clearly indicates that her agricultural

products, her coal-mines and beds of gypsum will constitute her

greatness of resources and her future wealth” (p. 145); and the

lead-mines are also of importance.

Chapter 8 of this work (or part 2 of vol. i.) treats of the paleeonto-

logy of the State as far as concerns the following groups of rocks,—

Hamilton group, Chemung group, Burlington Limestone, Keokuk

168 Bibliographical Notices.

Limestone, St. Louis Limestone, Kaskasia Limestone, and the Coal-

measures. These Mr. Hall “considered more important in the pre-

sent state of our knowledge,’”’—the Lower and Upper Silurian forma-

tions having been illustrated in Dr. D. D. Owen’s Reports on parts

of Iowa and the neighbouring States, and the higher groups, espe-

cially the Carboniferous Limestones, not having received so much

attention. Twenty-nine elegantly engraved plates and numerous wood-

cuts illustrate the fossils, among which Brachiopoda and Crinoidea

predominate.

This Report, as far as it extends, appears fully to meet the require-

ments of the State-survey organized in 1855, and provides the citizens

of Iowa with clear information respecting their lands. To geologists

at large it is also a very valuable work, providing means of compari-

son for extensive Palzeozoic districts of which previously there was

little exact knowledge; and we may look forward to the second

volume as being even still richer in ‘‘ comparative geology ;”’ for it

will not only treat of the relations of the Paleeozoic rocks, with which

Mr. Hall has had a life-long acquaintance, but also of the Secondary

formations of the Western Territories, to the consideration of which

the same eminent geologist will have brought cautious experience

and dispassionate acumen.

Second Report of a Geological Reconnoissance of the Middle and

Southern Counties of Arkansas, made during the years 1859 and

1860. By Davip Dae Owen, Principal Geologist ; assisted by

Rosert Prerrr, Chemical Assistant; M. Leo Lrsquerrvux,

Botanist, and Epwarp Cox, Assistant-Geologist. Philadelphia,

1860.

This Report completes the preliminary Geological Survey of Ar-

kansas; the First Report, by Dr. D. D. Owen, published in 1858 (the

result of explorations in 1857-58), having treated of the northern

counties of the State. Our knowledge of the geology of this exten-

sive tract of country has hitherto been very vague. One of the most

western of the States, Arkansas has been one of the latest in being

systematically surveyed by professional geologists. The Survey was

placed in excellent hands; for few, if any, were so well acquainted

with the soils and rocks of the central area of North America, tra-

versed by the Mississippi, as the late Dr. David Dale Owen. Un-

fortunately this gifted and energetic geologist has lived but long

enough, and scarcely that, to take a general view of the geological

structure of Arkansas, and to point out its chief features, mineralo-

gical and stratigraphical. But this was no light task, even with the

aid of the gentlemen mentioned above as his assistants, as well as

Mr. Jos. Lesley, his topographical assistant, working with him as

friends only can work—with zealous co-operation. In the sad duty

of preparing for the press that portion of the Report which existed

only in the form of field-notes at the time of Dr. D. D. Owen’s decease,

his brother (Dr. Richard Owen) was cordially assisted by Messrs.

Bibliographical Notices. 169

M. W. Smith, J. P. Lesley, and E.T. Cox. The last-named offers,

at p. 402, a feeling memorial to the energy and worth of his esteemed

friend.

In the Introduction to the Report (p. 7), and again at pp. 16, &c.,

we find some lucid remarks on the value of a general survey of the

geology of a new country, and particularly of Arkansas. Besides

establishing the chief axis and trend of the strata, that give not only

the contour to the topographical features of the district, but afford a

clue to the great folds or troughs in conformity with which some of

the strata, appearing at one time in elevated position in the mountain-

ranges, sink beneath the surface to reappear, perhaps, on the opposite

side of some wide valley, such a geological reconnaissance supplies an

approximate knowledge of the boundaries of the formations, enabling

the geologist to predict what valuable minerals may be found within

their limits, and what it would be useless waste of time to search for

within the same. Thus the State-geologist here is enabled to speak

with more or less certainty of the locality, nature, and origin of the

brine-springs and mineral-waters, the coal-beds and lignites, the iron-,

zinc-, manganese-, lead-, and copper-ores, the limestones, marbles,

clays and marls, slates, hone-stones, and building-materials, paints,

nitre-earths, crystals, &c., of Arkansas.

“ Yet Arkansas,” wrote the hopeful geologist, in the introductory

portion of this his posthumous Report, ‘is a young State ; and her

geological survey is in reality only fairly commenced. If thus early

in this work we are able to report such flattering prospects, what

may not be anticipated by thorough and minute detailed surveys?”

In the Agricultural Survey, numerous analyses of the soils of

this State were made, which induced Dr. Owen to believe that its

soils generally are equally rich in fertilizing ingredients with those of

the neighbouring States, and that its best bottom-lands are, in truth,

richer. More mountainous than Iowa, Wisconsin, and part of Min-

nesota, Arkansas has a greater abundance of timber, and a shorter

winter. Pine-timber is of very general growth in this State, due

probably (says the author) to the diffusion of silicate of potash in the

soil. ‘So peculiarly indigenous does the yellow pine appear to be to

the Arkansas soils, that you will even find it growing in river- and

creek-bottoms, side by side with the Gum, and, on the argillaceous

slopes, associated with the Beech.” Poplar-timber is said to be en-

tirely absent, except on quaternary soil at one locality. The Creta-

ceous soils of the south-west counties of the State, highly charged

with lime, are peculiarly congenial to the Osage Orange or Bois d’Are.

M. L. Lesquereux enumerates eight species of Grape (p. 353) as

having been found in Arkansas, in some localities with fine growth ;

but the people do not seem to appreciate the Vine (p. 329).

Protruded masses of igneous rocks (granitic, hornblendic, and

augitic), of small extent and distant from each other, occur on the

waters of the Fourche (Pulaski county), in Saline county, and at

Magnet Cove, in Hot Spring county ; these lie on a N.E.-S.W. line.

The general strike of the stratified rocks is stated to be most probably

nearly E. & W. These are greatly disturbed and altered near this

170 Bibliographical Notices.

granitic axis; and not only here, but over a very wide area removed

from this locality, the shales, sandstones, and limestones occur in a

greatly metamorphosed state, highly tilted, and often traversed by

mineral veins*. ‘The tilted edges of the sandstones and shales are

crossed along the roads for miles, and, though there are reversals in

the dip evident in places, they must be of immense thickness. ‘They

all seem to be of the age of the Millstone-grit, or, at least, not lower

than the base of the Subcarboniferous group, because they overlie

rocks of Devonian date, and have intercalated, towards their base,

limestone and black flint, which, though often brecciated and meta-

morphosed into a black-veined marble, are undoubtedly of the same

age as the black limestone and flint of Wiley’s Cove and Shield’s

Bluff, which belong to the date of the (Productus-) Archimedes-

Pentremital beds of the Subcarboniferous group.’ They appear to

immediately underlie the true Coal-measures. The induration of

these strata in Arkansas the author attributes to the highly heated

gases, vapours, and alkaline siliceous water,—the various degrees of

change observable arising from differences in the intensity and phases

of such agencies. The pervious sandstones are much more altered

than the impervious shales. The latter are, for the most part, only

locally indurated into hard slates, undergoing rapid disintegration

on exposure. Sometimes they are permeated with veins, and network

of veins, of milky quartz. Rarely the siliceous shales become good

roofing-slate. ‘The sandstones, over many wide areas, are not only

indurated, but often completely changed in structure, passing into

quartzite, chalcedonic chert, flint, and novaculite. South of the

parallel 34° 30', in Hot-Spring, Saline, Montgomery, and Polk

couuties, there is less limestone intercalated with the slates, and these

have more quartz-veins, generally running at an acute angle with

the strike, which most frequently is W. 20° S. and E. 20° N.

The Coal-measures of Arkansas are more fully treated of in the

First Report, 1858. They belong to the Millstone-grit, and lie below

the horizon of “‘ No. 1 Coal” of the Kentucky sections. One or two

hundred feet of shale overlie massive conglomerates or thick-bedded

sandstones; and these overlie reddish and dark-coloured shales, up-

wards of 300 feet thick, which, in their upper part, contain thin

seams of coal. The shales appear to have been thrown into wide

troughs before the deposition of the sandstone. The Arkansas Coal-

field is traversed by the Arkansas River; the strata are nearly hori-

zontal ; it contains several thin seams of coal, and there are some

from 4 to 5 feet thick. From these Coal-measures M. Lesquereux

has obtained upwards of forty species of plants, belonging to twenty-

five genera; also the wing of an Insect (Blattina vetusta, Lesq.).

These fossils are described by M. Lesquereux, and figured in five

elegantly engraved plates.

* Another granitic axis, reaching the surface on a branch of the Spavinaw

Creek, beyond the north-western limits of the State, probably underlies the

lead-bearing Subcarboniferous Limestone of the north-west counties of

Arkansas and the south-west counties of Missouri.

Bibliographical Notices. 171

As in the attempted delineation of the older rocks of Arkansas, so

also in the supposed area of the Cretaceous strata, the published maps

are very incorrect. ‘I have not been able to detect (says Dr. Owen)

any symptoms of Cretaceous strata, even in deep wells, any further

north in Arkansas than Clark county, about two and a quarter miles

north-west of Archidelphia, 7. e. near the line between townships 7

and 8 south, in about latitude 34° 6’. At the fine section exposed

on the Arkansas River, at the ‘ White Bluffs,’ z.e. about latitude

34° 27', beds of Quaternary date occupy the higher part of the

bluff, while the lower 50 or 60 feet, extending down to the low-water

mark of the Arkansas, is most decidedly Tertiary shell-marl of

Eocene date, affording the following species:—Cardita densata,

Fusus magnocostatus, F. Fittonii, Corbula Alabamensis, Monoceros

vetustus, and others undetermined. Even at a point on the river-

bank where a considerable disturbance and tilting of the strata are

conspicuous, nothing lower in the geological series can be seen than

Eocene Tertiary.”

In Southern Arkansas immense numbers of very large oyster-shells

lic strewn on the ploughed lands, where the Cretaceous strata come

to the surface—Ewogyra costata, sometimes weighing upwards of

four pounds, and Ostrea vesicularis, These are collected and made

into a superior lime. Bones of sharks and saurians are also found.

Dr. Koch collected many bones here, and removed them to Berlin.

Two plates (7 and 8) of Cretaceous fossils, some of which are un-

described, accompany the Report.

The Tertiary beds are best seen in section at the White Bluffs :

they yield some limestone for lime-burning, and abundance of shell-

marl, good for manure ; also, in some places, gypsum, large masses

of iron-ore, and thick beds of lignite. The last, as well as some

lignites occurring in the Quaternary deposits, yield, by distillation,

from thirty to forty-five gallons of crude oil to the ton of 2000 Ibs. ;

and for this purpose the-lignites are likely to be more profitable than

as fuel. A plate illustrating the kind of leaves (of dicotyledonous

trees) found in the Tertiary lignites of the ‘‘Chalk-banks” of the

Mississippi and the red shales of Tennessee is given by M, Lesquereux

(pl. 6), who here figures and describes three new species of Magnolia,

Quercus, and Rhamnus. Plate 9 illustrates some of the Tertiary

shells and fish-teeth.

To the Drift or Quaternary age are referred numerous and exten-

sive drift-deposits, composed mostly of quartz, sandstone, and hard

shales and slate ; sometimes these are very thick, consisting of coarse

material, and containing large blocks. These Drifts have no con-

nexion with the Northern Drift, though possibly partly contempora-

neous with it; but have been due, in Dr. Owen’s opinion, to the

repeated and long-continued movements of the rocks one upon an-

other, during periods of disturbance and upheaval ; and some of the

Drift may be “‘of comparatively recent date, perhaps as new as the

date of the rise of the Quaternary beds of the Western States out of

the great lake-like expansions of fresh water in which they were

accumulated.”

172 Bibliographical Notices.

The agricultural geology of the State (pp. 42, &c.) has received

considerable attention from Dr. Owen and his assistants ; and the

soils have been extensively analysed. Dr. R. Peter’s report on the

chemical analysis of soils, subsoils, under-clays, clays, and nitre-

earths, with some general observations on soils, occupies pp. 163-

294,

The thermal waters of Hot-Spring county are fully treated of at

pp. 18, &c., and at pp. 101, &c. Silica and carbonate of lime are

their most abundant mineral constituents. Their temperature ranges

from 100° to 148° Fahr. They issue, with much free carbonic acid,

mostly from a snowy-white chalcedonic novaculite (the ‘ Ouachita

oilstone,”’ or “Arkansas whetstone’’), in upwards of forty springs, on

a ridge (Whetstone Mountain) about 250 feet above the valley, and

deposit much calcareous tufa. The novaculite varies in character, is

much fissured and veined with quartz. In Montgomery county,

some twenty miles distant, the sandstones are less altered, but have

their joints and planes of stratification filled with fine clusters of

crystals of silex, as much as 5 or 6 inches in length, and of unsur-

passed purity. The valley below the springs is occupied with silicified

slate, traversed by veins of serpentine. No igneous rock is exposed

nearer than ten miles off, at Viga Creek, on the borders of Magnet

Cove, famous for its magnetic iron-ore and great variety of minerals,

including titanic acid (Brookite or Arkansite).

Artesian wells are treated of in chap. 3, including those of Louis-

ville and St. Louis,—the former 2086 feet, the latter 2199 feet deep.

Mention also is made of several of the best-known in Europe.

This Report is illustrated with a chart of the principal hot springs

in Hot-Spring county, with several plates and woodcuts illustrating

the topographical features, and with the engraved plates of fossils

already noticed above. M. Leo Lesquereux’s Report on the Botany

and Paleontology of the State (pp. 295-399) comprises a systematic

catalogue of the plants of Arkansas, with useful notes appended.

There is also a good index to the whole book.

This useful work must have been very welcome to the inhabitants

of Arkansas, and is full of interest to geologists abroad and at home.

Its getting-up does credit to the State, whose late Governor, his

Excellency E. N. Conway, appears to have warmly and judiciously

patronized the Survey. The geological results of the reconnaissance

are worthy of the veteran geologist and his assistants; and it is fer-

vently hoped that the detailed survey of the State will be strenuously

proceeded with under equally good auspices as soon as peace shall

have again calmed existing disturbances in the distracted States of

North America.

Royal Society. 173

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

Nov. 21, 1861.—Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, Bart., President, in

the Chair.

“The Lignites and Clays of Bovey Tracey, Devonshire.’ By

William Pengelly, Esq., F.G.S.

The village of Bovey Tracey, in Devonshire, is situated on the left

bank of the river Bovey, a small tributary of the Teign, about eleven

miles south-westerly from Exeter. A considerable plain stretches

away from it, for about nine miles, in a south-easterly direction, and

terminates three and a half miles north-west of Torquay. It appears

a lake-like expansion of the valleys of the Bovey and Teign, and is

surrounded on all sides by lofty hills of granite and other rocks,

Excavations in various parts of this plain, especially in the north-

western part of it, known as Bovey Heathfield, have disclosed, beneath

an accumulation of gravel mixed with clay and sand, a regular series

of strata of lignite, clay, and sand, well known to geologists as the

‘* Bovey deposit,” whilst the lignite is equally familiar as “ Bovey

coal.”

The most important of the excavations is that known as the

*Coal-pit,” whence lignite is extracted, which is used, in small

quantities, at a neighbouring pottery, and also by the poorer cottagers

of the immediate neighbourhood.

The deposit has long attracted the attention of both the scientific -

and commercial world, and many authors have given descriptions

and speculations respecting it.

In 1760 the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Milles sent a paper on it to the

Royal Society. His aim appears to have been to prove the mineral

origin of the lignite, in refutation of Professor Hollman, of Gdéttin-

gen, who had described, and assigned a vegetable origin to, a similar

substance found near the city of Munden. In 1794 and 1796 Dr.

Maton described the deposit, and mentioned the existence of a large

turf bog, near the pit, in which whole trees were often discovered,

but “none of them bearing the least resemblance to Bovey coal.”

In 1797 Mr. Hatchett brought the subject before the Linnean

Society, in a paper in which his object seems to have been the refu-

tation of the mineral theory of Dr. Milles. In his ‘ History of Exeter,’

published in 1802, Mr. Brice next gave an account of the deposit,

and the state of the lignite workings ; he supposed the basin to have

formerly been a stagnant lake or morass into which trees were suc-

cessively transported from the neighbouring slopes. The twelfth

letter in Parkinson’s ‘ Organic Remains,’ published in 1804, appears

to have been written by Mr. Scammell, of Bovey Tracey, and is de-

voted to the lignite ; from it we learn that the coal had been worked

- upwards of ninety years, and that the trees found in the bog, men-

tioned by Dr. Maton, were of the fir kind. Mr. Vancouver, in his

‘General View of the Agriculture of the County of Devon,’ pub-

174 Royal Society :—

lished in 1808, supposes the lignite to have been the product of pine

forests which grew where it is found, and that clay and other

moveable matter must have been poured over them, in a fluid state,

at different periods, from the craggy eminences around. Mr. Austen,

in his ‘ Memoir on the Geology of the South-east of Devonshire,’

states that the Bovey beds rest on a gravel equivalent to the lowest

tertiary deposits, and is thus the first writer who addresses himself

to the chronology of the formation. He makes the overlying gravels

post-tertiary, but belonging to the “period prior to the most recent

changes of relative level of land and water and of climate.” Sir H.

De la Beche, in his ‘ Report of Cornwall, Devon, &c.,’ expresses

surprise and regret that, excepting the lignite itself, no organic

remains have been detected in the deposit, so that we are deprived of

any aid by which it may be referred to any particular geological

date ; and adds that ‘if the wood be, as has been supposed, analogous

to oak and other existing trees, we should suppose the Bovey beds to

have been formed towards the latter part of the supracretaceous

period.” In 1855, Dr. Hooker read a paper before the Geological

Society of London, ‘ On some Small Seed-vessels (Iolliculites minu-

tulus) from the Bovey Tracey Coal,’”’ which was the first announce-

ment of the discovery of identifiable fossils in the deposit. Besides

the fossil just named, Dr. Hooker described a cone of the Scotch fir,

Pinus sylvestris, said to have been found in one of the uppermost beds

of lignite, and from it he came to the provisional conclusion that the

Bovey beds belong to the Post-Pliocene epoch. In 1856, Dr. Croker,

of Bovey Tracey, sent to the same Society a paper in which he men-

tioned the occurrence of large “‘ flabelliform leaves,” together “ with

tangled masses of vegetable remains in some of the higher beds.”

In 1860 Sir Charles Lyell and Dr. Falconer visited Bovey, and

returned with the impression that the formation belonged to the

miocene age. The latter introduced the subject to Miss Burdett

Coutts as one which it was eminently desirable to have fully and

carefully investigated. Miss Coutts having soon after visited the

district with the author, requested him to undertake an investigation

of the deposit, which he accordingly did ; and at once engaged Mr.

Keeping, the well-known and experienced fossil-collector of the Isle

of Wight.

Sections of the deposit at the coal-pit show a series of beds natu-

rally dividing themselves into three parts, namely,—

Ist, or uppermost, a bed of sandy clay, containing large angular

and subangular stones, chiefly of Dartmoor derivation, unconformably

covering the lower beds. No stones occur below this.

2nd. A series of twenty-six beds of lignite, clay, and sand, the base

of which is a bed of ferruginous quartzose sand, in some places 27

feet thick, in others Jess than one foot, but which everywhere occurs

as a well-marked feature in the pit-sections. Excepting this bed,

sand is almost entirely confined to the uppermost part of the division.

3rd. A set of forty-five beds of regularly alternating lignite and-

clay.

The stones by which it is characterized, and its unconformability,

Mr. W. Pengelly on the Lignites and Clays of Bovey Tracey. 175

show that the uppermost division could not have been formed under

the same conditions, nor probably in the same geological period as

the two lower series. This view has been confirmed by the identifi-

cation of certain fossil leaves found in the clays of the uppermost series.

_ The two lower series are strictly conformable, and dip 123°,

towards 8. 35° W. (mag.). Five beds—one of clay and four of

lignite—in the second series, and nine—one of clay and eight of

lignite—in the lower, a total of fourteen, have yielded fossils, all of

them remains of plants only. A few only of these beds require par-

ticular mention. The seventh bed is, in many places, a mat of the

débris of a coniferous tree, the Sequoia Couttsie, and fronds of

ferns, chiefly Pecopteris lignitum. The seventeenth bed contains a

large number of dicotyledonous leaves. The twenty-fifth is that in

which the so-called “ flabelliform leaves ’’ of Dr. Croker occur; they

have been decided to be large rhizomes of ferns. The twenty-sixth,

a bed of clay, is richer than any other in the number and variety of

its fossils, which consist of dicotyledonous leaves, seeds of various

kinds, and débris of Sequoia stems, leaves, fruits, and seeds. Remains

of the last occur, in well-marked specimens, in the fortieth and

sixty-third beds; so that it ranges throughout the formation, both

divisions of which, therefore, belong to one organic period. The

forty-sixth bed abounds in the seeds described by Dr. Hooker as

Folliculites minutulus, but which Professor Heer has recognized as

Carpolithes Kaltennordheimensis.

The lignite has frequently a “charred” appearance ; and it is diffi-

eult to believe that it has not undergone true combustion in the beds,

the ignition being spontaneous.

Coal has been found upwards of 170 feet below the surface of the

plain, and there are reasons for believing that the deposit is fully 300

feet in depth.

On the advice of Dr. Falconer, the fossils have been submitted to

Professor Heer of Ziirich, who has found amongst them 49 species of

plants, eight of which were found by himself during a personal inyes-

tigation of the deposit. Many of these are entirely new to science,

whilst the others are well known as continental representatives of

the lower miocene age. In addition to these, four species have

been identified in the uppermost or gravel division, ag belonging to

the diluvial period, ‘‘ that is, a period when the climate of Devon-

shire was colder than at present.”

The deposit is eminently freshwater, and must have been formed

in a lake, the bottom of which is, at present, at least 30 fathoms

below the level of ordinary spring-tide high water. It appears pro-

bable that the waters of this miocene lake were separated from the

ocean by a barrier which crossed the present tidal estuary of the

Teign, and over this the surplus waters passed to the sea; or that

they formed a lower outlet in the valley between Newton and Tor-

quay ; the first seems, from the physical characters of the two

valleys, to have been the most probable course. During the investi-

gation a search was made for fossils at the clay-works of Aller,

Kingsteignton |jand Decoy, all near Newton Abbot; nothing was

176 Royal Society.

found except at the last place, where astem of Sequota Couttsie was

met with, thus showing that the deposit is identical with that at

Bovey Heathfield.

“The Fossil Flora of Bovey Tracey.’ By Dr. Oswald Heer,

Professor of Botany and Director of the Botanical Gardens in Ziirich,

The surface-covering of the Bovey plateau consists of a light-

coloured quartzose sand, which contains here and there considerable

beds of white clay. By the plants contained in it this formation is

assigned to the Diluvium.

Immediately under it come the beds of clay and lignite, which

belong to one formation, far older than that of the overlying white

clay; the plants found in them determine them as belonging unques-

tionably to the miocene period. Hence the formations must be

treated of separately.

A. The Miocene Formation of Bovey.

Of the forty-nine species of plants hitherto discovered in the

lignite beds of Bovey, twenty occur on the Continent in the miocene

formation. Those beds are therefore undoubtedly miocene. ‘When

tabulated, it is seen that fourteen of the twenty species occur in the

Tongrien étage, thirteen in the Mayencien, five in the Helvétien, and

eight in the GEningien; hence the Bovey lignites must be ranged in

the under miocene, and in the Aquitanien étage of it.

Moreover, the new species at Bovey are closely allied to well-known

Continental forms on this horizon.

It is remarkable that Bovey has no species in common with Ice-

land, although the tertiary flora of the latter belongs to the same

period, and two of its species have been found in the miocene de-

posit of Ardtun Head in Mull. The Bovey flora has a much more

southern character, manifesting, indeed, a subtropical climate.

It has certainly some points of connexion with the eocene of the

Isle of Wight, but on the whole possesses an essentially different

character. The fact that but one species is common to it and Alum

Bay, whilst it has so many in common with the more remote miocene

formations of the Continent, satisfies us that it belongs to a different

horizon.

Among the twenty-six new species found at Bovey, several inter-

esting forms are found. The first place belongs to Sequoia Couttsia,

a conifer which we can illustrate by branches of every age, by cones

and seeds. It supplies a highly important link between Sequoia

Langsdorfit and S. Sternbergi, the widely distributed representatives

of S. sempervirens and S. gigantea ( Wellingtonia), whose occurrence

in the present creation is confined to California.

Of great interest also are two species of Vitis, of which the grape-

stones lie in the clays of Bovey. Three remarkable species of Fig,

the seeds of three new species of Nyssa and two of Annona, one new

water-lily (Nymphea), and many highly ornate Carpolithes impart

to our knowledge of tertiary plants a most essential extension.

.. It is highly probable that, at the period of the lower miocene, the

Zoological Society. 177

Bovey basin was occupied by an inland lake. The entire absence of

_freshwater shells, and, indeed, of aquatic animals generally, is cer-

tainly very extraordinary, and so is the absence of fruits of the

Chara, so abundant elsewhere in miocene freshwater deposits; the

Nymphea seeds, however, furnish a secure indication of fresh water.

We must not omit to notice that the parts of the basin hitherto

explored were towards the middle of the lake, and, in the case of the

under beds at least, at a considerable depth, which explains the

absence of bog-plants as well as of mammalian relics.

The lignite beds consist almost entirely of tree-stems (probably

belonging in great measure to Sequoia Couttsie) which have appa-

rently been floated hither, not only from the circuit of the immediate

hills, but doubtless also from greater distances.

The twenty-sixth bed in the series, immediately above the “thick

bed of sand,” is a soft clay with numerous leaves of plants, and ripe

cones and seeds of Sequoia Couttsie ; the bed was probably formed

in autumn, and the plants it contains are due to the driftings of that

season. Higher up follows the bed (twenty-five) with fern rhizomes,

and occasionally pinnules of Pecopteris lignitum. The latter appears

in great abundance with branches of Sequoia still higher.

As this under miocene formation is immediately succeeded by

that of the gravel and white clay, we have here a great hiatus:

either the middle and upper miocene, as well as the pliocene, periods

must have passed without the formation of deposits in this place, or

they must have been removed again in the diluvial period.

B. The White Clay.

While the lignites and their alternating clays present us with a

subtropical vegetation, the plants of the White Clay exhibit a totally

different character, and must have had their origin in an altogether

distinct period.

Four species—three of Salix and one of Betula—have been found

in this overlying mass, no one of which appears to differ from species

now living. The presence of the Betula (B. nana) is conclusive for

a diluvial climate, that is, a colder climate than Devonshire has at

the present day; for this dwarf birch is an Arctic plant, which has

no British habitat south of Scotland, and which occurs in Mid Europe

only on mountains and sub-alpine peat mosses. The evidence of

the willow-leaves is to the same effect, indicating that at this period

Bovey Heathfield was a cold peat-moor.

ZSCOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

June 25, 1861.—Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair.

Nores ON THE SEA-ANEMONES OF MapEIRA, witTH DescriP-

TIONS OF New Species. By JAMES YATE JOHNSON.

In the following notes I have given an account of such Sea-Ane-

mones as have occurred to me after much diligent search in the

neighbourhood of Funchal, the capital of Madeira. The dredge

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. ix. 12

178 Zoological Society :—

would doubtless bring other species to light, and possibly something

additional would be discovered by an examination of the shore in

other parts of the island. As to the nomenclature of the genera, |

have considered it right to follow Mr. Gosse, to whom all students

of this tribe of Zoophytes must feel much indebted for his pains-

taking book on the British species.

A Cornulariais included ; for although not, strictly speaking, a Sea-

Anemone, it closely resembles one in external appearance.

Order ALCYONARIA, M.-Edw.

CoRNULARIA ATLANTICA, Sp. n.

Basal band narrow, inconspicuous, creeping irregularly, and bear-

ing the polypes at uncertain distances. Column of a pale flesh-

colour, subcylindrical, rather wider at. the middle than above and

below; destitute of spicula, but invested by a thin epidermis con-

taining particles of sand; when retracted, forming a fleshy hemisphe-

rical button, one-fifteenth of an inch high ; when expanded, the co-

lumn has a length of about three-tenths of an inch, with a diameter

of one-twelfth of an inch. Eight pinnate tentacles, in one series, at

the margin of the shallow cup forming the disk, the pinne of about

twelve pairs, ringed, as if showing a tendency to further division.

Tentacle-stem subulate, about one-fourth of an inch in length, the

bases of the tentacles broadening and coming in contact one with

another on each side. When the animal is fully displayed, the ten-

tacles and the upper part of the column are nearly colourless, and

have the appearance of a transparent film.

Abundant on stones near low-tide mark ; sometimes attached to

sea-weed.

Order ZOANTHARIA, M.-Edw.

Suborder ActiniartA, M.-Edw.

Fam. Actiniip#, M.-Edw.

SaGarTIA PARASITICA, R. Q. Couch, sp.

This species is invariably seated upon shells inhabited by Hermit

Crabs, Cassis sulcosa, Dolium perdix, Triton nodiferus, Sc.

SAGARTIA AFFINIS, sp. 1.

This species is closely allied to the last, and like it is always found

upon shells of which Hermit Crabs have taken possession, some-

times in company with it, sometimes alone. Its base is capable of

great extension ; and its column rises pillar-like, of a diameter very

much less than that of the base. When contracted it will often lie

so flat as to be scarcely thicker than a sixpence. The ground-colour

of the column is yellow; and there are five broad, more or less fus-

cous longitudinal bands, which, when the body is contracted, lie

star-like upon it. Sometimes there is an irregular whitish transverse

band placed nearer the disk than the base ; and in some specimens

a number of white longitudinal streaks have been observed near the

base. The inside of the mouth is orange. The disk itself is yel-

lowish, the tentacles grey, numerous, in four or five rows. ‘The

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on the Sea- Anemones of Madeira. 179

average size of this species is less than that of S. parasitica, the

largest specimens of which I have never seen equalled by any of S.

afinis. Near neighbours in habit and mode of life as these two ma

be, I have never observed any passage from one form to the other,

although a good many specimens have been met with. It is an eager

and voracious feeder, and bears captivity very well. It will some-

times transfer itself from the shell to the bottom of the tank, and

after a while, lo! it is seated on the shell once more, the shell being

all the time the abode of a restless Pagurus.

PHELLIA VESTITA, sp. Nn.

Base adherent to rocks, less than column. Column cylindrical

when expanded, clothed with a dense, brown, closely-adherent skin,

rough like wash-leather, which when forcibly stripped off discloses

the true skin beneath, which is smooth and of a pinky red. The

animal is able to protrude the lower part and the upper part of its

column from beneath the epidermal covering, which seems to consist

chiefly of mucus and fine mud blended together. In a contracted

state it is wrinkled transversely, but not warted. Disk smooth, red-

dish, with radiating marks of brown and white. Tentacles numerous,

in three rows, crowded near margin of disk, of moderate length, the

innermost row the longest ; retractile, conical, rather broad at the

base, pale red, more or less ringed and spotted with opake white :

sometimes the dilated bases have a dark neutral-tint band, and below

this a white band round them. Mouth not raised on a cone, but

sometimes puffed out. Acontia emitted sparingly.

This Sea-anemone is able to take considerable variety of shape ;

sometimes it is contracted, sometimes swollen out at the middle, and

when irritated into a state of complete contraction, it has a very ru-

gose appearance. When detached from any support, I have seen

it contract its base so much that a small hole only was visible. It

has the power of expanding or distending both the lower and upper

parts of its body, the expanded portions becoming semitransparent,

and assuming the appearance of bladders, whilst the rest of the column

retains its rough opake coating. This coat adheres so strongly,

that I have in vain endeavoured to remove it with my finger-nail

from a healthy animal. From a specimen, however, which had been

severely wounded in removing it from its native rock, I succeeded in

peeling off the coat in patches. The animal is not timid, it will

keep its tentacles expanded until it is touched ; but in the day-time

it seldom pushes them out to their full stretch ; they are usually

held curved over the margin of the disk. It is rather fond of as-

cending the side of the tank until it nearly reaches the surface of the

water ; then, attaching itself by part of its lower disk, it will bend its

body loosely downwards at an angle of 45°. It is hardy in the aqua-

rium, rather sluggish in its habits, and adheres firmly to its support.

It is not uncommon under stones in pools amongst the rocks covered

at high tide. The size is not great ; the largest I have seen measured

about half an inch in height when contracted, and expanded to a

length of about an inch and a half.

12*

180 Zoological Society :-—

Arprasi1a Coucutt, W. P. Cocks, sp.

Not very common : usually found under loose stones near the level

of low tide. It preserves at Madeira all the chief characters and

habits possessed by its British sisters—restlessness of disposition,

flexuosity of tentacles, power of lengthening and contracting the

column, love of attaching itself to the side of the tank near the sur-

face of the water, the column hanging downwards with the disk and

tentacles widely expanded ; lastly, eagerness in seizing and swallow-

ing its food. Sometimes it will abandon all support and suspend

itself freely in the water, base uppermost, remaining thus for several

hours without moving, save in being continually employed in distend-

ing the column laterally. The distention began to show itself at the

disk, and travelled slowly along until it reached the base ; when this

had been effected, the animal stretched itself out and then recom-

menced the operation. One of my specimens, now living ina glass of

sea-water, presented itself one day as a globular vesicle three-quarters

of an inch in diameter. The disk and tentacles had been retracted,

and the tips of some of the latter were just visible at the bottom of

a depression resembling that seen at the top of an apple.

ANTHEA CEREUS, Johnston.

This species is by far the most abundant of the Madeiran Acti-

naria, being found in almost every pool on the rocks between tide-

marks. It is undoubtedly the animal described in Dana’s great

work under the name of Actinia flagellifera (Comactis flagellifera,

M.-Edw.).

ACTINIA MESEMBRYANTHEMUM, Ellis & Sol.

This species stands next in regard to abundance. The commonest

variety is coloured a red-purple, with numerous black dots on the

column. Sometimes the spots are greenish grey, sometimes the

marginal spherulés are red-purple instead of being azure. The animal

is frequently of an umber-brown ; and a few specimens have occurred

which had a brown body and disk, with red-purple base and tenta-

cles. Two specimens have been met with which had a dull-green

body and tentacles, with a white base, blue marginal spherules, and

a blue line at the junction of the column with the base. At the time

I possessed these two Actinie a third specimen was obtained, slightly

different from them ; and this was placed in the same glass. On

looking at them after the lapse of a few hours, I found that the new

comer was in contact with one of the others, and that six of the mar-

ginal spherules of the latter on the side of contact had expanded into

large, colourless, ovate vesicles, retaining only their original blue

colour at the tips. The upper part of the body of the animal was

separated at this time from the tentacle-bearing disk by a deep fosse.

Subsequently more of the blue tubercles expanded, until ten in this

state were counted ; after a while the disk expanded laterally, the

vesicles contracted, and the fosse disappeared. Whilst the vesicles

existed, the tentacles in their neighbourhood became much reduced

in diameter, so as to be filiform. I am not aware whether a similar

phenomenon has been observed by others.

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on the Sea-Anemones of Madeira. 181

ACTINIA VIRGATA, Sp. 0.

Base of a deep flesh-cclour, adherent to stones, not much exceed-

ing the column when the tentacles are expanded ; when these are

withdrawn and the column is depressed, it frequently spreads out into

an enlarged irregular oval. Column delicately smooth, imperforate,

non-adhesive; substance fleshy, marked by numerous (45 to 50) pairs

of straight, purplish-blue lines, which extend from the margin of the

disk to the angle of the column and base, where there is a circum-

ferent line of the same colour. Each of these lines is about half as

wide as the space between any two ; sometimes a line is broken up

into dots. When the animal is in a contracted state, the lines are

brought so close together, and their colour so deepened, that it

appears nearly black. The disk has the margin closely set with azure

tubercles, about thirty in number ; it is smooth, of a pinkish flesh-

colour, often puffed out into a cone, at the top of which is the mouth.

Tentacles about eighty in number, crowded in three or four rows,

placed near the margin of the disk, moderately long, with little differ-

ence between dimensions of those in the several series, conical, of a

pale-brown colour, with a slight purple tinge. When contracted, of a

dark sepia-brown. Mouth with an azure-blue spot at the oppo-

site angles. Acontia, none observed.

Size from half to three-quarters of an inch in height, and from

one-third to one-half an inch in height.

Found on the underside of stones in pools near low water-mark.

This pretty species is not very common : it is of very quiet habits,

and dislikes the light. When in the aquarium it hardly ever expands

its tentacles in the day-time, and at night, if brought within the in-

fluence of light, the animal immediately takes alarm. A specimen

is now living in one of my tanks. A few days ago, on looking at it

after an interval of four or five hours, I found, to my surprise, that it

had in the meantime surrounded itself with a progeny of fourteen

young ones, the average size of which was one-tenth of an inch in

height and diameter, though some were smaller and some nearly

twice as large. They were of a dull flesh-colour ; but on the larger

ones the purplish-blue marks began, in the course of a few hours, to

show themselves as rows of dots, with irregularly arranged dots filling

up the spaces between the rows of each pair. Some of them dis-

played their timy tentacles in a ludicrously old-fashioned manner.

As to the mother, she had contracted her tentacles until they were

little more than papillz ; the disk was puffed out much beyond their

tips ; and the mouth was gaping widely, displaying a red throat ; the

base was quite free, and was altogether concealed by the contraction

of the body.

Bunopes LisTerI, sp. n.

Base adherent to rocks ; its diameter about equal to the height

of the column. Column, when expanded, usually from half to three-

quarters of an inch in height ; but one specimen extended itself to

the length of an inch and a third, with a diameter of four-tenths of

an inch. Surface red, beset with longitudinal rows, about twenty-

182 Zoological Society :—

four in number, of small white tubercles, which have a spot or streak

of red at their apices. There are from ten to sixteen tubercles (taking

different specimens) in a row; these tubercles can be employed as

suckers, and by them I have seen the animal adhere to the bottom

or side of a glass in which it was living ; the alternate rows some-

times cease with the third or fourth from the disk. Disk frequently

cup-like, without marginal spherules, very transparent, with a row

of small white spots at the inner base of the innermost series of ten-

tacles: sometimes there are white spots between the tentacles. Mar-

gin of disk uneven, by reason of the highest tubercles of the column

forming part of the outline. Mouth with a pale ring around it.

Tentacles numerous, in about three rows near the margin of the disk,

those of the innermost row longer, and these are as long as the dia-

meter of the column, decreasing in size outwards, pale flesh or

brown, but sometimes bearing white opake spots, very pellucid, coni-

cal, simple, readily retractile, and usually brown, curled at the tips.

This pretty species is very distinct from all the other Madeiran

species that have occurred, but it seems to be closely allied to the

British Bunodes Ballii. The pale-red, diaphanous tentacles become

in some cases, when contracted, of a red-purple colour, in others of a

brown hue. In one specimen, which was brought to me much

wounded, the red tubercles of the column were ringed with greenish

yellow. The animal is rather impatient of light, and is only seen

fully expanded at night. It adheres very firmly to the object it is

seated upon, and will submit to be torn rather than loosen its hold.

I have named this species in honour of Dr. N. Lister, of Funchal,

to whom I am indebted for much sympathy and assistance in my

investigations.

ALICIA, gen. n.

Base adherent at pleasure; greatly exceeding column. Tentacles

simple. Margin of disk simple, without spherules. Column beset

with stalked appendages.

ALICIA MIRABILIS.

Base pale brown, adherent apparently by means of minute round

suckers scattered over it, capable of great dilatation, and sometimes

having a diameter of between 4 and 5 inches; very transparent, so

that the appendages on the column could be seen through it. The

outline undulate; the surface marked with about a hundred radi-

ating furrows, meeting in the middle, and causing the margin to be

erenate. Column apparently imperforate, pillar-like, when fully

expanded measuring 23 inches in height and diameter ; surface deli-

cately soft, pellucid, pale brown, marked with longitudinal furrows

corresponding with those on the base; beset with stalked appendages.

At the base these appendages are small, nearly sessile, and bear at

their summits a single wart of hemispherical outline and of a dull-

purple hue ; they become larger in proportion to their height above

the base, until those next the oral disk have stalks half an inch high

and 3, of aninch in diameter, which divide and redivide, each ulti-

mate division always crowned with a wart. As many as sixty warts

Mr. J. Y. Johnson on the Sea- Anemones of Madeira. 183

might be counted on one of these appendages, the appearance of which

when half-contracted, had some resemblance to a head of cauliflower.

In most cases the common stalk was of an opake white colour, but

Fig. 1. Alicia mirabilis, as seen with the base detached and uppermost, the ten-

tacles lying on the bottom of the tank.

’ Figs. 2 and 3. Two of the appendages of the column, of the natural size.

Fig. 4. One of the warts of an appendage, enlarged. The outer coat is colourless

and transparent ; the top of the interior body is dull purplish, the lower

part yellowish brown, and the interspace colourless.

in other cases it was orange ; and there were two of this colour stand-

ing higher up the column than the rest, and placed over against

each other. When the animal was in its state of greatest contrac-

184 Zoological Society :—

tion, no part of the column was visible, on account of the warted

tops of the appendages forming an unbroken coat ; when fully ex-

panded, the soft delicate body was seen between the separated ap-

pendages, and the upper part near the disk was extended quite clear

of them for a considerable space. Under the microscope the purple

warts were seen to consist of an exterior, transparent, colourless coat

enveloping a body which was purplish at the tip and pale brown

below. Disk destitute of marginal spherules, not lobed nor extending

beyond the column, pale brown, transparent, slightly cupped. Ten-

tacles pale brown, simple, subulate, elongated, rather slender, often

curled, numerous, compactly set in three rows near the margin of

the disk, beset with minute papille. Mouth half an inch across;

lips usually somewhat puffed out, and divided by deep furrows into

six longitudinal ribs on each side; destitute of warts and tentacles.

Throat of a pretty full brown. No acontia observed.

But one specimen of this very curious animal has occurred ; it was

brought to me alive in the month of April last, and was said to have

been found in one of the cane-work baskets which are sunk to the

depth of a few fathoms in the Bay of Funchal, chiefly for the purpose

of taking red mullet (Mullus surmuletus, L., and M. barbatus, L.).

When I first saw it, only just covered with a little water, it was in a

contracted state, and my first impression was that a compound Asci-

dian was before me. After keeping it for three weeks in a small

tank, I attempted to bring it with me to England in order to show

it to those interested in this tribe of animals; but being unfortu-

nately unable to attend to it in the earlier part of my voyage, it

perished, to my great regret.

As to its habits during the time it lived in my tank, I may say, that

it bore confinement very well, and took its food (the flesh of Patella)

with considerable readiness. It frequently shifted its position in the

tank, and on one occasion it was seen floating base uppermost ; when

attached, its upper part was seldom destitute of motion, but that

motion was exceedingly slow. The tentacles were usually more or

less displayed ; but it has been observed with them so completely

withdrawn that it was not easy to discover the precise situation of

the disk and mouth. The tentacles possessed the power of stinging ;

but, though the skin was made red, the pain was not great.

Fam. CeriaAntuip#, M.-Edw.

SACCANTHUS MADERENSIS, Sp. n.

Column lengthened, worm-like, with a conical imperforate base ;

skin smooth, apparently without suckers or loopholes ; of a pale

chestnut-brown colour ; enveloped in a loose non-adherent tube

secreted by the animal, open at both ends. Disk without marginal

spherules, cup-shaped, capable of being expanded so as to have a

diameter twice as great as that of the column. Tentacles of two

kinds : 1st, marginal, twenty-four in number, in one series, but often

arranged, when fully displayed (and then bending inwards and out-

wards alternately), so as to have the appearance of being placed in

two rows; these tentacles are slender, tapering, uniform, longer

~ Raa asi

Miscellaneous. 185

than the diameter of the column, and are coloured brown with pale

rings: 2nd, short filiform tentacles, about twenty-five in number, ar-

ranged in two or three irregular circles round the mouth, coloured a

uniform brown; these labial tentacles hardly equal in length the

radius of the disk.

Only one specimen of this interesting animal has fallen in my way.

When first brought to me, its appearance was that of a mass of dirt

which had a certain convoluted shape, and out of which protruded

at one place a reddish semitransparent body (the base), and at another

some tentacles, which partly folded up on being touched. At first

sight I took the animal for an Annelid; but during the night it shuffled

off its muddy coating and displayed itself in its true character. It

was then seen to have a length of about 25 inches, with a diameter of

about a quarter of aninch. The column was quite smooth, cylindrical,

and of a brown colour approaching to auburn or chestnut. When

examined with a lens, some fine longitudinal lines were perceived,

dividing the body at regular intervals, and being about +45 of an inch

apart. Faint angular transverse lines were also visible, pretty closely

set. It seemed shy, and never expanded its tentacles completely,

except in the dark, when it contracted them if the light of a candle

fell upon it. The power of fully withdrawing them seemed to be

wanting. They were more than an inch in length when entirely dis-

played. The next day I perceived it lying in the angle at the bottom

of the glass containing sea-water, enveloped in a glaucous semitrans-

parent film of mucus looking like a stout spider’s web, in which it

moved as a worm moves in its case. It had expanded to a length of

4} inches, but on being touched immediately contracted so as to

measure only 1? inch. It possessed the power of swelling out portions

of the column; sometimes the swelling appeared near the middle of

the body ; sometimes near the base. On some occasions it lay with

the lower part of the body bent into a hook ; at others it quitted the

protection of its tube and floated at the surface of the water. The

animal was never observed to wriggle or glide through the water like

a worm; all its motions were extremely slow. It was captured at

the bottom of a pool in the rocks near Funchal.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Note on Physa acuta (Draparnaud).

By the Rev. ALFRED Mere Norman, M.A.

To the Editors of the Annals of Natural History.

GENTLEMEN,—In February last I described in your Journal the

well-known European Mollusk, Physa acuta (Draparnaud) as having

been met with in our Islands. It was mentioned in my paper that

the species had been found in a tank at Kew Gardens, and also in

‘a ditch in the immediate vicinity of London.” This last locality

was a “brook near the Hampton Wick entrance to Bushy Park ;”

and the species was presumed by Mr. Choules to have been intro-

duced from this habitat, along with water-plants, into Kew Gardens.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 13

186 Mi: cellaneous.

Spec’mens sent to me as from the brook were identical with the tank

species; and therefore, not seeing any reason to question the correct-

ness of the information received, I did not hesitate, m accordance

with Mr. Choules’s wishes, to publish the species. It is with much

regret that I have now to state that it would seem I have been mis-

informed by Mr. Choules, and that the species does no¢ occur in the

brook in Bushy Park. Physa acuta must therefore be presumed to

have been introduced into Kew Gardens from an exotic source.

Believe me to be, Gentlemen,

Your obedient Servant,

Sedgefield, Dec. 30, 1861. ALYRED MERLE NORMAN.

On the Reproduction of Porpita. By M. Lacaze Duruiers.

At the end of August and about the middle of September, strong

gales from the north-west threw upon one of the beaches near La

Calle some Porpite in good condition ; some of them, preserved in

my aquaria, displayed their fringed tentacula, moved from place to

place, and soon let fall to the bottom of the vessel a great number

of small ovoid bodies marked with a white cross.

Having seen the small Medusze of the Velelle, I soon, by the aid

of the lens, ascertained that I had before me exactly similar objects :

under the microscope no doubt was possible.

The Medusee of Porpita present the form of a little bell, of which

the margin is furnished with a delicate membrane, and the summit

bears a mass of brownish matter formed of large globules or cells.

Starting from the bottom of the bell, four bands of a very dead

white run almost to the margin of the orifice; the rest of the sur-

face is as transparent as crystal. In the thickness of the tissues are

lodged some small white bacilli, which give their colour to the bands;

and outside these are scattered wide apart some large neurato-cysts,

which raise the surface, and almost project from it.

The movements of contraction are exactly similar to those per-

formed by all the Acalephs of this form; they are brisk and inter-

mittent. When the contraction is effected, the water which fills the

bell is driven out, and pushes before it the little membrane which

borders the orifice.

These little Medusee are easily recognized, with a lens, from their

movements: the arms of the little white cross formed by the bands

separate from and approach each other in the dilatations and con-

tractions.

I could not get these young Porpite to live more than ten days ;

and all the changes which I could observe in them were limited to

the almost complete disappearance of the large brown granulations

at the summit of the bell, the increase of some yellowish granular,

cells which are observed on each side of the white bands forming the

cross, the disappearance of some neurato-cysts, and, lastly, the

formation at the summit of the bell of a cellular nipple, the further

transformations of which could not be traced.

The little bodies just described detach themselves from the very

numerous tentacles which surround the central trunk and clothe all

Miscellaneous. 187

the lower surface of the disk from the filaments covered with barbules

which occupy the circumference.

Each of these proliferous tentacles forms a regular raceme, of

which the grains are small Medusee in different states of development ;

they are suspended from a pedicle by the pole opposite to the orifice

of the bell. The extremity of the tentacle is inflated, and presents an

orifice.

A little later, about the 15th of September, the same winds blow-

ing, I again met with Porpite, but this time very much damaged ;

nevertheless they still bore bunches of little Medusze; and some

Velelle which I collected in better condition, in the same locality,

furnished me with very numerous little medusiform corpuscles. In

relation to the period of reproduction, this fact is worthy of remark.

In 1858, during the month of May, I obtained great quantities of

Meduse from Velelle, which I was able to observe for a considerable

time. If, therefore, the reproduction takes place in Africa as in

Corsica, we may conclude that the production of the little medusi-

form corpuscles goes on for a long time.— Comptes Rendus, Nov. 11,

1861, p. 851.

On some Points in the Anatomy of the Apteryx australis.

By Prof. Hyrtu.

The lumbar artery of this bird, when it arrives at the popliteal

flexure, is divided (as it is generally) into two tibial arteries—an

anterior and a posterior. The first of these, after having passed the

interosseal tibial space, passes back over the plane of extension and

the articulation of the knee to supply the anterior muscles in the

femoral portion of the leg. The other artery also passes through

the intertibial space, to come in front of the tibia, leaving behind it

a very feeble branch, sufficient for the supply of the scarcely deve-

loped post-tibial muscles. The main branch runs downward between

the extensors of the toes to the back of the tarsus, where it ramifies

into digital arteries. Between the middle of the tibia and the centre

of the tarsus, this artery is surrounded on all sides by an arterial

plexus (rete mirabile), divided into a number of delicate branches,

leaving a distinct impression on the corresponding portion of the

tibia. If carefully examined, no doubt similar impressions might be

found on the tibia of Dinornis, Notornis, and other extinct forms,

whose only still extant representative is the Apteryx australis.—

Imp. Acad. Vienna, Meeting, Oct. 10, 1861.

On a gigantic Cuttle-fish, found in the Atlantic Ocean, between

Madeira and Teneriffe.

Several instances are on record of the occurrence of enormous

Cephalopoda, which almost seem to warrant the belief, formerly pre-

valent in Scandinavia, in the existence of the Kraken. M. Milne-

Edwards quotes Aristotle as speaking of a great Cuttle-fish five

fathoms in length, and refers to other observers, such as Péron, who

found, in the waters surrounding Tasmania, a Squid, of which the

188 Miscellaneous.

arms measured 7 or 8 inches in diameter, and 6 or 7 feet in length ;

Quoy and Gaimard, who collected in the Atlantic, near the equator,

the fragments of an enormous mollusk of the same kind, the weight

of which they estimated at 100 kilogrammes ; and Rang, who saw,

in the same waters, a Cephalopod of a red colour, with a body the

size of a large cask. A specimen of one of those monstrous Cuttle-

fishes was thrown upon the shores of Jutland in 1853: its body,

which was cut up by the fishermen for bait, furnished loads for

several wheel-barrows ; and the pharynx, which was preserved, is as

large as a cchild’s head. This animal was described by M. Steenstrup

under the name of Architeuthis dux ; and M. Moquin-Tandon men-

tions that M. Steenstrup showed M. Auguste Duméril a portion of

one of the arms, as thick as a man’s thigh. Fragmentary specimens

of a similar nature are contained in the Museum of the Royal College

of Surgeons in London, and in that of Utrecht; those in the latter

have recently been described and figured by M. Harting.

A specimen of one of these enormous mollusca has just been seen

by the crew of a French man-of-war, and escaped capture only by

leaving a part of his tail behind him. On the 30th November last,

at two in the afternoon, the French steamer ‘ Alecton,’ being then

about 40 leagues N.E. of Teneriffe, fell in with a gigantic Cuttle-

fish, of a brick-red colour, which appears to have been disporting

itself at the surface of the sea. The captain gave immediate orders

to attempt its capture; but a strong gale which was then blowing

caused the ship to roll much, and rendered its handling difficult,

whilst the monster, apparently foreseeing the fate that was pre-

paring for him, displayed great intelligence in avoiding the vessel.

He was, however, hit with several bullets, and at last struck with a

harpoon, and seized by a cord with a slip-knot. At this moment,

when every preparation was being made to secure it, the animal, by

a sudden violent movement, drew the harpoon out of its soft flesh,

and at the same time the noose slipped over its skin down to the

caudal extremity, where it held, but in hoisting the animal out of

the water the part thus seized broke off, and only a fragment,

weighing about 20 kilogrammes, was brought on board. Both

sailors and. officers were anxious to have a boat lowered in order to

go in pursuit of the creature; but the captain, fearing lest some

harm should happen to the boat’s crew in their struggle with so

novel an opponent, declined this step, and left the mutilated mollusk

to its fate.

The ship was brought sufficiently near the Cuttle-fish to enable

one of the officers to make a drawing of it. Its length was 15 or

18 feet ; and its eight arms, covered with suckers, were estimated at

5 or 6 feet long. Its eyes, flush with the surface of the head, were

of enormous size, and their fixity is described as giving them a

frightful aspect. The mouth, resembling the beak of a parrot, might

be nearly 18 inches [in diameter]. The body was fusiform, much

thickened in the centre, and its weight was estimated at 2000 kilo-

grammes (above 4000 lbs.). The fins formed two large, rounded,

fleshy lobes.—Comptes Rendus, 30th December, 1861, p. 1263.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES. ]

No. 51. MARCH 1862.

XIX.—On an apparently new Form of Holothuria.

By Joun Anprrson, M.D.*

[Plate XI.]

In the autumn of 1859 I dredged, from 5 fathoms of water in

Bressay Sound, Shetland, the Holothuria which forms the sub-

ject of this memoir (PI. XI. fig. 1). It was clingmg to

the inside of a dead and half-open Modiola vulgaris. When

captured, it was of a cream-colour slightly speckled with brown ;

but since it has been in confinement, it has sensibly deepened

in colour. During the first months of its imprisonment it was

very lively, especially at night; during the day, when exposed

to the light, it always contracted itself into a little ball, con-

fining itself to one spot, and that the one exposed to sun-light.

The tentacles were always exposed at night, but were imme-

diately retracted whenever any attempt was made to examine them.

About the beginning of the second month of its confinement it

became more sluggish, and remained for days contracted, never

displaying its tentacles even at night. The body contracted so

firmly upon itself, that many of the feet by which it was attached

gave way, and were left sticking to the sides of the glass vessel

in which it was confined. After remaining in this condition for

some time, the integument about the centre of the body at last

ruptured, and through the opening a portion of the viscera were

protruded, which ultimately sloughed away ; at the same time a

considerable portion of the external skin desquamated, the ani-

mal not appearing to suffer much from the process, for the

opening healed shortly afterwards. The animal has been kept

* Communicated by the Author, having been read before the Royal

Physical Society of Edinburgh, Jan. 22, 1862.

Ann. § Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 14

190 Dr. J. Anderson on an apparently new Form of Holothuria.

in a small shallow vessel of sea-water, with only a little piece of

sea-weed in it to keep the water in good condition. During by

far the greater part of the nineteen months of its confinement

it remained contracted, seldom moving from one spot. The

only food it could possibly have obtained must have consisted

either of microscopic animalcules or the spores of Alge. The

animal is still alive; and I am therefore not in a position to say

anything regarding its internal structure.

The dorsal region of the body, when the creature is contracted,

is of a deep purplish-brown tint, but the ventral surface is of a

paler hue. The dorsal surface, when the creature is distended,

approaches very much to the colour of the ventral aspect when

in a state of contraction.

When contracted, it is little more than a quarter of an inch

in length, and about the fifth of an inch in breadth; but when

distended and moving about, it becomes double this length, and

its breadth also is slightly increased.

The five double rows of sucking-feet are unsymmetrical, the

two dorsal rows being irregular in their distribution. The dorsal

feet are much less numerous than the ventral, which they greatly

exceed in size, and from which they differ very much in their

undilated tips, and by their being seated in some instances upon

rounded eminences or tubercles of considerable size. These feet

are capable of complete retraction into the tubercles. Though

the two dorsal rows of feet differ very much from the ordinary

arrangement of these organs in the Holothuriade, we can never-

theless trace faint indications of the double character of the

rows.

The three double rows of ventral sucking-feet are fully deve-

loped; the feet are placed opposite to one another, and are

dilated at their tips, but are only partially retractile. The ani-

mal walks upon the three well-developed rows; and if turned

upon the aborted ones, it immediately recovers itself, and turns

round to what appears to be its ventral surface. In the anoma-

lous genus Psolus, as is well known, the locomotive organs are

restricted to a small flattened ventral disk, on which the three

developed rows of feet are disposed.

The arrangement of the feet in the animal under considera-

tion is another instance of a like specialization of function,

and indicates the tripod nature of the Holothurie. Viewed

thus, this little animal is fraught with interest, and may serve

to connect, by its gradation of form, the genus Holothuria, with

its five well-developed rows of locomotive feet, and the genus

Psolus.

The tentacles (Pl. XI. fig. 2) are ten in number; eight of them

——

—

Dr. J. Anderson on an apparently new Form of Holothuria. 191

are long, pedunculated, and alternately branched ; and the other

two are short and divided at their tips. They are all of a palec-

yellow colour, very pellucid, and are about a fifth of the length

of the body when it is fully extended. The two short tentacles

correspond to the two tuberculated rows of feet of the dorsal .

aspect.

The body of the animal is covered with calcareous plates of

an irregular form, perforated by nearly circular apertures (fig. 4).

The plates found in the feet of the three ventral rows (fig. 7) are

spindle-shaped ; but they change their form in the feet imme-

diately surrounding the head (fig. 8), and become in appearance

very similar to the plates found on the body-skin. The plates

of the dorsal tubercles and feet (fig. 3) resemble in their irregu-

larity the plates of the body of the animal; and the same may

be said of the plates occurring in the tentacles (fig. 6), in which

they may be found extending to their ultimate divisions.

The very delicate structure of the feet enabled me to ex-

amine them microscopically in the living animal; and when

so examined, a continuous circulation of a minutely granular

fluid may be seen, the current consisting of two streams—one

passing along one side of the foot to the sucking-disk, and the

other flowing back from this structure to the body of the

animal,

This little creature evidently belongs to Linnzus’s genus

Holothuria, which Van der Hoeven has lately revived with the

following signification :—

“Feet of twofold structure and figure, some cylindrical, di-

lated at the tip, usually occurring in the abdomen only, others

situated on the back, not dilated at the tip, emerging from warts

on the back. Body cylindrical or flattened in the abdomen.”

Having only found one specimen of this Holothuria, it would

be premature, it appears to me, to describe it as a new species.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI.

Fig. 1. Holothuria, three times the natural size.

‘ig. 2. Buccal extremity and tentacles.

Fig. 3. Calcareous plates of dorsal feet.

Fig. 4. ce Ps body-skin.

Fig. 5. Pr i dorsal feet near head,

Fig. 6. a 3 oral tentacles.

Fig. 7. gba of ventral foot, showing the form and arrangement of the

plates.

Fig. 8. Calcareous plates from feet surrounding the head.

14%

192 . Dr. B. Seemann on the Bignoniacee.

XX.—Remarks on the Natural Order Bignoniacee.

By Bertyorp Srrmann, Ph.D., F.LS.

Mr. Miers, in concluding his ‘ Observations on the Bigno-

niacex” in this Journal (ser. 3. vol. viii. p. 120), stated that

having learnt my intention of continuing inquiries in that family,

and wishing to avoid contravention, he had been induced to cede

to me the priority, reserving, however, to himself the right of re-

suming the subject at a future time. I am fully sensible of the

courtesy shown, but feel rather sorry, and I am sure the public will

share my feeling, that Mr. Miers should, even for a time, have sus-

pended his investigations of a natural order so much in need

of a thorough revision, after having already thrown so much

light upon it by a series of valuable observations and descrip-

tions. The Bignoniacez have hitherto been handled so super-

ficially by many authors, that even the labours of Don, Martius,

DeCandolle, and Fenzl, important as they are, can scarcely be

regarded as more than landmarks to guide us through a region

of bewilderment and chaos, where there is room for more than

one pair of eyes to observe, and more than one mind to draw

conclusions.

It is not my intention to open my series of papers on the

Bignoniaceze by an elaborate criticism of Mr. Miers’s ‘‘ Observa-

tions on the Bignoniacez ;” but as the result of his inquiries

would seem to invalidate the characters upon which I and others

maintained Crescentiaceze and Bignoniacez as distinct orders, or,

at all events, tribes, 1am compelled to say a few words respecting

them. The principal character dividing Crescentiacee from

Bignoniaceze proper is that the former have an indehiscent, the

latter a dehiscent fruit. The genus Tanaecium I placed amongst

Crescentiacese, because it is everywhere described as having an

indehiscent fruit; and I had seen only flowering specimens of

T. albiflorum and T. crucigerum, which form my first section;

whilst of 7. dilacinum and T. parasiticum, belonging to my second

section (Schlegelia), I had seen, and in one instance eaten, the

ripe fruit. Now, there are at the British Museum some loose

fruit without any other remark save that they had come

from Jamaica; and, though “these fruits are not accompanied

by any dried specimen of the plant from which they were ga-

' thered,” Mr. Miers referred them to Tanaecium albiflorum. I

cannot admit the justice of this proceeding, and beg to recall to

mind that byfar the greater part of the confusion now existing in

Bignoniacez has been caused by loose fruits and seeds being re-

ferred to plants with which they had nothing whatever todo. Mr,

Miers has been led to form several erroneous conclusions by not

being aware to what extent this has been done. For instance,when

Dr. B. Seemann vx the Bignoniacez. 193

he says that “in Fridericia the structure of the capsule and

sceds completely agrees with that of Jacaranda,” he was unaware

that simply a genuine Jacaranda fruit had been figured with

Fridericia,—a blunder made by Martius, but long ago rectified

by Fenzl and DeCandolle. Again, when speaking of the fruit

of Spathodea campanulata, he calls it, on the authority of a plate

(t. 28) in Palisot de Beauvois, ‘Fl.Owar.,’ 4-celled, and “ having

numerous orbicular lentiform seeds with a narrow wing.” The

plate referred to represents a wretchedly drawn fruit, which we

are told must either beloug to Spathodea campanulata ov S. levis;

and, on the strength of this, Fenzl was tempted to remove Spa-

thodea to Crescentiacex. But, as we now know the fruits of both

those species, neither of which bear the slightest resemblance to

that represented in the plate, we must look clsewhere, and have

no difficulty in referring it to Migelia pinnata—a plant very

common in the whole region inhabited by the two Spathodeas

named. Indeed, Mr. Miers was very nearly drifting towards the

same conclusion, when his ready eye detected certain details

agreeing with the figure of the fruit of Kigelia given in Deles-

sert’s ‘ Icones.’

Caution, and an ardent wish not to increase the existing con-

fusion, compel me therefore to reject the assumption that the loose

fruits preserved at the British Museum belong to Tanaecium

albiflorum. They may belong to Adenocalymna, a genus of which

nobody but Mr. Miers has seen the fruit. Should, however, at a

future period, evidence be adduced that the fruits in question

really belong to Tanaecium albiflorum and its nearest ally, I am

quite prepared to admit the justice of separating generically my

two sections of Tanaecium; but the materials at my disposal left

no choice save that of combining them under one genus.

The belief that the fruit figured by Palisot de Beauvois be-

longed to Spathodea, instead of Kigelia, has led Mr. Miers into

the further error of conjecturing the relationship of Parmentiera

and Spathodea—two genera which agree in nothing save their

spathaceous calyx. It is also a matter of regret that Mr. Miers

assumed that I had copied my character of the genus Parmentiera

from DeCandolle’s account of the fruit of P. edulis, a description

framed entirely upon the drawing and descriptions of Mocino

and Hernandez. Mr. Miers forgets that I was the discoverer of

the famous Candle-tree (Parmentiera cerifera, Seem.), and does

not seem to know that I lived for some weeks in forests com-

posed of it. The singularities of this strange production early

attracted my notice, and I made numerous notes on the spot,

which, with the specimens brought home, served as the basis of

what I have written upon the subject. There is not the slightest

tendency in the fruit towards becoming dehiscent and “evidently

194 Dr, B. Seemann on the Bignoniacez.

2-valvular.” The fruit, when fully ripe, simply enters upon a

state of putrefaction. I must therefore object to the opinion

that “the genus ought at once to be consigned to Bignoniacez.”

Mr. Miers is doubtful what part of the fruit is eaten by cattle.

I stated that cattle, if fed with the fruit, soon get fat, and of

course meant not a certain part, but the entire fruit.

If, then, all Crescentiacez have an indehiscent fruit, they must

also have apterous seeds; for, as Lindley has justly remarked,

no instance is known of the existence of winged seeds in inde-

hiscent pericarps, as that would neutralize the object for which

winged seeds seem to have been created. Yet Mr. Miers, again

relying upon the correctness of figures when they are partly

erroneous, assigns winged seeds to the Crescentiaceous genus

Colea. “The several details,” he says, “ of C. Mauritiana (Bot.

Mag. t. 2817), of C. Telfairie (ib. tab. 2976, and of C. floribunda

(Bot. Reg. vol. xxvil. t. 19) all prove most distinctly the presence

of a broad membranaceous wing around the seeds, as in Bignonia;”

and “if,” he continues in a foot-note, “ the presence of a wing

on the seed of C. Telfairie be questioned, there can no be doubt of

its existence in C. floribunda.” Neither the figure nor the de-

scription of C. floribunda in ‘Bot. Reg.’ vol. xxvii. t. 19 indicate

the presence of a membranaceous wing; on the contrary, in that

place, Lindley endorses the opinion that the division of Bigno-

niacee and Crescentiacez is founded upon important physio-

logical and anatomical characters. With regard to the figure of

C. Mauritiana in the ‘ Bot. Mag.,’ it was taken from a drawing

made abroad, by hands evidently not excelling in analyses; and

in copying it again on stone, the lithographer, perhaps wishing

to give greater-distinctness to an obscurely drawn figure, may

have made the seed appear almost winged. Bojer, who quotes this

plate, and who had the plant growing in the Mauritius Garden,

says most distinctly that, in common with C. floribunda and Tel-

fuirie, it has apterous seeds. It was also a positive mistake when,

m a drawing of Colea Telfairia, transmitted to Sir W. J. Hooker

and published in the ‘Bot. Mag.,’ a winged seed was introduced.

This has been subsequently corrected ; and in quoting t. 2976 of

the ‘ Bot. Mag.’ in my ‘ Synopsis Crescentiacearum,’ I excluded

fig.2, as DeCandolle had done before me. Colea Telfairia has a

fleshy indehiscent edible fruit, and is extensively cultivated in

Madagascar, on account of its nutritious qualities and agreeable

flavour. If it had a dry woody fruit like the Bignoniacez, how

could it possibly be eaten? I therefore claim the genus Colea,

on account of its indehiscent fruit and wingless seeds, as a

genuine member of Crescentiacese. Besides, in most Coleas the

flowers grow out of the trunk and old wood, which to my mind

is perfectly convincing that the fruit is of more considerable

Dr. B, Seemann on the Bignoniacee. 195

weight than the dry woody capsule of a Bignoniacea. The heaviest

fruit borne by trees are always developed from flowers springing

from the trunk and old wood. I instance Crescentia, Theobroma,

the large-fruited Myrtaceae. Mr. Miers occasionally witnessed

the same mode of floral development in some species of Tecoma,

“whose racemes grow out of the old leafless axils of the stem.”

I am well aware that several of the digitate Tecomas flower after

all the leaves have fallen off, as, for instance, my 7. Guayacan

from Panama; but I have never seen blossoms on the trunk, or

springing from the old wood, as happens in that section of Colea

which I have termed “Colee genuine.”

With regard to Phyllarthron, which Mr. Miers, notwithstand-

ing the positive testimony of Bojer that it has an indehiscent

fruit, also wished to expel from Crescentiacez, I obtained some

additional information during my late visit to Mauritius. Mr.

Duncan, of the Botanic Garden, showed me a drawing of the

fruit of P. Comorense, made by his son years ago, according

to which it is as fleshy and indehiscent as that of Parmentiera;

and it is converted into sweetmeats in Mauritius. I regard

it simply as a lapsus penne when Mr. Miers says that I stated

Tripinnaria to belong to Kigelia, as I classed it with Colea.

It will therefore be scen that there is no reason why a good

natural division should be set aside, and why any genus of

Crescentiaceze enumerated by me should be transferred to Big-

noniaceze. If Adenocalymna has really no wings, it would sim-

ply form an exception to the generality of Bignoniaceee ; and,

in drawing up a diagnosis of the order, the word “ plerumque ”

used in connexion with “semina alata” would remedy the diffi-

culty. But unless I see the fruit actually attached to the speci-

mens, I should hesitate to admit that Adenocalymna had wingless

seeds. All the other genera having more or less apterous seeds

require yet to be studied more closely. Oxycladus, Miers, which

I think will prove to be identical with Reyesia, Clos, I could

never bring myself to regard as Bignoniaceous ; and Henriquezia,

Benth., with its ally Platycarpum, H.B.K., by their semi-inferior

ovary, five fertile stamens, and (in Henriquezia) stipulate leaves,

would seem to be much better placed between Rubiaceze and

Loganiacee, forming a natural transition from one to the other.

I have seen Fagreas with a corolla much more irregular than

that of Henriquezia.

As my principal object in this communication has been to

vindicate the independence and integrity of the Crescentiacez

as circumscribed in my Synopsis, I shall only touch slightly

upon other statements made by Mr. Miers. Dolichandra is

not marginicidal in its fruit, as Mr. Miers supposes; it is locu-

licidal, as stated by Chamisso, and must be classed with the Catal-

196 Dr. B. Seemann on the Bignomacer.

pee and Pleostictides. The authentic specimens in Berlin leave

no doubt on this point. It is a climber, the only Catalpea

having tendrils! 1 do not consider Bignonia glutinosa a con-

gener of it. That specics is an erect shrub, and has a different

calyx and corolla. Mr. Micrs is quite right in referring Delostoma

to Catalpex. After the publication of the fine plate of Codazzia

speciosa, Karst. et Trian. (identified by me in 1859 with Delo-

stoma integrifolium, Don), no one could doubt it. Astzanthus

ought also to be transferred to Catalpeze, and placed near Chi-

lopsis ; Cybistax (Yangua Spruce, Spathodea? fraxinifolia 1.B.K.)

must share the same fate. Tabebuia I would not wish to keep

up; most species enumerated under it by DeCandolle belong

to Tecoma (which I restrict to the arboreous, digitate-leaved,

monostictidcous species), and the others to Callichlamys, Bigno-

nia, and Anemopegma*. Dipterosperma, Hassk., I class with

Stereospermum (D. personatum= St. Hasskarli, Zoll.). Several

foreign elements I expel from the order altogether, viz. :—

Bignonia? obovata, Wook. et Arn, = Stemmadenia pubescens,

Benth., an Apocynea.

B, Peruviana, Linn. = Vitis bipinnata, Torr. et Gray, an Apeli-

dea, according to an authentic specimen in the British Museum.

B. comosa, Roxb., may prove identical with Paulownia impe-

rialis, or rather P. tomentosa, Ascherson (LB. tomentosa, Thunb.),

a Scrophularinea.

Bravasia floribunda, DC.= Onychacanthus Cumingianus, Nees,

an Acanthacea.

Spathodea ilicifolia, Secem.= Digitalis dracocephaloides, Arrab.

Fl. Flum. vi. t. 101, an Acanthacea, but quite a new genus.

Tourretia lappacca, Willd., I would place amongst Sesamez,

near Sesamopteris, as Mr. Miers has already suggested.

For the present I shall content myself with these observations,

necessarily forced upon me by what had been written after the

publication of my ‘Synopsis Crescentiacearum.’ But as the

public would not be in a fair position to judge of the merits of

the case unless Mr. Miers’s objections to the above were made

known, I submitted the whole of the preceding matter to Mr.

Miers; and the letter which he wrote to me after receiving it,

and has kindly permitted to appear in these pages, will conclude

all I have to offer :—

* Tabebuia uliginosa, T.? leucoryla, T. cassinoides, T. hemantha, T.

triphylla, T. fluviatilis, and T. rosea, belong to Tecoma. _ T. ilicifolia is

identical with Bignonia anastomasans, and “probably the type of a new

genus peculiar to Madagascar; T’. latifolia and T.? rufinervis belong to

Callichlainys; T’. citr ifolia seems to be a species of Anemopegma; T. py~

ramidata is = Zeyhera surinamensis, Miq. (Bignonia pyramadata, Rich.,

B. rupestris, Gardu., B. Sinclairi, Bth., and a host of others).

Dr. B. Scemann on the Bignoniacce. 197

“ My dear Sir, “ Tlammersmith, Feb, 13, 1862,

“JT return your paper with many thanks for its perusal, and for

your courtesy in sending it prior to its publication. You are per-

fectly justified in maintaining your former convictions in regard to

Tanaecium, if you still believe in them ; but I can hardly conceive, in

the present state of science, how it is possible for any one to conclude

that the T'anaecium Jaroba, Sw., and 7’. parasiticum, Sw., with such

diametrically opposite characters, can belong to the same genus, or

even to the same tribe. Putting aside for the moment the question

of the fruit, we find that the structure of the ovary, seated ona

peculiar disk, in the former, is quite that of 4denocalymna and of a

few congeners, while that of Sch/egelia has its ovules fixed in the

middle of the dissepiment. In regard to the fruit which I described

as that of 7’. aldiflorum, it is true that it is'not accompanied by any

flowering specimen; but, coupled with the fact of the structure of

the ovary, which I have fully verified, the evidence becomes almost

complete ; for the fruit in question agrees in size with Swartz’s de-

scription in its singular oistuew shape, its hard, smooth, 2-locular,

2-valved shell, with ‘‘ many large, broad, compressed, imbricated

seeds’’——characters that scarcely leave a doubt as to its specific iden-

tity. This, again, is confirmed by the coincidence of flowering spe-

cimens of 7’. prelongum and fruit, both sent from British Guiana

by Schomburgk*. The structure of the ovary, about which a doubt

cannot be raised, shows the true position of T'anaecium, and proves

incontestably that it cannot belong to Crescentiaceze.

‘With regard to Parmentiera, I regretted that you had not given

more tangible characters of its fruit, and had not shown the struc-

ture of the ovary. I referred, in the absence of these, to your draw-

ing, which marks, by two very distinct transversal lines, that the

fruit is 2-valvular, no such sutural lines being found in Crescentia.

I argued therefore that 7/ these (ycur own) indications be confirmed,

and if the ovary be found to be 2-locular, with ovules peculiarly

placed, then Parmentiera ought to be referred to Bignoniaceze. This

would of course include Catalpese, where it would go under certain

conditions to be proved. I think you will not venture to gainsay so

legitimate an inference. The characters to which you seem to

attach so much importance—of flowers issuing from the trunk (also

partial in other families), and of the edible fruit—are of no value in

an ordinal point of view, whatever consideration they may deserve

as generic attributest. They would seem to show a close affinity

between Colea and Parmentiera.

*“What I mentioned about Colea was founded on the statements

recorded up to that time by the best authorities; if those facts be

erroneous according to the evidence you have since obtained at the

Mauritius, you must deal fairly with the inferences previously drawn

* The fruit from British Guiana in the British Museum here alluded to

is not accompanied by any herbarium specimens, though it is quite true

that Schomburgk did send a Tanaecium in flower from that locality.—B. 8.

+ I did not say they possessed any ordinal value, but simply quoted

them in proof of the fruit being fleshy and heavier than a mere dry cap-

sule.—B. 8S.

198 Dr. B, Seemann on the Bignoniacez.

and derived from the only legitimate sources at command. You

admit that the figure of C. Mauritiana shows winged seeds. C. Tel-

fairia, in ‘Bot. Mag.’ 2976, with a 2-valved fruit, is stated, on

Bojer’s authority, to have ‘a spongy dissepiment bearing many

seeds, which are surrounded by a thin and broad pellucid margin.’

C. floribunda, which I have seen, had an unripe flattish capsule, very

like that of a Tecoma*. It will be gratifying to see any fresh evi-

dence you can offer in regard to the structure of the ovary and fruit

of Colea.

“T think it will be conceded by botanists that the only legitimate

line of distinction between Crescentiaceze and Bignoniaceee exists in

the former having a 1-locular ovary with parietal placentation (as I

have seen in Crescentia and Kigelia), and a fruit with a solid suture-

less shell, containing fleshy wingless seeds. In Bignoniaceze we have

a 2-locular ovary with ovules widely separated on the dissepiment,

and a 2-celled, 2-valved fruit, generally, but not always, with winged

seeds: it would be quite legitimate with this character (as in your

Parmentiera cerifera) that the dissepiment should be large and

cylindrical (as occurs also in Stereospermum), and that its valves

should be prevented from bursting by a fleshy or coriaceous epicarp ;

for many capsules of true Bignonieze are covered by a thick coria-

ceous envelope that keeps them from dehiscing for a long time after

the fruit is ripe and has fallen. At all events, neither Parmentiera

nor Colea can belong to Crescentiaceze according to any legitimate

line of demarcation. Crescentiaceze, after the principle I have de-

fined, form a very distinct group; but they cease to be so under your

division, for you there break through the rule of carpellary arrange-

ment, which forms the basis on which the grand system of Jussieu

is founded. The Jacarandez accord with Crescentiacez in their

1-celled ovary, with a parietal attachment of their ovules and seeds,

but differ in having a dehiscent capsule with winged seeds. ScA/e-

gelia, from the construction of its ovary, will probably be found to

belong to the group where my Ozycladus must find a place; for

there can be no doubt, from the structure of its ovary, that it is a

truly Bignoniaceous genus. I mentioned to you, after your return

to England, that I had seen the fruit of Fridericia, and had convinced

myself of the error of Martius, and had consequently erased the mis-

take from all the copies of my ‘Observations’ and ‘ Contributions ;’

and that ought to be considered a sufficient acknowledgment : it

is enough to answer for our own mistakes, without being saddled

with the errors of others. These observations are offered in the

most friendly spirit, and may perhaps induce you to reconsider the

matter before you publish your remarks. We have both the same

object in view, which is to elicit the truth.

“T am, my dear Sir, very truly yours,

“ Joun Miers.”

22 Canonbury Square, London, N.

February 1862.

* As Colea floribunda flowers from the old wood, of course the leaves

or flowers cannot be attached to this fruit; and hence it must be regarded

as doubtful, or, at all events, as inconclusive.—B. 8. °

Dr. B. Seemann on the Relationship of Cannabinacer. 199

XXI.—WNote on the Relationship of Cannabinaccee.

By Berruoip Seemann, Ph.D., F.L.S.

Iv appears to be a growing conviction that the apetalous Exogens

are not so intimately connected with each other as was formerly

thought, but merely held together by the artificial character of

not possessing perfect flowers, and that their relationship is to

be sought rather amongst plants possessing both calyx and co-

rolla than amongst those forms with which they have hitherto

been associated. ‘The number of apetalous orders kept systema-

tically apart from petalous ones is constantly diminishing as the

inks connecting them with more highly developed types are disco-

vered ; nevertheless a good many still remain to be disposed of,

and amongst them are the Cannabinacee, an order composed of

threespecies, viz. Cannabis sativa, Linn., Humulus Lupulus, Linn.,

and H. japonicus, Sieb. et Zucc. Whilst fully admitting their

intimate connexion with the More, Artocarpez, and Urticez

proper, they seem to present a number of characters proving

them close allies of the Acerineze and Malpighiacee. They

agree with both in having opposite leaves, an imbricated calyx,

suspended ovules, indehiscent fruit, exalbuminous seed, and

convolute embryo. They share with Acerinez the palmati-

nerved leaves and bifid stigma, with Malpighiaceze the occa-

sional climbing habit, hair affixed in the middle, stipules, pani-

culate flowers, solitary ovule, and superior radicle, showing the

balance to be in favour of Malpighiaceee. Without overrating

habit, it is entitled to some weight. Whilst there is not a single

winding Urticea, Artocarpea, or Morea, there are two winding

Cannabinaceee and a number of winding Malpighiacee. Hair

affixed in the middle, so frequent amongst Malpighiacez, occurs

in Humulus japonicus, but not in any other Urticaceous or other

order of Dicotyledons, except Papilionacese (Indigofera). The

presence of stipules and paniculate flowers is also important,

whilst the solitary ovules and superior radicle are still more im-

portant considerations. The strong diclious tendency and

solitary carpels of Cannabinaceze will probably be raised as

objections to the view here ventilated, as being against the

alliance with Endlicher’s Acera and Lindley’s Sapindales. It

must, however, be remembered that polygamous flowers are

common both in Acerineze and Malpighiacez, whilst hermaphro-

dite ones are by no means rare in Humulus as well as in Cannabis.

(Conf. Masters in ‘ Gardeners’ Chronicle’ and Regel’s ‘ Partheno-

genesis.’) Nor do the solitary carpels present any difficulty.

Petiveriaceze, which do possess such solitary carpels, have already

been ranged by Lindley between Sapindacez and Acerinez. In

fact, Lindley’s diagnosis of Sapindales—“ Hypogynous Exogens,

200 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

with monodichlamydeous unsymmetrical flowers, axile placentz,

an imbricated calyx and corolla, definite stamens, and little or

no albumen ”—virtually includes Cannabinacce, though placed

by that author in a different alliance ; and by adding to Endh-

cher’s definition of his ‘ Acera’ “ carpidia interdum solitaria,”

the Cannabinacee are no longer excluded from them.

XXII.—A Catalogue of the Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall. By the Rev. Tuomas Hincxs, B.A.

[Continued from p. 30.]

Mempranivora, De Blainville (continued).

13. M. discreta,n.sp. PI. XII. fig. 1.

Cells oval, distant, distinct, varying in size, and irregularly dis-

posed; the margin cut into about sixteen lobes, supporting

as many spines, which bend over the aperture. Ovicell small,

globose, minutely frosted.

On shell, from the Brixham trawl-boats.

In this species the cells are remarkably disconnected one from

the other. They seem as if lying together in a group rather

than united in one structure. They are also not uniform cither

in size or arrangement. The crenation or lobing of the margin

is a very distinctive character. ach spine springs from a little

boss on the edge of the cell.

LEPRALIA, Johnston.

“1. L. Brongniartii, Audouin.

Very abundant from deep water, and also in moderate depths.

2. L. Landsborevit, Johnston.

Not common: Start Bay and from the Brixham trawlers, on

shell; on Sertularia abietina, from 80 fathoms depth, coast of

Cornwall.

[Abundant off the Great Orme’s Head, North Wales.]

3. L. reticulata, Macgillivray.

Very common in deep water: one of the most abundant spe-

cies on the Cornish Pinne from 60 fathoms, forming exquisite

patches on the interior surface of the shell; on stone, from 40

fathoms; on Eschara foliacea, Devon, &c.

4. DL. auriculata, Hassall.

Not rare: Torbay; on Pinna, 60 fathoms, &c.

[Off Maughold Head, Isle of Man. ]

of South Devon and South Cornwall. 201

5. L. concinna, Busk.

Common: Torbay, on shell, forming large, circular, reddish

patches; from 40 fathoms, a few miles south of Polperro, on

stone, &e.

Mr. Busk gives the absence of spines as one of the distinctive

marks of this species; two, however, are sometimes present on

the fresher marginal cells, in sheltered situations.

[Very abundant on shells, &c., off the Isle of Man (north)].

6. L. verrucosa, Esper.

Devon, rare; near Polperro, on rock between tide-marks ;

on stone from 40 fathoms, Cornwall, a single specimen. ‘ Coast

of Cornwall, near low-water mark, and also in deep water” (C.

W. Peach).

[Ilfracombe, between tide-marks. |

7. L. violacea, Johnston.

Not uncommon: on shell from the Brixham trawlers, forming

a cream-coloured crust ; Torbay, on shells.

8. L. spinifera, Johnston. Busk, Catalogue, pl. 76. figs. 2, 3.

Common on Laminaria stems and roots: Saleombe, &e.

The large interlacing roots of the Tangle are the home or

hiding-place of a multitude of marine animals, and are generally

rich in Zoophytes. The collector will always do well to “bag”

as many of them as possible, and reserve them for quiet and

close examination. The present species is very generally pre-

sent, and I have seldom met with it in any other habitat.

[Isle of Man. ]

9, L. unicornis, Johnston.

Very common on stones between tide-marks.

This is one of the most plentiful of the littoral species, often

covering with its silvery-white crust very large spaces on the

surface of rock or stone. I have never met with it except in the

littoral region.

10. LZ. ansata, Johnston.

Rare: a few specimens only have occurred, on stones taken

up from 40 and 30 fathoms depth off the Cornish coast. I

have had the opportunity of examining the ovicell, which is not

described by Johnston or Busk, and find that it differs widely

from that of L. unicornis, yielding therefore another distinctive

character. It is small, smooth, wanting the radiating grooves,

and very intimately united to the cell above.

“On a slaty rock sent from Cornwall by C. W. Peach ”

(Johnston).

[On stone from deep water, off the coast of Antrim. ]

202 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

11. L. trispinosa, Johnston.

Very common, on shell, stone, &c.: the 60-fathom Pznne are

largely covered with its yellow crust.

12. L. coccinea, Abildgaard.

Common : Torquay, between tide-marks ; Start Bay, Salcombe

Bay, &c, Sidmouth (Mrs. Gatty).

18. L. linearis, Hassall.

Very abundant and generally distributed: plentiful in 60 and

40 fathoms depth, Cornwall; Torbay, &c.

This is decidedly one of the commonest species. It is usually

of a pretty rose-colour.

[Isle of Man.]

14, L. ciliata, Pallas.

Very common: ranges from the shore to very deep water,

15. L. Gattye, Landsborough.

“Sidmouth, on Phyllophora rubens” (Mrs. Gatty).

16. L. Woodiana, Busk, Crag Polyzoa, p. 42, pl. 7.

figs. 1 & 3.

On the under surface of a large stone taken up from 30 fa-

thoms, south-west of Polperro.

A single specimen only has been met with.

I have already recorded the discovery of this Lepralia off the

coast of Antrim, where it occurs sparingly on shells from deep

water. It is one of the species described by Mr. Busk from the

Coralline Crag, and had only been known im a fossil state pre-

vious to its occurrence off the Irish coast. It has since been

found at Madeira.

The Cornish specimen is in very fine condition, and enables

me to correct a portion of Mr. Busk’s description, which is in-

accurate from his only having had the opportunity of examining

fossil or worn examples. Instead of a “ very minute avicularium

on each side of the orifice on the highest part of the cell,” Z.

Woodiana is furnished with two long and slender vibracula,

_ which cross one another above the aperture. These organs have

entirely disappeared in the Irish as well as in the Crag specimens,

and their position is marked by two small openings.

The species is nearly allied to L. Hyndmanni, and appears to

be essentially a deep-water form.

The Cornish agrees with the Madeiran specimens in the ab-

sence of the intercellular punctures.

of South Devon and South Cornwall. 203

17. L. vulgaris, Moll, Microscopical Journ. (Zoophytology,

pl. 18. fig. 3).

Syn. L. alba, Hincks, Mic. Journ. (Zoophytology, pl.;30. fig. 2).

Abundant on stone from 30 fathoms, south-west of Polperro.

In a paper published in the ‘ Proceedings of the Dublin Uni-

versity Zool. and Botan. Assoc.’ vol. ii. pt. 1. p. 67, I have de-

scribed a Lepralia under the name of LZ. alba. It was obtained

by Mr. Hyndman, of Belfast, from deep water off the coast of

Antrim. The Cornish stone which yielded the LZ. Woodiana

has supplied me with abundant specimens of this form in the

freshest condition; and,I now find that I have fallen into the.

very error which I have just corrected in Mr. Busk’s description

of the preceding species, and have represented as avicularia

what are in truth vibracular organs. But Lepralia alba with

vibracula is plainly identical with the L. vulgaris of Moll—a

common Mediterranean species, which has also been found at

Madeira. My species must therefore be cancelled, and the L.

vulgaris placed on our list in its stead. Thus is added another

to the number of forms common to the Mediterranean and the

British seas.

[Coast of Antrim, on shell.]

18. LZ. variolosa, Johnston.

Very common on shells and stones ; abundant on Pinne from

60 fathoms: Brixham trawl-refuse; Start Bay, &c.

19. L. nitida, Fabricius.

Common, especially in the littoral zone: on stones between

tide-marks: also on Eschara foliacea from 30 fathoms, &e. A

favourite habitat is the surface of a fine Sponge which is found

on rocks at Torquay, near low-water mark.

In the young state, the ribs present the appearance of sub-

erect spines surrounding the margin of the cell; and the spe-

cies bears the closest resemblance, as noted by Dr. Johnston, to

one of the spiniferous Membranipore.

20. L. Peachii, Johnston.

Extremely abundant, from moderate depths to 60 fathoms.

21. L. ventricosa, Hassall.

Not uncommon: on stones from deep water, Cornwall, &c.

Start Point (J. S. Bowerbank).

22. L. innominata, Couch.

Common: Torbay, abundant on shell; off Polperro, on stone

from 40 & 30 fathoms depth, &e. Start Point (J.S. Bowerbank).

204 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

A beautiful varicty is not uncommon from decp water, in

which the central ridge is wanting, and along the furrows

are set rows of punctures, which run continuously across the

front of the cell. The texture is very delicate. This variety

closely resembles the LZ. radiata of Moll. The chief difference

is in the form of the avicularium, which in the latter species, as

figured by Busk, Mic. Journ. (Zoophytol. pl. 20. figs. 4, 5), is

of very great length, and blunt at the extremity.

[Isle of Man (north)].

23. L. punctata, Hassall.

Very common: on stones between txle-marks, and in mode-

rate depths (Salcombe Bay) ; also on Pecten from the Brixham

trawl-boats.

24. L. Malusii, Audouin.

Very common, on shells and stones; Torbay; Start Bay ;

abundant in deep water (60 and 30 fathoms) off the Cornish

coast, &e.

25. L. figularis, Johnston.

On stones from deep water (40 and 30 fathoms) south-west

of Polperro.

26. L. pertusa, Esper.

Very common, forming orange patches on shells and stones :

Torbay ; 40 fathoms, Cornish coast, &c.

27. ZL. Pallasiana, Moll.

Abundant between tide-marks, and in very moderate depths

(Salcombe Bay) ; the predominant littoral species on the western

coasts. The variety armata, figured by Mr. Busk in the ‘ Mi-

croscop. Journal ” (Zoophytology, pl. 11. figs. 1, 2), has oceurred

at Torquay. The avicularium is only present on a few of the

cells.

[Ramsay, Isle of Man; common. |

28. L. labrosa, Busk.

Not common: in a valve of Cardium from the Brixham trawl-

boats ; on Pecten, Start Bay.

[isle of Man.]

29, L. simplex, Johnston.

I have met with one or two specimens in a shell from the

trawl-boats.

Amongst deep-water dredgings from the coast of Antrim it is.

extremely abundant ; and Mr. Hyndman has also obtained it off

the opposite coast of Cantire. But, I believe, no other habitat

has hitherto been recorded.

ett De

oe — of South Devon and South Cornwall, 205

80. ZL. Ceciliit, Audouin.

On a stone from deep water, coast of Cornwall; also on

Eschara cervicornis.

This is an addition to our English list.

L. Cecilit had only been found till now in Jersey.

31. ZL. adpressa, Busk.

Torbay, on shells.

This is a very interesting addition to our fauna. The species

was first obtained by Mr. Darwin at Chiloe, in 96 fathoms ; and

it has since been found abundantly on shells from Mazatlan. It

will probably prove to be not uncommon on the Devonshire

coast. I have already met with several specimens.

The Torbay examples agree with the Mazatlan form in the

absence of the radiating grooves on the cells. The surface is

granular. A blunt process is commonly present at each extre-

mity of the lower margin of the aperture. The ovicells are

small, somewhat depressed, closely adnate to the cell above,

smooth in front, and strongly grooved round the border.

32. L. bella, Busk.

On shell from the Brixham trawlers; on a stone from 40 fa-

thoins, south-west of Polperro.

33. L. granifera, Johnston.

Common, on stones between tide-marks and from deep water:

Torquay, Salcombe (on red weed), &c. Sidmouth (Mrs. Gatty) ;

coast of Cornwall (Peach).

Var. cornuta. On shell, Salcombe Bay.

34, L. hyalina, Linneus,

Very common, on weed, stone, &c.

Polypide with twelve tentacles.

35. L,. fissa, Busk.

On stones from deep water (40 and 30 fathoms), coast of

Cornwall, “Coast of Devon (Miss Cutler) ; Exmouth (Barlee).”

36, L. bispinosa, Johnston.

Common, on stones and shells: Torbay (abundant), Saleombe

Bay ; Cornwall, from 30 fathoms.

Neither Dr. Johnston’s description nor Mr. Busk’s in the

British Museum Catalogue does full justice to this species. It

may be thus characterized :—

Cells ovate, elongate, minutely granular ; orifice. subquadran-

gular, two long spines on the upper margin, a strongly project-

Ann. & Mag. NN. Hist, Ber, 3, Vol, 1x, Sabb

206. Rey. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes.

ing mucro in the centre of the lower lip, from within the base —

of which a process springs, which bends to one side, and forms

with the inferior margin a kind of loop; a denticle on each side

of the mucro; on the front of the cell a raised avicularium with

pointed mandible.

The species is liable to considerable variation. At times the

mucro is much developed, and the surface of the polyzoarrum

bristles with the long spear-like processes. In other cases it is

a mere tooth on the lower margin. The avicularia, which are

generally very numerous, are occasionally wanting. L. bispinosa

is very abundant in Torbay, and, when fresh, is of a delicate

lilac colour.

37. L. afinis, n.sp. Pl. XII. fig. 2.

Cells broad-ovate, minutely punctured, separated by lines; ori-

fice orbicular, with a raised peristome, produced below ; three

denticles within the inferior margin, of which the central one

is the largest; on the lower edge an avicularium, placed

transversely, with pomted mandible.

On shell from Start Bay.

This species bears a considerable resemblance in some respects

to L. Landsborovii. The points of distinction are the shape of

the cell, which is not elongate as in the normal Landsborovit,

the smallness of the punctures, and their more irregular distri-

bution, and especially the form and position of the avicularrum.

88. L. ochracea,n.sp. Pl. XII. fig. 3

Cells rhomboidal, separated by raised lines ; Be reticulate,

sometimes studded with prominent white granules ; orifice

orbicular, with a sinus on the inferior margin, a little below

which is an oval avicularium, set somewhat obliquely, mandi-

ble pointing downwards,—sometimes replaced by a very large

spatulate Bement, extending to the bottom of the cell;

ovicell i

— Colour of polyzoarium dull yellow.’

‘On a stone from 30 fathoms, coast of Cornwall.

The oval avicularia vary considerably in size. In many of the

cells they are replaced by the gigantic spatulate avicularia,

whilst others are altogether destitute of these organs.

I have an Australian species, which is probably identical with

this form.

39. L. hastaia, nu. sp. Pl. XII. figs. 4, 4a.

Gells oblong, disposed in radiating rows, and separated by

-. narrow lines; surface smooth oun shining, with rather large.

Prof. G. Gulliver on the Fibrin and Latex of Vegetables. 207°

' punctures; orifice orbicular, with a slight contraction on

- each side below, four or five spines round the upper margin ;

immediately below the centre of the lower margin a mamil-

lary process prolonged above into a spike, and on one side of

it an avicularium with pointed mandible directed upwards ;

ovicell ?

In a valve of Cardium, from Start Bay.

40, L. armata,n. sp. Pl. XII. fig. 5.

Cells ovate, somewhat ventricose, granular; orifice orbicular,

with a loop below, enclosed by a raised border; four very

long tapering spines, two of which are placed on the upper

margin and two on the sides, the latter projecting in front of

the ovicell ; on one (or sometimes on each) side of the orifice

a raised process, bearing on the summit a small round avicu-

larium ; ovicell wide, shallow, flat in front, smooth, or with a

few raised lines. Large mounted avicularia, with elongate

mandibles, scattered here and there amongst the cells.

On the under side of a stone, from 380 fathoms, south-west of

Polperro, forming large brownish or grey patches.

[To be continued. }

XXIUT.— On the Fibrin and Latex of Vegetables, and on the Coagu-

lation of Fibrin without Evolution of Ammonia. By Grorct

GutuiveR, F.R.S., Professor of Comparative Anatomy and

Physiology to the Royal College of Surgeons.

Tue wide diffusion of fibrin through the animal kingdom is

well known. But there is little notice, much less description,

of a spontaneously coagulable fluid in plants. For instance, in

the last edition of our most comprehensive work on human

physiology, Dr. Carpenter says there is nothing in the juices of

the plant analogous to the fibrin of the blood, and, further,

that “the fact of the entire absence of any substance at all re-

sembling fibrin in the vegetable juices, and the corresponding

deficiency of the fibro-gelatinous tissues in their fabric,’ may be

added in confirmation of an ingenious view he had advanced :

this refers to limiting the value of fibrin, as regards the ordinary

nutritive processes, to the maintenance of the gelatinous tissues.

It is scarcely probable that the presence of fibrin in the vege-

table juices can be unknown; for the fact is that fibrin is by no

means uncommon in plants—that is to say, a fluid substance

which will coagulate spontaneously at the temperature of the

atmosphere, and then present an intimate structure of fibrils,

15*

208° Prof. G. Gulliver on the Fibrin and Latex of Vegetables,

I have seen this fibrin in the clear juice of many fleshy roots ;

but on the present occasion it will be described from observa-

tions on the latex, and from my notes of experiments on that

of numerous species of the orders Papaveracee, Campanulacee,

Composite, Convolvulaceze, and Urticacez. These are only

mentioned as examples; for the facts to be described may be

witnessed in other orders.

If the latex be let out of the plant, it will commonly coagulate

quickly,—in Jess than four minutes, if in very small quantity,

as may be seen in a drop, or less, on a slip of glass. In large

quantities, as of several drachms, coagulation may or may not be

slower. And that this coagulation is owing to the fibrin, pre-

viously a colourless and limpid fluid, may be easily shown, both

during and after its coagulation. The coagulable property is

probably affected by season and temperature; for the juice of

the very same plant, which will soon coagulate spontaneously in

summer, frequently requires more time or fails altogether to do so

in February and the cold months. The clot is often structureless,

and sometimes composed of an intimate texture of fibrils. I

have seen them closely resembling those of animal fibrin, long

since depicted by me (App. to Gerber’s ‘Anatomy,’ figs. 244-246 ;

and Phil. Mag. for Aug. & Sept. 1842), but less closely packed,

and so forming a looser tissue, such as we are familiar with in

dilute or weak forms of human fibrin.

But this vegetable fluid differs remarkably from liquor san-

guinis in being often coagulable by water. So rapid or instan-

taneous may the effect of water on the plant-fluid be, as to

remind one of the action of corrosive sublimate on albumen

generally, and of water on the albuminous substance of the ova

of fishes particularly.

The colour and opacity of the latex, whether white or yellow,

is generally due to particles of extreme minuteness, about z5455

English inch in diameter. These are very equal in size, form

the base of the juice, and altogether closely resemble the mole-

cular base of the chyle of Mammalia, as originally described and

figured in my Appendix to Gerber’s ‘Anatomy.’ This molecular

base, with certain exceptions presently to be noticed, is the

whole opake matter visible in the vegetable latex; and the

limpid fluid containing the fibrin and this molecular base are

quite different parts. These parts might be respectively distin-

guished as the molecular base and liquor laticis.

But the milkiness or opacity of the latex of some plants, as in

certain Convolvulacese, Cynarocephale, and Urticacez, is not

owing to this molecular base, but to larger oil-like globules, of

very unequal size and distinct outline. In Convolvulus, these

globules vary from 34455 to 5,55 inch; in the garden Fig they

and Coagulation of Fibrin without Evolution of Ammonia. 209

are larger and more distinct still; and of intermediate size in

some species of Carduus.

Again, in other plants the molecular base may be present in

the latex, and the fibrin quite absent, while another matter

appears. This may be well observed in some Euphorbiacez.

Thus in Euphorbia Lathyris and E. Peplus the latex will often

not, and perhaps never will, coagulate spontaneously, and is

httle affected by the addition of water, while the latex of E. exi-

gua is quickly coagulated by water. The liquor laticis and the

molecular base giving opacity to the latex certainly exist to-

gether in Euphorbiacee. But the most remarkable objects in

this juice are staff-like bodies, about ;4, inch long and 5755

thick. These measurements were obtained in EF. Lathyris;

but they differ considerably in different species, and the ob-

jects are either swollen in the centre, like a rolling-pin, or with-

out any such swelling, like a rod. I have examined most of the

British species of this genus, and never found these staff-like

bodies absent. By iodine they are instantly made much

more distinct, and of a very dark-blue colour, while the mole-

cular base and its fluid are only tinged yellow. Hence they

would appear to be a form of starch, and might be called starch-

sticks ; and by them alone the latex of Euphorbiacee is very

easily and certainly distinguishable from that of other orders of

plants *.

The precise use of the vegetable latex is mere matter of con-

jecture. If, as Dr. Lindley reports (‘ Elements of Botany, Struc-

tural, Physiological, and Medical,’ p.9), it be conveyed to the

newly formed organs, we may well suppose it, like the chyle of

the highest animals, to be a provision for growth and nutrition,

especially now it is shown how commonly the latex is composed

of the molecular base and of either fibrin or starch, independently

of whatever albumen may coexist with these.

Two hypotheses as to the origin of fibrin have been current

in our day :—the first, entertained more than a century since by

Sydenham, Quesnay, and Bordenave (Introduction, pp. xxvii.—

xxvill., to the Sydenham Soc. edition of Hewson’s Works), and

revived subsequently, that the fibrin is formed at the expense of

the red corpuscles of the blood; the other, very recently popular,

that the fibrin is produced by the agency of the pale globules.

But now we find this vegetable fibrin certainly without any free

or floating cells at all.

There are two other points of view in which the characters

* Since the above was printed, I find that these bodies have been well

described in Euphorbiacez by Schultz and others. The late Mr. Quekett

figured them, like two-headed clubs, in E, splendens,

210 Prof. G. Gulliver on the Fibrin and Latex of Vegetables.

or properties of the latex appear interesting :—first, that

the plant-juices may afford some help to classification; and

secondly, as regards the most recent doctrine as to the cause of

the coagulation of the blood. Thus we have seen a very charac-

teristic and plain fact in the latex of Euphorbiacez. Nor is it

any longer doubtful that a mere microscopic part may show

the difference, even more generally than any one single and large

character whatever, between two great divisions of the animal

kingdom. For, since the publication of my observations, in the

Appendix to the English version of Gerber’s ‘ Anatomy,’ it has

become generally admitted that the presence or not of the nu-

cleus in the red corpuscle of the blood of Vertebrata is a true

difference between Mammalia and the three lower classes, and

that this simple character is applicable to all ages, sexes, and

conditions—of course excluding that early period of intra-uterine

life when, as I have long since shown, the temporary red cor-

puscle of Mammalia is the true analogue of the permanent red

corpuscle of oviparous Vertebrata. And, to revert to the vege-

table latex, Mr. Babimgton, who has so much advanced our

knowledge of British botany, has already adopted specific cha-

racters derived from the colour of the juice in the genus

Papaver.

As to the cause of the coagulation of the blood, any theory

that does not include the fibrin of other parts is not likely to

prove satisfactory. Dr. Richardson, in his elaborate and valu-

able work, assigns as the cause for that coagulation the evolu-

tion of the volatile alkali; and I believe his view already passes

current in some of our systematic treatises. Now, I have tested

these vegetable juices so often, and always in vain, for ammo-

niacal vapour, that I believe the fibrin in them coagulates quite

independently of any evolution of ammonia. Besides the

microscopic test, so much insisted on by Dr. Richardson, other

trials were made, like those described by Dr. Davy (and with the

same negative results) in his examination of coagulating blood.

And so I found, too, in spontaneously coagulable mixtures of

serum; no eyolution of even a trace of ammonia could be de-

tected during the coagulation. These observations are not ad-

duced as conclusive against this chemical view of the cause of

the coagulation of the blood, but merely as examples of the

obstructions which at present lie in the way of a free admission

of that view.

Edenbridge, Jan. 31, 1862.

Prof. O.'N. Rood on the Investigation of Microscopic Forms. 211

XXIV.-—On the Investigation of Microscopie Forms by means of

the Images which they furnish of External Objects ; with some

Practical Applications. By Prof. O. N. Roop, of Troy, N.Y.*

Ir would hardly occur to a physicist, who was requested to

determine whether a certain disk of glass was a convex or a

concave lens of slight curvature, to attempt a solution of the

question by glancing along the two sides; on the other hand,

neglecting even to look at the glass, he would at once bestow

his undivided attention upon the images of external objects

formed by it, and thus with ease and certainty decide upon the

nature, degree, and regularity of its curvature.

The simple idea here enunciated seems hardly to have been

applied to the study of microscopic forms, though, from some

experiments lately made in this direction, 1 am firmly convinced

that this method of determination is destined hereafter to play a

most important part in microscopical observation. To the mi-

croscopist it will prove as powerful a means of investigation as

it now is in the hands of the optician.

The most convenient and effective mode of proceeding in this

ease which has occurred to me is the following :—The microscope

is brought into a horizontal position, the mirror removed, and the

illumination supplied by a candle or lamp placed in the axis of

the compound body at a distance of not more than three inches

from the stage. If now a small sphere of glass be properly sup-

ported on the stage, it forms behind itself a very minute inverted

image of the flame of the candle; upon drawing back the com-

pound body slightly, this image comes into focus, and is seen of

course in an erect position. When a rod of jth of an inch in

thickness is moved up and down between the flame and the glo-

bule, an image of it is seen in the microscope with great distinct-

ness, and it is observed that the motion of this image follows in

all respects the motion of the hand. Upon replacing the sphere

by a minute concave lens, as an air-bubble in water, the reverse

takes place ; to gain distinct vision of the flame, it becomes neces-

sary to move the compound body within the focus ; the image of

the flame is seen to be inverted, and, what is practically more im-

portant, the motion of the rod seems reversed, It will happen

very generally, in applying this method, that the image of the

flame is not sufficiently perfect to decide whether it is erect or

inverted ; the motion of the rod then furnishes us with a certain

means of deciding this point : if its motion is natural, the image

is erect, and the curvature convex, &c. After some practice, it

becomes easy to obtain the best focal adjustment for distinct

vision of the rod, and in extreme cases where the image is very

* From Silliman’s ‘ American Journal of Science,’ &c., Jan. 1862.

212 Prof.O.N. Rood on the Investigation of Microscopic Forms

badly defined, the focal adjustment is best made while the rod is

in gentle motion. I now adduce one or two applications of this

method.

Examination of the nature of the Markings on the Coscinodiscus,

Triceratium, Sc.

It is well known among microscopists that the controversy

regarding the nature of the marking on these shells, after bemg

carried on for several years with spirit, cannot even yet be con-

sidered as settled,—one party contending that the areolx are

depressions, while their antagonists sce them as elevations.

Compare Carpenter ‘On the Microscope,’ page 280, American

edition. :

Fine specimens of these shells mounted in water were ex-

amined by a power of from 600 to 800 diameters; on moving

the compound body within the focus, each hexagon was found

to contain a small distinct image of the flame; the motion of

the rod showed that the images were inverted, and consequently

formed by concave lenses. As the index of the refraction of

water is much less than that of silica, its effect is merely to

diminish the action of the curved surfaces, but in no case to re-

verse it. These shells were now mounted in Canada balsam and

observed. As the index of refraction of the balsam is some-

what greater than that of silica, it was to be expected that in

the compound lenses of silica and balsam the latter would pre-

dominate, and reverse the action, so as to present effects due to

convex lenses. This was found to be the case, and in some of

the valves the eye could readily follow, in a hundred areolz at a

time, each flickering motion of the flame as it was stirred by the

wind. The valves, when mounted in balsam of tolu, which has

a still higher index of refraction, gave like results. These ex-

periments, which are not difficult to repeat, prove that the

areolz are well-formed concave lenses.

A similar mode of experimenting, which must be conducted

on large valves, and with some delicacy, shows that the border

or setting, so to speak, has the opposite curvature, viz. is con-

vex ; whether it is convex as a cylinder, or beset with several

convex markings, I have not had leisure to determine, though in

some large specimens the latter seemed to be the

case. Indications also were observed in some large

specimens that would lead to the deduction of a

form optically equivalent to that seen in fig. 1; and =

certain allied forms readily furnished the curve seen | a /|

in fig. 2, the small depressions being pits.

This mode of experimenting often furnishes us the means of

determining whether certain appearances are really due to open-

by means of their Images of External Objects. 213

ings or to some other cause. Thus the small circles at the middle

and ends of the Pinnularia viridis have been mistaken by some

eminent observers for openings. Prof. Bailey proved, by the ac-

tion of hydrofluoric acid, that they are in reality thicker portions

of the shell; and examination by the method here described

shows that they are convex lenses, giving often very well-defined

images of the flame. The dots characterizing the Conifers fur-

nish images of the flame indicating two or more curvatures ; the

ribs of the Pinnularia and the spaces between them have opposite

curvatures, &c. - But the examples already given may be sufficient

to show the usefulness of the proposed method.

Index of Refraction of the Silica composing the Valves of the

Diatoms.

This point is closely connected with the foregoing; and it

may not be amiss to detail a few experiments that were made to

determine it.

Although Canada balsam has the same index of refraction as

quartz, still the valves of the Diatoms which are composed of

silica are seen almost as distinctly in balsam as when mounted

in water.

To ascertain the relation between the index of refraction of

quartz and Canada balsam independently of optical tables or

laborious experiment, I combined a convex quartz lens, of one-

inch focus, cut at right angles to the optic axis, with unheated

fluid balsam placed on a glass slide; the two opposite refrac-

tions balanced each other so perfectly, that the combination

acted like a plate of glass with plane parallel sides, and, with

ordinary means, I was at a loss to discover any tendency to con-

vexity or concavity. Balsam which had been heated was now

combined with the quartz lens in the same manner: the balsam

proved to have gained in refractive power, so that the combina-

tion now acted distinctly as a concave lens of weak curvature.

Diatoms were then mounted in this unheated fluid balsam,

in which properly they should have been invisible, owing to the

coincidence of refractive indices; but, as had been anticipated,

they appeared beautifully, though perversely, distinct. A casual

remark from Alex. S. Johnson, Esq., concerning a certain che-

mical difference he had often noticed between ordinary silica and

that composing the Diatom-valve, again turned my attention to

this pot. Experiments were made upon a sample of the

Rappahannock infusorial earth, which had been given to me by

Prof. Wm. B. Rogers, in its natural state. By immersing the

valves in various liquids, I finally ascertained that in strong

sulphuric acid they became either invisible or very nearly so,

while the grains of sand on the slide retained their distinctness

914 . Mr. J. Miers on Aixtoxicum.

perfectly. It was curious to observe how, by diluting the acid

with water, the valves again became visible and distinct in out-

line markings. By igniting this earth I produced a slight change

in the index of refraction of the silica composing the valves, so

that afterwards they were visible with tolerable distinctness in

the same sample of sulphuric acid.

Index of refraction of water ....sesesesees 1°336

3 > sulphuric acid........ 1435

- 7H Dintoms ‘i. is saad oon 1°435

- a Quartz scccsrsoreer ike > teal

Canada balsam ...... 1°548

This table shows that the index of refraction of the Diatoms

is about half-way between that of water and Canada balsam,

thus explaining the fact that they appear about equally distinct

in both of these media.

XXV.—On Aixtoxicum and Bursinopetalum.

By Joun Miers, F.R.S., F.L.S. &c.

JEXTOXICUM.

Tue position of this genus of the Flora Peruviana has not yet

been satisfactorily established ; but the observations I have been

enabled to make will probably throw some light on the subject.

The only botanist who has suggested a place for it is Sir Wm.

Hooker, who, in 1887, referred it to Huphorbiacee; but the

structure of the fruit and seed, with other characters, militate

against this conclusion. Notwithstanding the anomaly of some

of its features, the weight of the evidence here collected together

will, I think, show its close proximity to the Aquifoliacee. The

distinguished botanist just mentioned, when he described its

flowers as being dicecious, had only seen the male plant; they

are, however, properly speaking, polygamo-dicecious: that is to

say, in the male flowers the ovary, though present, is rudimentary

and sterile; and in the female flower, although the stamens of

the usual size exist, the anther-cells are abortive and deficient of -

pollen: the two sexes are always in distinct plants, and in all

these respects the genus resembles Prinos and Nemopanthes :

so far, therefore, ztoxicum is quite reconcileable with the

Aquifoliacee. Its only known species is a native of the central

and southern provinces of Chile, where it forms an evergreen

tree of some height, with oblong alternate leaves, covered with

lepidote scales, Its flowers are small, in simple axillary racemes

much shorter than the leaves, the whole inflorescence being

densely covered with lepidote scales similar to those of the leaves.

Each flower, while in bud, is closely invested by a membrana-

Mr. J. Miers on A®xtoxicum. 215

ceous entire spherical bract, which bursts by laceration from the

base, and falls off to allow of the expansion of the floral parts:

we find no other genus in the family possessed of this character.

The calyx consists of five (rarely six) orbicular concave membra-

naceous sepals, which are much imbricated in estivation, and

are formed of close rows of longitudinal cells, all radiating to-

wards the circumference from the point of attachment ; and they

therefore easily split in that direction. The petals, always equal

in number to the sepals, are alternate with them ; they are longer,

obovate, narrowed towards the base, with an internal raised keel

and undulating crispate margins; in the female plant they are

quincuncially imbricated in estivation; in the male flower the

three internal petals have their apices much inflected and pli-

cated together,—in all which respects they closely resemble those

of Villaresia. The stamens, in both sexes, usually five (rarely six),

alternate with the petals and with as many fleshy glandular pro-

cesses, all being hypogynous around the ovary. Whenever the

flower is abnormally 6-merous, the sixth sepal, petal, stamen, and

gland are always smaller, sometimes almost rudimentary ; and in

all cases these are forced out of the concentric serial lines by crowd-

ing, so that the perfect symmetry of the parts becomes thus

somewhat deranged, showing the normal structure to be 5-me-

rous, and that it only becomes 6-merous by a kind of monstrous

growth. In order to ascertain the nature of the glandular pro-

cesses, it is necessary to particularize their structure. They are

described by Sir Wm. Hooker as a nectary,—a term too ambi-

guous in its meaning; they appear to me sterile stamens, or

staminodes ; for they alternate with the filaments, and seem to

stand in the same whorl; they are somewhat deltoid in form in

the g, tapering downward to the point of their attachment round

the base of the small central sterile ovary, are almost unequally

2-lipped and slightly concave at the summit, each lip bemg

emarginated; from their form, they appear somewhat radiately

expanded, and, as well as the stamens, are quite glabrous, leaving

in the centre the depressed disk-shaped ovary, which is covered

with lepidote scales, similar to those which invest the bract and

leaves. These staminodes, in the 9 flower, are more compressed,

simply 2-lobed in the summit, and, like the stamens, stand erect,

pressed against the ovary; they cannot be considered as the

lobes of a disk, because they are perfectly free and hypogynously

attached, alternating with the stamens round the base of the

ovary.

The filaments in the d flowers are semiterete, thick, and fleshy,

divaricating outwards at the point of their hypogynous attach-

ment, but gradually curve inwards, so that the anthers meet in

a connate form in the centre: the anthers are nearly globular,

216 Mr. J. Miers on Aixtoxicum.

and, consisting of two adnate lobes, are cordate at the base, where

they are somewhat dorsally affixed to the pointed apex of the

filament ; the lobes burst somewhat laterally, each by a longitu-

dinal fissure, the margins of which contract, so that each appears

to open by a large broad pore; they are nearly the length of the

filament, the entire stamens being twice as long as the inter-

mediate staminodes, the same length as the sepals, and two-

thirds the length of the petals. Sir Wm. Hooker’s figures of

the parts of the male flower are very correctly depicted.

In the female flower, the bract, sepals, and petals are similar

to the same parts in the male; but the petals in the bud are

pressed imbricatively upon the ovary, which fills all the space in

the centre. The five filaments are linear, half the length of the

ovary, against which they stand erect, are much compressed and

rendered somewhat emarginate at the summit by the presence

internally of two small yellow glands, which are the abortive

anthers : the five alternate staminodes are rather more than half

their length, nearly double their breadth, emarginate at the

summit, equally compressed and erect, and stand in the same

whorl hypogynously attached round the base of the ovary: they

are all quite smooth; but the ovary is densely covered with im-

bricated peltate lepidote scales, entirely concealing the style, which

is suddenly bent down and adpressed upon it: when the flower

bursts, the style raises itself out of its imprisonment and remains

still considerably reflexed ; it is smooth, terete, and about one-

third the length of the ovary, being terminated by a somewhat

compressed 2-furcate stigma, the forks of which are rather

acute. The ovary is 1-celled, with two ovules suspended from

near the summit, affixed by a small point to the apex of an in-

ternal longitudinal ridge, nearly as in Villaresia, which ridge is

probably formed of four abortive cells. This becomes deve-

loped into an oval dry drupe, about 5 lines long and 3 lines in

diameter, consisting of a somewhat chartaceous indehiscent 1-

celled putamen, marked internally and externally by the line

indicating the suppressed axis, from the summit of which two

seeds are suspended, filling the cavity of the cell: each seed

is therefore oval and plano-convex; its integuments are mem-

branaceous, with a small basal chalaza: the enclosed nucleus is

a fleshy albumen, imbedding in its summit an embryo of half

its length, with cordiform, broadly ovate, acute, foliaceous coty-

ledons, and a terete subulate radicle, equal to them in length,

with its thicker extremity nearly touching the superior hilar

point of attachment of the seed.

There may be seen in all these details the very closest resem-

blance to the structure of Villaresia, the chief points of dissi-

dence being the presence of the singular floral bract and of the

Mr. J. Miers on AXxtoxicum. 217

five staminodes. To the former, little importance can be at-

tached in an ordinal point of view. This organ is very analogous

to the involucral calycule of the Chamelauciee, and, like it,

breaks away from the base to allow of the opening of the flower.

With respect to the nectarial glands, they must be regarded

cither as portions of a disk, or (as just assumed) as sterile stamens

(staminodes); we cannot admit the first hypothesis, because

these processes do not support the ovary, but are quite free,

hypogynous, and alternate with the stamens in the same whorl :

the natural conclusion, therefore, is that they are metamorphosed

abortive stamens, or staminodia. We must bear in mind that,

throughout the Aquifoliacee, there is a general tendency to the

suppression or depauperation of some of the floral parts, by

which the flower becomes more or less polygamo-dicecious. To

this reasoning it may be objected that hitherto the rule has been

universal in the Aquifoliacee for the stamens to be equal in num-

ber to the petals; but many other families could be adduced

where, aithough such is the prevailing rule, exceptions (solitary

or few) occur, where the number is double ; the occasional exist-

ence of a set of staminodes, in addition to the usual number of

stamens, is not unfrequent in families remarkable for their iso-

merous proportions; and under this point of view we may be

justified in admitting atoxicum within the limits of the Aqui-

foliacee. But if it be thought desirable in order to preserve the

consistency of the family, this genus might form the type of a

distinct subtribe (4atoxicee) distinguished from the tribe [lici-

nee by the peculiarities before described. In support of this

view we may add that Chazlletia has similarly-shaped staminodes,

placed in like manner in the same whorl alternately with the

stamens. Similar processes appear to exist in Siphonodon, Griff.,

a genus referred to Aquifoliacee.

From the analytical details before given, I now offer the fol-

lowing amended generic character :—

Aixtoxicum, R. & P.—Flores dioico-polygami. Mase. in di-

versa planta. Bracteola membranacea, in calyptram undique

clausam cum pedicello continuam florem involucrans, dense

lepidota, e basi demum irregulariter rupta, et hoe modo

decidua. Sepala 5 (rarissime 6), orbicularia, concava, mem-

branacea, glaberrima, in estivatione valde imbricata. Pe-

tala 5 (rarissime 6), spathulato-oblonga, apice obtusa, imo

angustiora, intus carina longitudinali prominente extusque

nervo instructa, margine crenulato-crispata, zestivatione quin-

cuncialiter imbricata, apicibus introflexis et inter se plicatis.

Stamina 5 (rarissime cum sexto rudimentario), petalis alterna

et breviora, introrsa ; filamenta semiteretia, incurva, carnosula,

218 Mr: J. Miers on /Extoxicum.

circa ovarium sterile depressum inserta: anthere conniventes,

subglobosz, basi cordate, dorso affixe, 2-lobz, lobis adjunctis,

_ subcoriaceis, utrinque rima obliqua demum poriformi latera-

liter dehiscentibus. Staminodia 5 (rarissime 6), staminibus

alternantia, et cum is hypogyna, carnosula, cuneatim sub-

deltoidea, summo sub-bilabiata, labiis emarginatis, erecto-

patentia, glaberrima. Ovarium rudimentarium, discum par-

vum depressum subplanum mentiens, sfy/o obsoleto mamme-

formi notatum, dense lepidotum.—Fem. Bracteola, sepala,

et petala maris. Stamina 5, sterilia, hypogyna, ovario ad-

pressa, persistentia; filamenta linearia, compressa, erecta,

imo paulo curvata, apice obtusatim emarginata, intus glan-

dulis 2 polline destitutis apiculata. Staminodia 5, cum sta-

minibus alternatim hypogyna, iis dimidio breviora, et duplo

latiora, erecta, compressa, extus sulco notata, apice emar-

ginata, persistentia. Ovarium ovatum, subgibbum, petalis

paulo brevius, crebriter lepidotum, 1-loculare; ovula 2, col-

Jateralia, summo line parietalis prominentis suspensa. Stylus

subtenuis, teres, elaber, ovarii tertia parte longitudinis, valde de-

flexus. Stigma breviter 2-furcatum, furcis acutis. Drupaexsucca,

inversim obovata, sublepidota, stylo marcido apiculata: puta-

men, coriaceo-chartaceum, 1-loculare, 2-spermum. Semina

plano-convexa, ex apice pendula; integumenta membranacea,

imo chalaza parva signata. Embryo in summo albuminis car-

nosi et ejus dimidio longitudine immersus ; cotyledonibus

foliaceis, subdeltoideo-cordatis ; radicula tereti, subulata, sub-

eequilonga, summo spectante.

Arbor Chilensis: folia alterna aut subopposita, oblonga, supra

glabra, subtus lepidota, breviter petiolata, exstipulata ; racemi

_ axillares, folio breviores, leproso-lepidoti : flores parvi.

1. Aiztoxicum punctatum, R. & P. Syst. Veg. Per. p. 260;

Prody. Flor. Per. et Chil. p. 131, tab. 21; Hook. Icon. i.

tab. 12; Gay, Chile, v. 348;—ramulis teretibus, griseo-

opacis, nigro-punctulatis, junioribus rufescentibus ; foliis sub-

alternis vel oppositis, oblongis, utrinque subacutis, aut obtusis,

subcoriaceis, supra in junioribus sparsim lepidotis, in adultis

glabris, subtus e squamulis peltatis, radiatim nervosis, mar-

gine ciliatis dense griseo-furfuraceis et ferrugimeo-lepidotis;

petiolo brevi; racemis simplicibus, axillaribus, folio paulo bre-

vioribus, floribus parvis.—Chile, v. s. a herb. meo et alorum e

Quillota (Bridges, 505) ; Cauquenes; Concepcion (Macrae et

Harvey) ; Valdivia (Bridges, 558) : Chile (Cuming) ¢; Maule

(Germain) 9.

A tree of moderate size, growing sometimes to the height of

40 feet, found in most of the central and southern provinces.of

Mr. J. Miers on Bursinopetalum. 219

Chile, where it is known by the several names of Aceytunillo,

Palo muerto, and Téque or Téke. Its leaves are 3 inches long,

3-11 inch broad, on a petiole of 3 lines; the axillary racemes

are 1 inch long; the pedicels 14 line, the flower in bud 1} line,

the flower expanded 34 lines diameter; the sepals 4 line diam. ;

the petals 2 lines long: the female raceme is shorter (3-6 lines

long), with flowers similar in size to those of the d; the drupe

is 4 lines long, 3 lines diameter *.

BursINOPETALUM.

More than ten years ago, in alluding to the structure of this

genust, I suggested that its characters were more in accordance

with the Aquifoliacee than with Olacacee, to which family it

had been referred. Since then (in 1855) Mr. Thwaites pub-

lished an interesting note t, in which he stated that he had ex-

amined living specimens, which led him to the conclusion that

its real affinity was with Araliacee, pointing out the resemblance

of its flowers to those of Hedera. I have recently repeated care-

fully my former investigation, and am again struck with the

many points of resemblance it offers to the structure of Villaresia.

One of these characters—the imbricate estivation of the corolla

—has been denied by Mr. Thwaites, who states that, after ex-

amining the flowers of Bursinopetalum in the living state, he is

convinced that it is valvate. It appears to me, however, that he

has drawn this conclusion too hastily. I have observed, in the

flowers of B. arboreum, which are 5-merous, that the margins

of the petals distinctly overlap each other quincuncially, not to

any very great extent, it is true, but sufficiently so to render the

fact incontestable ; besides which, the apices of the petals are at

the same time deeply inflected (as in Stemonurus) ; but, owing to

the manner in which these inflected portions are held together by

their imbricated plicature, I have found, in attempting to unravel

the bud, that the petals do not open, because the whole corolla

falls off in a cupular form with a slight touch. If the petals in

this state be spread out radially when held together (as just

stated) by their apical plicature in the centre, the quincuncial

character of its estivation then becomes palpably evident. I have

seen the flower of Bursinopetalum tetrandrum only in bud, where

I found the apices of the four petals overlapping each other in

the apex, the more interior petal being opposite to the more ex-

terior: this I could not unravel, as the petals adhered together

so forcibly as to resist the attempt to separate them ; but on

* This plant, with full analytical details, will be figured in the ‘ Contri-

butions,’ vol. ii. Plate 72.

+ Ann. Nat. Hist. 2 ser. viii. 169; Contributions to Botany, i. 29.

{ Hook. Kew Journ. Bot. vii. 242,

220 Mr. J. Miers on Bursinopetalum..

making a cross-section, I observed that, at the junction of the

petals, the margins were not square and valvate, but were all

considerably inclined, their chamfered edges overlapping each

other in a direction corresponding to the indications seen at the

apex. The extent of this overfolding in the latter species (which

is the one mentioned by Mr. Thwaites) is small, so that under a

hasty examination it might be mistaken for a valvate junction

of the margins; in the former species, the imbricate overlapping

of the edges is so considerable as to admit of no doubt.

In the general habit of Bursinopetalum, in the form of its

simple leaves and simple joints, there is nothing to show any

approach to the Araliacee : its inflorescence is always in a tri-

chotomous panicle, not umbellate as in that family ; the ovary

is only half inferior, and always unilocular, with a single sus-

pended ovule: in these respects, as well as in the estivation of

the corolla, Bursinopetalum is irreconcilable with Araliacee. On

the other hand, the form of its calyx, its five petals imbricated

in zestivation, deeply inflexed at the apex, and with an internal

carinated nervure—its five alternate stamens rising from the

margin of the ovary, with subulate filaments spreading towards

the base—a one-celled ovary, with an ovule suspended from a

longitudinal parietal expansion of the placenta—a simple style

—a dry 1-locular drupe, with a coriaceous indehiscent putamen,

enclosing a single seed that fills its cavity and is moulded in

a horse-shoe form round the longitudinal parietal expansion,

which extends nearly to the centre of the cell—a fleshy albumen,

enclosing in its summit an embryo with a superior terete radicle

—are all characters surprisingly in accordance with Villaresia,

the principal point of its disagreement being its inferior fruit.

With this single exception, Bursinopetalum is quite conformable

with the Aguifoliacee ; and even this exception, making due

allowance for its aberrance, in great measure may be reconciled.

The ovary, with its fleshy summit assuming the appearance of

an epigynous disk, as in Styracee, is half superior, that is to

say, its cell rises above the level of the insertion of the stamens ;

and we find a parallel of this instance in Halesia. I have shown

how it happens in that genus*, contrary to what occurs in Styraz

and its congeners, that the superior moiety of the ovary remains

almost unchanged, while the principal growth takes place in the

lower moiety, from which it results that a half-superior ovary

becomes converted into an inferior fruit. Now, precisely the

same occurrence takes place in Bursinopetalum; and if on this

account we were to deny its right to rank in Aquifoliacea, then,

for the same reason, we ought to exclude Halesia from the Sty-

racee, which few would venture to propose. For the same reason

* Ann, Nat, Hist. 3 ser, iii, 137 ; Contributions to Botany, i. 168,

Mr. J. Miers on Bursinopetalum. 2Q21

that the Halesiee have been made a tribe of the Styracee, Burst-

nopetalee may be considered a second tribe of the Aquifoliacce,

the Jlicinee being the first.

I will add, in justice to Mr. Thwaites, that three years sub-

sequently to his note before mentioned, in his ‘ Enumeration of

Ceylon Plants’ (1858), he abandoned his former conclusion ; for

he there classes Bursinopetalum among the Olacacee, meaning,

I presume, in Mr. Bentham’s tribe Jcacinee. Mr. Thwaites has

thus ignored the unquestionable grounds upon which the Icaci-

nee must remain separated from Olacacee. The Icacinacee, 1

have shown, must be a distinct order, contiguous to the Aqui-

foliacee, the one only differing from the other in the sestivation

of the corolla. This last arrangement of Mr. Thwaites brings

Bursinopetalum close to the place I have assigned it ; and if the

zestivation of its corolla had been truly valvate, his determination

would have been perfectly correct, according to the Candollean

arrangement; but as the case is otherwise, the genus falls into

Aquifoliacee, under the condition above proposed.

Mr. Thwaites is perfectly correct in his statement that the

raphe is on the face of the seed opposite to the projection in the

cell round which the seed is folded, but is wrong in his infer-

ence that, because it is so, such a projection can have nothing to

do with the placenta: the fact is that not only in this instance,

but in others of this family, as also in different orders of the

Celastral alliance, and particularly, as I have demonstrated, in

the Jcacinacee, the raphe is frequently dorsal; and I have ven-

tured to explain the cause of this occurrence in my memoir on

the development of the anatropal ovule*. Mr. Thwaites has been

unable to discover any incomplete dissepiment in the fruit of this

genus, but only an inflexion of the putamen: this is simply a

difference in terms; for it is undeniable that such a thick semi-

septum exists, and is well figured by Dr. Wight (Icon. 956. f.8).

In the ovary, the rudiment of this projection is seen in the pa-

rietal nervure which extends from the apex to the base, and

from the summit of which the ovule is suspended, as in Vil-

laresia; this nervure, in both instances, is the displaced axis of

the abortive cells, and contains the nourishing-vessels of the

placenta.

The incrassation of the summit of the ovary in this genus

assuming the appearance of an epigynous disk is notan uncommon

feature even in the superior ovary, as I have long ago indicated

in Hyoscyamus, in most of the Olacacee+, Santalacee, Icacinacee,

and Styracee,

* Ann. Nat. Hist. 3 ser. iv. 24; Contributions to Botany, i. 209.

+ Ann. Nat. Hist. 2 ser. viii. 177; Contributions to Botany, i. 37.

Ann, & Mag. N, Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 16

222 -Mr. J. Miers on Bursinopetalum.

Burstorerauum, Wight. — Flores polygami. Calyx semi-

_ adnatus, apice liber et in dentes 5 acutos divisus. Petala 5,

dentibus calycinis alterna, oblonga, apicibus 2-3-dentatis in-

troflexis, intus nervo carinzformi instructa, in estivatione

quincuncialiter imbricata, valde decidua. Stamina 5, petalis

alterna ; filamenta subulata, subcomplanata, imo dilatate j an-

there 2-lobe, lobis segregatis, ad connectivum carnosum cordi-

formem filamento apicifixum dorso collateraliter adnatis, singu-

lis 2-locellatis, et rima longitudinali introrsum dehiscentibus.

Ovarium semisuperum, in ¢ depressum, et radiato-sulcatum,

in 2 conicum, glandula disciformi apiculatum, 1-loculare, 1-

ovulatum: ovu/um e summo placentz longitudinalis parietalis

carineeformis suspensum. Séylus brevis, crassus, apice trun-

catus et cavus. Stigma obsoletum, in cavitate styli sistens.

Drupa sicca, ovalis, dentibus calycinis emarcidis coronata ;

putamen coriaceum, crassissimum, indehiscens, revero 1-locu-

lare, sed ob incrementum placentz, nunc in laminam crassam

longitudinalem fere ad axin loculi prolate, semibiloculare,

monospermum. Semen suspensum, loculum implens, et hine

circa semiseptum longitudinale plicatum; festa e laminis 2

farctura cellulosa repletis crassiuscula, laxa, ad endocarpium

semiadherens, raphe dorsali chordiformi ea immersa; integu-

mentum internum tenuissimum, testa multo minus, albumen

arcte vestiens ; albumen parciusculum, scaphiforme, utrinque

acutum, testa equilongum ; embryo (sec. cl. Wight) parvus, in

apice albuminis sepultus, cotyledonibus parvis acutis radicula

tereti imo spectante tertia parte brevioribus.

Arbores Indie Orientalis et Zeylanie, frondose; folia alterna,

elliptica, integra, subcoriacea, petiolata; panicule corymbose,

terminales ; flores subparvi.

_ 1. Bursinopetalum arboreum, Wight, Spicil. Nielg. 1. 22, tab. 24;

Icon. i. tab. 956; Walp. Ann.i. 124; Thw. Enum. Pl. Zeyl.

42;—yamulis rugosis, subflexuosis; folis ellipticis, imo

acutis et in petiolum subdecurrentibus, apice reflexis et re-

pente augustato-attenuatis, acumine obtusiusculo, margine

subrevoluto, superne paulo infuscatis, in nervis immersis sul-

catis, subtus pallidis, nervis utrinque 3 venisque transversim

reticulatis prominulis; petiolo longiusculo, angusto, canalicu-

lato; panicula terminali, corymbosa, trichotome divisa, bra-

chiis ultimis 3-floris, bracteolatis ; floribus breviter pedicellatis.

—India Orientalis, v. s. (in flore) in herb. Hook.; in fructu in

herb. meo; Nielgherry (Wight et Gardner).

In = authenticated specimen, the leaves are 24-23 inches

long, 14-13 inch broad, on a petiole 9 lines in length ; the

corymb is 2 inches broad and long, its primary branchlets are

Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Acephalous Mollusca. 2238

alternate, the secondary are trichotomous, each forklet bearing

three pedicellated flowers at its apex; the pedicles are 1 line

long, and the flower expanded 3-4 lines diameter. The drupe

is 11 inch long, 9 lines diameter; the putamen is ligneous, its’

sides being 2 lines thick, its cell 5 lines in diameter, with the

false septum, 1 line in thickness, reaching to the axis of the cell;

the testa measures 5 lines across, and the tegmen 3 lines, both

plicated in a horse-shoe form round the false septum. In the

fruit I examined, the embryo was not perfected*.

2. Bursinopetalum macrophyllum, Thw. in Hook. Kew Journ.

Bot. vii. 242; Enum. Pl. Zeyl. 43 ;—ramulis strictis, sub-

angulatis, opacis, fuscis; foliis ovato-oblongis, imo subacutis,

. et in petiolum subdecurrentibus, apice rotundato-obtusis,

marginibus valde revolutis, subcoriaceis, supra fuscis, con-

vexis, nervis invicem 7-8 venisque reticulatis utrinque promi-

nulis, subtus subpallidis ; petiolo costaque latiusculis, superne

_ planis; corymbo terminali.—Ceylon, v. s. im herb. meo; Ram-

boddi, 5000 ped. altit. (Gardner, 100).

This+ appears, by comparison with the foregoing, to be a

very distinct species, as their characters respectively show. The’

leaves are 34—4: inches long, 2-21 inches broad, on a petiole of

9 lines long and 2 lines broad. The fruit is of the same form,’

size, and structure as in the preceding species.

3. Bursinopetalum tetrandrum, Thwaites, Enum. Pl. Zeyl. 1. 42.—

Ceylon.

_ I saw long since, in Sir Wm. Hooker’s herbarium, a plant

collected in Malacca by Griffith, which in its habit and floral

structure agrees with Bursinopetalum. Although its flowers are.

tetrandrous, I hardly think it will be found identical with the

Ceylon plant. :

XXVI.—On some new Species of Acephalous Mollusca from the

Sea of Japan. By Artuur Apams, F.L.S. &e,

Genus Corsota, Bruguiére.

Corbula amplexa, A. Adams.

C. testa transversim ovata, subtrigonali, valde ineequivalvi, ssepe

epidermide tenui fusca induta; valva extra valvam sinistram

amplectente, tenui, alba, concentrice striata,ad marginem ventralem

* Structural details of this species will be shown in the ‘ Contributions,

vol. ii. pl. 73. s

+ A figure of this plant and section of its fruit will be given in the same

work, pl. 73. : : ;

16%

224 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Acephalous Mollusca

radiatim suleata, postice producta acuminata et utrinque angu-

lata, latere antico rotundato ; margine ventrali postice sinuoso.

Hab. Mud-banks, estuary of the Peh-tang-ho (Lieut. Bul-

lock).

Genus Verticorp1a, Searles Wood.

1. Verticordia japonica, A. Adams.

V.. testa suborbiculari, cordiformi, convexa, inzequilaterali, sub lente

granulosa, radiatim valde costata, costis multis subdistantibus ;

Incurvatis compressis ; marginibus acutis denticulatis; margine

ventrali valde dentato. j

Hab. Gotto Islands (71 fathoms), where it lives in clean fine

sand, particles of which usually adhere to the shell.

The labial palps are small. The mantle is closed, with the

exception of a moderate elliptic aperture in front for the passage

of the foot; the edges are thickened and furbelowed, wide apart

on each side in front, approximate in the middle, where the

mantle is closed and extended, and continued posteriorly, form-

ing a common circular fringed opening, within which are the

sessile siphonal orifices close together, the branchial larger than

the anal. The foot is small, triangular, and compressed.

It has no relation, therefore, with Trigonia, the mantle of

which is entirely open, and the foot large, long, and geniculate ;

on the contrary, its position, judging both from the nature of

the animal and the form of the shell, would seem to be in the

family Bucardiidee, the animal differing from Bucardia (Isocardia)

cor in the posterior opening being fringed.

The shell is very similar in form to the fossil V. granulata of

M. Seguenza, from Sicily. It is quite different from V. novem-

costata, Adams and Reeve, from the China Sea, and is the

largest of the recent species.

2. Verticordia multicostata, A. Adams.

V. testa suborbiculari, ineequilaterali, cordiformi, subcompressa, sub

lente granulosa, pallide fusca aut sordide alba, radiatim costata,

costis numerosis confertis ; marginibus subrotundatis, simplicibus;

margine ventrali obsolete dentato.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 71 fathoms.

This species, single valves of which only were obtained, is

distinguished from V. japonica by its compressed form and

numerous close-set ribs.

Genus ErvittA, Turton.

Ervilia japonica, A. Adams.

E. testa sequivalvi, transversim oblonga, inzequilaterali, clausa, latere

Jrom the Sea of Japan. ee 225

antico breviore rotundato, postico longiore producto subattenuato ;

alba, macula rufa elongata ad umbones ornata; superficie valva-

rum concentrice sulcata, sulcis regularibus confertis, area laterali

postica lineis vix elevatis radiantibus instructa.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 17 fathoms.

The conspicuous red elongate mark extending from the beaks

on the anterior side of the valves will always serve to distinguish

this species.

Genus TeLtimya, Brown.

Tellimya japonica, A. Adams,

T. testa transversim oblonga, inzequilaterali, umbonibus acutis pros

minulis, latere antico breviore subtruncato, postico longiore rotun-

dato, superficie valyarum tenuissime concentrice striata, striis con-

fertis; alba, tenui, vix opaca.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

This species is more transversely oblong than 7. bidentata

from the seas of Europe, and the anterior side is much shorter.

Genus Myrrea, Turton.

1. Myrtea gibba, A. Adams.

M. testa suborbiculari, solida, opaca, sordide alba, tumida, radiatim

costata, costis subgranulosis distantibus, interstitiis valde punc-

tatis ; area laterali antica costis validioribus; margine ventrali

sinuoso.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

Very gibbose, with the interstices between the ribs coarsely

punctate.

2. Myrtea reticulata, A. Adams.

M. testa orbiculari, gibbosa, solida, alba, opaca, costellis radiantibus

subgranulosis et liris elevatis concentricis valde reticulata, costellis

ad latera validioribus, in medio interdum subobsoletis.

Hab. Port Hamilton; 7 fathoms: Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

Gibbose and strongly reticulate, with granular radiating rib-

lets and concentric ridges.

3. Myrtea fimbriatula, A. Adams.

M. testa suborbiculari, gibbosula, tenui, albida, antice valde sinuata,

postice flexuosa, radiatim plicata, concentrice lamellata, lamellis

tenuibus subdistantibus fimbriatulis, plicis ad latera validio-

ribus.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

The chief character consists in the thin, wide-apart, fimbriate

lamelle,

226 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Acephalous Mollusca

4. Myrtea lamellata, A. Adams.

M. testa transversim oblonga, subcompressa, tenui, sordide alba,

latere postico declinato, antico sinuoso, concentrice lamellata, lamel-

lis tenuibus regularibus confertis crenellatis,

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms.

5. Myrtea plicatula, A. Adams.

M. testa transversim oblonga, compressiuscula, tenui, semipellucida,

alba, radiatim plicata, plicis regularibus et lineolis lamellosis tenui-

bus concentricis subdistantibus decussata, latere antico superne

elevato et dilatato.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 26 fathoms: Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

Thin, plicate, with distant elevated lines, and the front upper

margin dilated.

6. Myrtea er A. Adams.

M. testa transversim oblonga, alba, gibbosa, solida, lunula rufo

tincta, radiatim costata, ose validis granulosis divergentibus, in

medio subobsoletis, concentrice lirata, liris validis confertis regu-

laribus.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

Very gibbose, transversely oblong, strongly mbbed and gra-

nular. :

7. Myrtea decussata, A. Adams.

M. testa suborbiculari, subcompressa, sordide alba, opaca, tota ra-

diatim costellata, costellis confertis leevibus, concentrice lirata,

liris undulatis lzvibus elevatis.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

Entirely finely decussated by radiating riblets and conéenkae

elevated lines.

8. Myrtea circinata, A. Adams.

M. testa orbiculari, alba, tenui, compressa, latere antico valde sinua-

to, latere postico flexuoso, concentrice lamellata, lamellis crassis

regularibus confertis utrinque validioribus.

"Hab. Mino-Sima ; 63 fathoms. .

A Dosinia-like species, with regular concentric lamelle.

9. Myrtea delicatula, A. Adams.

_M. testa transversim oblonga, obliqua, subcompressa, tenui, semi-

opaca, alba, utrinque rotundata, radiatim plicata, plicis rugulosis,

in medio evanidis.

Hab. Korea Strait ; 46 fathoms.

A thin, white, obscurely plicate species.

from the Sea of Japan. a - 227

Genus Cryptopon, Turton.

1. Cryptodon japonicus, A. Adams.

C. testa oblonga, longiore quam latiore, alba, tenui, semiopaca, latere

antico excavato, lunula impressa distincta, latere postico longitudi-

naliter plicato, margine valde sinuato ; concentrice creberrime striata.

Hab, Okosiri; 35 fathoms.

2. Cryptodon Manchuricus, A. Adams.

C. testa quadrato-orbiculari, pallide fusca, ferrugineo tincta, semi-

pellucida, concentrice striata, latere antico subdilatato, postico

flexuoso.

Hab. Coast of Manchuria; 20 fathoms.

3. Cryptodon oblongus, A. Adams.

C. testa oblonga, longiore quam latiore, alba, tenui, subpellucida,

latere antico declinato rotundato, lunula inconspicua, latere postico

plicato ; margine sinuoso.

Hab, Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

4. Cryptodon plicatus, A. Adams.

C. testa quadrato-orbiculari, alba, tenui, semipellucida, latere antico

rotundato excavato lunula inconspicua obsoleta, latere postico valde

plicato; margine sinuoso ; superficie valvarum concentrice striata,

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

5. Cryptodon sulcatus, A. Adams.

C. testa trigonali-orbiculari, sordide alba, subcompressa, ferrugineo

tincta, solidiuscula, concentrice sulcata, sulcis antice incrassatis

productis, latere antico rotundato, postico flexuoso.

Hab. Coast of Manchuria; 35 fathoms.

6. Cryptodon (Clausina) subquadratus, A. Adams.

C. testa quadrato-orbiculari, tumidula, pallide cornea, concentrice

suleata, latere antico subtruncato, postico rotundato; margine

ventrali rectiusculo.

Hab. Coast of Manchuria; 20 fathoms.

Wants the posterior plicature of Cryptodon; subquadrate,

concentrically grooved.

7. Cryptodon (Clausina) suborbicularis, A. Adams.

C. testa suborbiculari, ventricosa, tenui, albida, cornea, concentrice

striata, latere antico producto rotundato, postico rotundato ; mar-

gine ventrali arcuato.

Hab, Amiva Bay; 17 fathoms.

Has the posterior fold of Cryptodon proper; is small, sub-

orbicular, concentrically striate.

228 Mr. A. Adams on new Species of Acephalous Mollusca

Genus Lrerron, Turton.

Lepton japonicum, A. Adams.

L. testa orbiculari subsequilaterali, compressa, tenui, sordide alba,

superficie concentrice striata, area antica obtusim subangulata,

utrinque rotundata; margine ventrali regulariter arcuato.

Hab. Tabu-Sima; 25 fathoms.

The surface of the valves is concentrically striated, and not

shagreened as in some species.

Genus GALEomNIA, Turton.

Galeomnia japonica, A. Adams.

G. testa tenul, transversim ovata, subzequilaterali, alba, radiatim tota

striata striis elevatis confertis, concentrice substriata striis con-

centricis irregularibus, umbonibus medianis acutis ; margine ven-

trali arcuato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

The ventral margin is but very slightly gaping, and the sur-

face of the valves is radiately striated.

Genus Crene.Lia, Brown.

1. Crenella spectabilis, A. Adams.

C. testa oblongo-orbiculari, tumida, alba, tenui, striis elevatis con-

fertis radiantibus tota striata ; margine cardinali antice crenulato,

postice lamella infra-m arginali instrncto'; latere antico rotundato,

pestico subangulato; superficie lineis incrementi concentrice im-

pressa.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 68 fathoms.

This, I suspect, is the largest species hitherto described. It is

a delicate, thin, white shell, entirely striated from the beak in a

radiating manner, with fine elevated lmes; its greatest diameter

is from the beak to the ventral margin.

2. Crenella decorata, A. Adams.

C. testa transversim oblonga, tumida, obliqua, latere antico breviore,

postico longiore maunilato, striis radiantibus et concentricis de-

cussata, Jutescente, fasciis rufo-fuscis radiatim picta ; margine ven-

trali crenulato.

Hab. Port Hamilton ; 7 fathoms.

This is a prettily marked, transversely oblong, tumid species,

considerably larger than C. decussata, Mcnt.; the radiating red-

brown bands are narrow at the beak, and gradually widen as

they approach the ventral margin.

from the Sea of Japan. 229

3. Crenella cornea, A. Adams.

C. testa oblonga, obliqua, tumida, subpellucida, cornea, tota radiatim

striata, striis elevatis confertis, lineis incrementi concentricis in-

structa; latere antico breviore rotundato, postico longiore suban-

gulato; margine ventrali crenulato.

Hab. Korea Strait; 46 fathoms.

A thin, horn-coloured, semipellucid species, entirely radiately

striated, and of an oblong form, with the greatest diameter from

the beak to the ventral margin.

4. Crenella sculptilis, A. Adams.

C. testa oblonga, crassiuscula, albida, lineis concentricis validis in-

structa, radiatim costellata, costellis planis levibus, interstitiis

granulis moniliformibus concinne sculptis ; marginibus ventrali et

cardinali crenulatis.

Hab. Chosan Harbour; 6 fathoms.

The beak in this prettily sculptured species is nearly terminal,

and the shell is ovate-oblong, the greatest diameter being from

the umbo to the ventral margin.

5. Crenella crocea, A. Adams.

C. testa transversim oblonga, obliqua, subrhomboidea, nitida, cornea,

sulculis radiantibus confertis. lmeisque elevatis concentricis tota

decussata ; latere antico breviore, postico longiore rotundato ; mar-

ginibus cardinali et ventrali regulariter crenulatis.

Hab. Tsu-Sima; 30 fathoms.

A radiately sulcate and decussate, shining, saffron-coloured

species, with the entire margin, cardinal and ventral, conspi-

cuously crenate.

6. Crenella casta, A. Adams.

C. testa oblonga, obliqua, tumida, lactea, nitida, radiatim striata,

lineis increménti concentricis impressa, fasciis duabus pallide

carneolis ornata; margine valvarum crenulato; intus vivide mar-

garitacea.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

A very beautiful, shining, milk-white species, finely radiated

throughout, and adorned with two crescentic pinkish bands.

Genus Moprorartia, Beck,

Modiolaria pusio, A. Adams.

M. testa transversim oblonga, obliqua, parva, tenui, fusca, latere

antico breviore, postico rotundato, costellis radiantibus utrinque

230 Dr. H. Dor on Vision in the Arthropoda,

ornata, costellis in medio nullis, lineolis concentricis incrementi

striolata; margine ventrali crenulato.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

A small species, very nearly similar in form to Crenella, but

with the middle of the valves: plain.

Nagasaki, July 10, 1861,

- XXVIL.—On Vision in the Arthropoda. By Dr. H. Dor*. -

Compounp eyes occur in nearly all Crustacea, in all winged and

some apterous insects, and even in the aquatic larvee of the Neu-

roptera, and in the larvee of the Hemiptera. They are two in

number, and form a segment of a sphere; and each is composed

of an agglomeration of more simple organs, of which the number

varies almost infinitely (from 50 to 25,000 in a single eye). The

facets formed by the single eyes resemble the cells of a honey-

comb: they are usually hexagonal, but sometimes pentagonal,

rectangular, or irregular; and these various forms may be met

with in the same eye.

On making an antero-posterior section of the eye, each facet

is found to correspond with a more or less lenticular organ,

exactly resembling in some species the crystalline lens of the

Vertebrata. This has been called the cornea. Behind it is the

crystalline body, a transparent and strongly refractive cone, en-

closed in a cupuliform envelope, which is also transparent and

is perfectly continuous with the nervous fibre. The union of all

the nervous fibres, which in their course almost constantly pre-

sent a dilatation and afterwards traverse several masses of gan-

glionic cells, forms the optic ganglion. The spaces between

the different nervous fibres are filled up with a dark pigment. ~

The author gives a summary of the different views put forward

by writers on the mechanism of vision in the Arthropoda. Cu-

vier supposed that the nervous filaments, although each corre-

sponding to a facet, lost themselves in the layer of pigment ; and

he found it difficult to understand how impressions could be pro-

duced upon them through this opake matter. Marcel de Serres

did not recognize the conical crystalline bodies, the discovery of

which is due to Treviranus (Verm. Schriften, i. p. 152), who,

however, did not perceive their importance. According to him,

the compound eyes act like a convex mirror, upon which objects

are reproduced enlarged, the entire cornea reflecting images of

distant objects, and each facet those of neighbouring objects.

* Abstract from the ‘Bibliothéque Universelle,’ 1861, “Archives des

Sciences Physiques et Naturelles,”’ p. 328. ; ;

Dr. H. Dor on Vision in the Arthropoda. 231

J. Miiller considered that each facet, with its conical body and

the nervous filament attached to it, forms an apparatus which

transmits to the optic ganglion only the impression of that lu-

minous ray emanating from an external body which penetrates

it in the direction of its axis, the oblique rays being absorbed

by the pigment. The impressions transmitted to the optical

centre by all the filaments will form a common and continuous

image. The extent of the field of vision will depend on the more

or less hemispherical form of the eye; and the distinctness of the

image produced, upon the length of the cones, the nearness of

the object, and the number of the facets. The curvature of the

surface of the cornea, which enabled Leuwenhoeck to obtain

reversed images with the eyes of insects, is only sufficient, ac-

cording to Miller, to concentrate the rays in each cone towards

the point of insertion of the nervous fibre.

As early as 1759, Porterfield had stated that the compound

_eyes of insects consist of as many simple eyes as they present

facets ; that these animals see with their innumerable eyes in the

same way as Man with two and Spiders with eight, and that the

number of these organs was destined to replace the movements

of the eye in Vertebrata. In 1843, Brants adduced the fact,

already demonstrated by Leuwenhoeck, of the presence of a re-

versed image corresponding to each facet, but invented a theory

of interlacement of the nervous fibres in order to bring this fact

into accordance with the general theory of Miiller.

Of the authors who endeavoured to combat this theory, one of

the first was Gottsche, who, in 1852, proved that when the ery-

stalline body and the cornea are placed together in the micro-

scope, an image is obtained at the conical extremity of this body.

His conclusion is that the compound eyes are organs of a nature

sui generis, and not to be compared with the visual organs of the

members of other classes of animals.

In 1855, Leydig put forward a theory which has taken the

place of that of Miiller. He assumes, with Gottsche, that the

_crystalline body, its envelope, and the soft layer described by

' Will between the crystalline and the cornea, are not organs

corresponding with and attached to the nervous fibres, but ¢hat

they are the anterior extremities of these fibres themselves, of which

the form alone is altered, there being no difference between them

and other parts of the nervous system, either chemically or optically.

In this view the optic ganglion becomes the analogue of the

_retina in the higher animals, the crystalline bodies being analo-

gous to the bacillar coat. Leydig compares the facetted eye of

an Arthropod to the eye of a vertebrate animal, as follows :—

“The cornea with its posterior convexity corresponds to the cornea

and erystalline of the Vertebrata ; the crystalline body (with the

so-called vitreous body) and the nervous fibre which is attached

232 Dr. H. Dor on Vision in the Arthropoda.

to it, to the bacillar coat; and lastly, the optic ganglion to those

layers of the retina which are composed of granulations, cells,

and nerve-fibres. The pigments are the analogue of the choroid

and the iris; and the transversely striated muscular fibres have

their equivalents in the muscular elements of the choroid and ins.”

The researches of Leydig were followed by investigations of

the anatomy of the compound eye by Zenker, Gegenbaur, and

Leuckart, and on its embryology by Claparéde. Zenker found

the curvature of each facet of the eye in Dytiscus to equal 160°.

The index of refraction of the cornea = 1°50, and that of the

the crystalline body = 1:40. He concludes that the vitreous

body is placed behind the cornea only to prevent the convergence

of the rays behind the cornea, so as to form an image before

reaching the summit of the crystalline body. In this view,

opposed to Leydig, the compound eye is an aggregation of sim-

ple eyes. Gegenbaur, on the contrary, adopts Leydig’s view,

and thinks he has demonstrated an uninterrupted communica-

tion of the crystalline body and nervous fibre with the optic

ganglion in a Hyperid Crustacean.

Leuckart, on the other hand, not content with the various

hypotheses amongst which he had to choose, adopts another,

still more difficult to understand. He states that between the

cornea and the crystalline body there is a space containing a

vitreous gelatinous body enclosed in a proper envelope. Some

muscular fibres found in this envelope may, by their contraction,

approximate the crystalline body to the cornea ; in other words,

there exists a special organ of accommodation. Besides all this,

in the genera Sapphirina, Coryceus, &c., the crystalline is said

to be composed of two distinct parts, exactly like the crown and

flint glass in achromatic lenses. These observations the author

has been unable to verify. Leuckart compares each facet of

such eyes, not to a camera obscura, but to a telescope with a

simple object-glass (cornea) and eye-piece (posterior lens) ; and

he considers this view to be the more probable as movements of

the posterior lens may be observed which can have no other ob-

ject than to adapt the apparatus to different distances.

Claparéde thinks Miller’s theory untenable, and also cites

some facts which speak against Leydig’s views; but he avoids

giving his own.

This being the state of the question, the author endeavoured,

by fresh researches, to solve the problem, How is vision effected

in the Arthropoda? For this purpose it was necessary to con-

firm or refute Leydig’s theory, Miiller’s being already upset by

the observations of Leuwenhoeck ; whilst Leuckart’s seemed un-

tenable to him, because, if insects really possess a telescope, they

would require an eye behind it to enable them to see. It is by

optical processes that he attempts the solution of his problem.

Dr. H. Dor on Vision in the Arthropoda, 233

It is easy to calculate the focal distance, a b, of a lens, when

we know the size of the object c d, its distance from the lens, a f,

and the size of the image, gh. We get two triangles, c ad and

hag, of which the sides and perpen- ¢

diculars are proportional. Thus we §

geta:fa=hg:cd. Asthese threest---

quantities are known, it is perfectly

easy to find the focal distance ab. a

The author commenced by making numerous preparations,

until he had the cornez of many insects in a sufficiently clean

state to show the images very distinctly. He then pasted upon

a window a rectangle of black paper of known dimensions, and

measured accurately the distance from the stage of the micro-

scope to the window. When the facets were in focus, they were

seen very distinctly, but without images of the black paper; on

their removal from the focus, their outlines became less clear ;

but gradually small images of the black rectangle made their

appearance, and grew more and more distinct, until by one or

two turns of the screw they again disappeared. It was there-

fore evident that each facet formed an image, and that this was

at a sensible distance behind its posterior surface. It was there-

fore a true lens, and the image must be reversed, which proved

to be the case on examining another object.

This observation proves that the image is not produced, as

stated by Leydig, on the anterior surface of the crystalline body,

acting as a bacillus, for the latter is often in immediate contact

with the surface of the lens. Nevertheless, it might be urged

that although the image is no doubt formed behind the optical

centre of the lens, by the admission of even a thin layer of the

so-called vitreous body the image might really be formed very

close to the anterior surface of the crystalline body; or the cry-

stalline body itself might be at once refractive and nervous, and

the image might be formed at different depths in it according

to the distance of the objects observed. To determine these

points, the author entered upon a series of accurate measure-

ments, of which the results are given in his paper. The follow-

ing are those which bear most directly upon the subject :—

OT oon enn rte

Cornea of Musca vomitoria.

Magnifying power 560 diameters.

Size of the image seen under microscope=0'458.

Real size of image=0-0082= +1, mill.

Distance of object =68°8 centim.

Size of the object =120 mill.

Whence wv: ;453=688 : 120, from which e=,' mill.

234 Dr. H. Dor on Vision in the Arthropoda.

This calculation leads to a very conclusive positive result.

Leaving out the determination of the optical centre, the image

was formed far behind the posterior face of the lens, the focal

distance =}, being exactly twice the thickness of the lens, which

was 7, mill.

- The next point was to determine the length of the crystalline

body, and to calculate at what part of it the image mght be

formed. The most favourable species for this purpose appeared

to him to be the Macroglossus stellatarum, as its eyes are hard

and prominent. The results are given from the mean of three

measurements.

Macroglossus stellatarum.

First measurement.— Magnifying power 838 diam.

Apparent size of the image 3°48, real size 0-0089=,4, mill.,

from which z (focal distance) = 1, mill.

Second measurement, the same eye, magn. 255 diam.

Apparent size of the image 2°44, real size 0:0091=;+, mill,

from which «=, {>= 7, mill.

Thickness of lens=,'; mill.

Measurement of crystalline bodies (mean of five measurements

of different crystalline bodies)—Apparent size=15°59, real size

The author was the more struck with this coincidence of the

focal length of the lens and the length of the crystalline cone,

as his only endeavour had been to prove whether the image was

formed immediately behind the cornea, as was necessarily as-

sumed in Leydig’s theory. The focal distance of the cornea

measured in the air being =), mill., and the summit of the

cone being at the same distance from the posterior surface of

the lens, the difference between the refraction of the air and that

of the crystalline body is sufficient to shift the position of the

image for a distance equal to that between the posterior surface

of the lens and its optical centre. Thus, if, as stated by Zenker,

the index of refraction of the crystalline body be 1-40, we should

have, in the preceding case,

100 : 0'0625.= 1°40 : 2;

from which z= 0:0875 = circa 54.

Hence the optical centre would be placed forward in the

cornea by the whole difference between ;'; and ;4;, or about

zz mill. Now, as the antero-posterior diameter of the cornea

in the Macroglossus is j;, the optical centre would be about

zi; mill. behind the anterior surface of the cornea.

The author concludes his paper with the following remarks :

—‘ We assume without hesitation that each facet is a complete

———

Dr. H. Dor on Vision in the Arthropoda. 235

eye, perfectly analogous to the simple eye of the Vertebrata. The

lenticular cornea corresponds with the cornea and the crystalline

apparatus ; the cone with the vitreous body; and the cupuliform

envelope—which up to the time of Leydig was considered as con-

junctive tissue, as neurilemma (J. Miiller), and which Leydig

regards as an integral part of the bacillus—is for us a true retina,

a dilatation of the optic nerve. We have not ascertained the

presence of muscular fibres. The pigments replace the choroid,

and the multiplicity of eyes the small muscles destined to move

the eyes of the superior animals in various directions. If, as

M. Claparéde points out with reason, there be some species in

which Leuwenhoek’s images are not observed under the micro-

scope, it must be owing to the convexity of their facets being

very slight. The image is formed nevertheless, but much fur-

ther backwards than it is usually looked for. We find such eyes

in the Tabani; and in these the length of the crystalline bodies

corresponds with the slight cur vature of the cornea, for they

are about seven times as long as the thickness of the cornea,

The mechanism of vision is therefore the same as in Man. One

fact alone is not yet clear—namely, how distinct images can be

formed upon a conical retina. But is the retina of Man always

perfectly spherical? In any case, we no longer admit, with

J. Miiller, that the only point sensible to light is the entrance of

the optic nerve; for, to judge at least by analogy with the Ver-

tebrata, this may very probably be the only blind point ; and we

cannot understand how this distinguished physiologist could

assume that, the pigment absorbing all the luminous rays which

fall upon the sides of the cones, there could be no perception

of light upon these points, as if the choroid in Man prevented

the functions of the retina.

“Lastly, it is not more difficult to explain simple vision with

12,000 eyes, as in the Libellule, than with the two eyes of Man.

Each eye in insects gives an image slightly different from that

of the eye which is immediately in contact with it. But docs

not Wheatstone’s admirable discovery, by throwing down the

old doctrine of identical points, prove that the same thing takes

place in our two eyes? It is owing to the presence of two dif-

ferent images for the two eyes that we possess stereoscopic vision,

that we appreciate distances, perspective, &c. This is the case

also in insects, which will see the niore exactly in proportion as

they have more facets. Thus the Ant, which moves slowly, does

not require so exact an appreciation of distances as Butterflies,

Dragon-flies, and other winged insects. For this reason probably

we only find in the former 50 facets, whilst the Dragon-fly has

12,000, and the Butterfly 17,000.”

236 Royal Society :—

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

January 16, 1862.—Dr. William Allen Miller, Treasurer and Vice-

President, in the Chair.

*On the Development of Striped Muscular Fibre in Man, Mam- |

malia, and Birds.”” By J. Lockhart Clarke, I’.R.S.

In the domestic fowl, until the beginning of the fifth day of incu-

bation, the so-called voluntary muscular tissue consists only of a

crowded multitude of free nuclei imbedded in a finely granular blas-

tema; the nuclei are round, oval, pyriform, and somewhat angular,

with granular contents. On the fifth and sixth days of incubation,

fibres becomesuperadded under two forms, — Ist, as processes extending

from the ends, or from the sides of nuclei; 2nd, as narrow bands,

either uniformly delicate and pale, or bordered by darker outlines,

and containing nuclei at variable intervals. They are most numerous

near the surface of the layer, and probably belong, at least partly,

to the muscular layer of the skin. In every case their first stage of

development is conducted on one general plan, which consists in the

fibrillation of the blastema along the sides of nuclei, to which the

fibrillee so formed become adherent. Sometimes these fibrillee or

lateral fibres enclose a single nucleus with conical processes of blas-

tema, so that the object occasionally presents some resemblance to a

fusiform nucleated cell. More frequently, however, they enclose a

linear series of nuclei at variable distances from each other, but

cemented together by blastema, which sometimes assumes around

each a more or less definite shape. In the formation of the paler

fibres, however, a series of neighbouring nuclei may sometimes be

seen first to collect round themselves granular masses of a more or

less fusiform appearance, and then to coalesce with each other, in an

oblique or alternately imbricate way. Sometimes a series of the

nuclei themselves overlie each other in an imbricate form like a

number of coins, and are cemented together by a common layer of

blastema.

In the early part of the seventh day of incubation, numerous fibres

of a much larger and more striking description suddenly make their

appearance in the nucleated blastema. They originate, however, on

the same general plan as the others, in a fibrillation of the blastema

between, or along the sides of, a variable number of nuclei; but the

process goes on to form aggregate masses of a much larger kind, and

of a more or less oval, fusiform, or cylindrical shape, in which the

nuclei are ultimately enclosed. Some of these bodies have a very

striking resemblance to organic muscular-fibre-cells, which, accord-

ing to my own opportunities of observation, are developed on the

same general plan, that is, by the formation of sarcous substance,

first, in the shape of fibres or lateral bands along the sides of a nucleus

more or less encrusted with blastema, so that the organic muscular-

fibre-cell would appear to represent an early stage in the development

of the sfriped muscular fibre.

Mr. J. L. Clarke on the Development of Muscular Fibre. 237

As incubation advances, the fibres acquire a tubular investment of

the contractile or sarcous substance, which gradually increases in

thickness or depth, and appears on each side as a band of corre-

sponding breadth. As they grow in length, they also contract in

diameter, and become of uniform structure throughout ; while their

nuclei rise nearer to the surface, and assume a more oval form. At

this period the marks of striation, either longitudinal or transverse,

are only faint and occasional.

By the fourteenth day of incubation, the entire substance of the

fibres separates into longitudinal fibrillee, which in turn become shortl

resolved into particles or sarcous elements. After this the fibres

continue to grow in thickness by the addition, to their surfaces, of

new fibrillee, which, as usual, are formed around nuclei encrusted

with blastema cementing them, in such cases, to the original fibre.

In mammalia, although there are some particular but unimportant

differences in the development of muscular fibre, the general plan is

the same as in birds. The nuclei—at least in the ox, sheep, and

pig—are larger, and have more distinct cell-walls or enveloping

membranes. The fibres of the sheep or pig first make their appear-

ance, in the foetus of from half to three-quarters of an inch in length,

as thick and nearly parallel threads lying amongst a. densely crowded

mass of free nuclei. When isolated, these fibres are seen to be attached

to one or more of the nuclei by a variable quantity of blastema.

Sometimes a single nucleus with conical processes of delicate granular

substance is first enclosed by fine fibrillee or lateral bands, which

present somewhat the appearance of a cell-wall, so that the object

has a certain resemblance to a nucleated fusiform cell with a fibre

originating from one of its extremities. Sometimes several nuclei are

cemented in a group around a fibre, and become subsequently covered

by other fibres of the same kind; and sometimes they lie in linear

series, either at some distance apart, or overlying each other toa cer-

tain extent like a series of coins. The lateral bands or fibres enclosing

the nuclei extend around them as a tubular investment, which grows

in thickness from without, but not always uniformly on all sides.

In the process of longitudinal growth, the nuclei multiply by subdi-

vision, become generally more oval, and approach nearer to the sur-

face of the fibre, which at the same time contracts in diameter. The

subsequent changes they pass through are nearly similar to those

which occur in the chick.

In man the development of muscular fibre proceeds on the same

general plan as in birds and mammalia, but differs from that of both

in certain unimportant particulars. In the early stages there is.no

distinct appearance of those oval, cylindrical, and irregular masses

observable in the chick on the seventh day of incubation and in the

mammal at a corresponding period. In this respect there is a greater

resemblance between the two latter classes than between man and

either. In the human fcetus, from about half to three-quarters of an

inch in length, the first stage of development may be seen to com-

mence by the formation of fine lateral bands or fibrillee along one or

both sides of one nucleus or more. When, however, there are more

nuclei than one enclosed by the same lateral bands, they are always

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. iz

238 Royal Society :—

disposed in linear succession, with their longer axes in the direction

of the fibre, and never occur in irregular groups, as is sometimes the

case both in birds and mammals, in which, consequently, the same

kind of fibres are often broader at first. Thus formed, they lie side

by side in bundles of different sizes, to which new fibres or new

fibrillee are being continually added by a renewed process of develop-

ment. Every fibre is the rudiment of several fibrille. At this

period each lateral band constitutes a single fibrilla, which is often

resolved into sarcous elements of great distinctness and beauty, while

new and similar fibrille are developed along its sides in the way

already explained. The subsequent series of changes do not differ

materially from those that occur in the inferior classes.

It is evident that this description of the development of muscular

fibre is entirely opposed to the cellular theory of Schwann ; while it

agrees in some points with that of Lebert (Annales des Scien. Nat.

1849-50), but more with that of Savory (Phil. Trans. 1855). Inno

instance have I found that nucleated cells, properly so called, are

concerned in the office of development; for the finely granular blas-

tema attached to the nuclei, although it frequently assumes the shape

of a fusiform cell, is not invested with acell-wall, in the proper sense

of the word. Such an envelope, however, is sometimes simulated by

the investing sarcous substance or fine lateral fibrilla when they are

first laid down on the sides of the fusiform mass and meet each other

at each extremity to form a single fibre or process. Indeed, according

to my own observations, as already remarked, this is precisely the

mode in which the organic muscular-fibre-cell is developed ; so that

the striped muscular fibre, instead of being the product of nucleated

cells, would appear to be itself, at first, an instance or mode of cell-

formation, which finds its prototype in the organic muscular fibre-

cell, and in which the cell-wal/ is substituted and represented by the

investing sarcous substance.

January 23, 1862.—Major-General Sabine, R.A., President,

in the Chair.

«« Additional Observations and Experiments on the Influence of

Physical Agents in the Development of the Tadpole and the Frog.”

By John Higginbottom, Esq., F.R.S.

In a former paper ‘On the Influence of Physical Agents on the

development of the Tadpole of the Triton and the Frog,” which the

Royal Society honoured with a place in the Philosophical Transac-

tions for 1850, experiments were detailed to prove that the ovum of

the frog (the Rana temporaria) underwent its metamorphosis in the

absence of light, contrary to the experiments of Dr. W. F. Edwards

of Paris, related in his work ‘On the Influence of Physical Agents

on Life.’

My most satisfactory experiment was made in a rock cellar 30

feet deep, where no solar light ever entered; the mean temperature

of the cellar was 51° Fahr.,—I believe, the lowest temperature at

which the transformation could be effected.

The ova of the frog, just deposited, were placed in the cellar on

Influence of Physical Agents on Development of the Frog. 239

the 11th of March, and on the 31st of October the first was fully

developed in the form of a frog; while other ova deposited on the

same day, which were placed in a shady part of a room at 60° Fahr.

and covered with several folds of black calico, were fully developed

on May 22nd, twenty-three weeks earlier than those in the cellar.

The experiment proved that the development of the frog depended

upon the temperature, and not upon the presence of light. I found

by other experiments that those in the light, and those deprived of

light, were equally developed if placed at the same temperature.

I observed that an excess of light retarded the development.

1. On the Influence of Light on the Ovum.

My formerexperiments not being parallel with those of Dr. Edwards,

I was desirous of following his steps. Dr. Edwards says, in his work

above referred to, Part iv. chapter 15, ‘On the Influence of Light

upon the Development of the Body,’ ‘This process, previous to

birth, is generally carried on in the dark ; there are, however, animals

whose impregnated eggs are hatched, notwithstanding their exposure

to the rays of the sun. Of this number are the Batrachians. I

wished to determine what influence light independent of heat might

exert upon this kind of development. ‘With this view I placed some

spawn of the frog in water in a vessel which was rendered imper-

meable to light by dark paper. The other vessel was transparent ;

they were exposed to the same degree of temperature, but the trans-

parent vessel received the rays of the sun. The eggs exposed to the

light were developed in succession; of those in the dark, none did

well ; in some, however, I remarked unequivocal indications of the

transformation of the embryo.”

Dr. Edwards does not mention the depth of water in the vessel in

which he put the spawn of the frog, which he “‘ rendered impermeable

to light.”’ If it were a few inches in depth, it would materially pre-

vent the transformation of the embryo.

I commenced my experiment in a pool which had been the habitat

of frogs (the Rana temporaria) for several years.

Experiment Ist.—I put a quantity of spawn, just deposited, into a

box perforated with small holes, so as to admit a free current of water

through it, and placed it about 3 feet below the surface of the water ;

all the ova perished.

The next experiments were made in an aquarium 20 inches deep,

containing seventeen gallons of water at 60° Fahr.

Experiment 2nd.—A quantity of spawn was put into the water,

which fell to the bottom of the aquarium; the spawn when first

deposited by the frog, is specifically heavier than the water*. The

* It is found that the frog usually deposits her spawn in shallow water, often

close to the edge of a pool favourable to its development; at first it is very ad-

hesive, and adheres firmly to the ground or weeds where it is deposited. The

same condition may be observed when the animal deposits her spawn in an earthen-

ware vessel. In this neighbourhood the deposition begins about the end of

February or the first days of March, and continues fourteen or sixteen days, when

the frogs quit the water.

hic

240 Royal Society :—

ova enlarged as usual, but did not arrive satisfactorily through the

branchial state; most of the ova appeared to undergo no change

whatever.

Experiment 3rd.—Some spawn was placed 8 inches below the

surface of the water ; but none of the ova passed through the branchial

state.

Experiment 4th.—A quantity of spawn was placed on rock work

near the surface of the water. Nearly all the ova passed satisfac-

torily through the branchial state to the formation of tadpoles ; each

of the experiments was made at the same time and at the same tem-

perature.

Experiment 5th.—A quantity of spawn was put into two round

shallow dishes, each containing two pints of water, which were placed

on the stand of the aquarium at the same time as in the former experi-

ments; nearly all did well; and during the full branchial or fish-like

state, great numbers of the embryos had placed themselves close to

the margin of the water, forming a dark circle, with their branchize

nearly exposed to the atmospheric air. They do not appear to feed

during this period on the jelly—their first food ; atmospheric respira-

tion seems more needful than food for their existence for several

days during their full branchial state*.

There are two distinct metamorphoses from the ovum to the full

development of the frog: the first from the branchial or fish-like state

to that of the tadpole; the second from the tadpole to that of a frog,

—the first requiring for its existence a close approximation to the at-

mospheric air, the second requiring full atmospheric respiration, to

which I shall hereafter refer.

The branchial state continues about nine days, from the first bud-

dings of the branchize to their absorption. About the seventh day

the branchiz are absorbed on the right side, indeed so quickly that

I have observed that scores have lost them during one night, whilst

the branchize on the left side have apparently been perfect ; but these

in their turn become absorbed during the next day ; the respiration

of this newly formed tadpole now depends on the internal gills and

cutaneous surface. The gill-opening for the passage of water is

very apparent on the left side, but there is none on the right.

2. On the Influence of Light on the Tadpole.

The experiments of Dr. Edwards indicate that a decided influence

is exerted by light upon the metamorphosis of Batrachians, since,

according to his statement, when tadpoles which had arrived at

nearly their full growth were secluded from the influence of light,

* The ova of the toad appear to be less tenacious of life than those of the frog.

I have observed, when they are placed 4 or 5 inches below the surface of the water,

they all die; but they live when the long jelly lines in which the ova are enclosed

are floated on weeds, or on a network of sticks on the surface of the water. In

my note-book on the tadpole of the toad in 1849, 1 found that after the gelatinous

lines began to break up on the surface of the water, and the ova to separate from

them, a number of the eggs undergoing the metamorphosis adhered to the sticks

and weed, but those falling to the bottom of the vessel perished.

Influence of Physical Agents on Development of the Frog. 241

but supported with aérated water and food, they attained an extra-

ordinary size, without undergoing any nretamorphosis. The follow-

ing is Dr. Edwards’s experiment :—‘“I procured a tin box, divided

into twelve compartments, each of which was numbered and pierced

with holes so that the water might readily pass through the box.

A tadpole (which had been previously weighed) was put into each

compartment, and the box was then placed in the River Seine, some

feet below the surface. A large number were at the same time put

into an earthen-ware vessel, containing about four gallons of Seine

water, which was changed-every day ; these tadpoles were at liberty

to rise to the surface and respire air, and they soon went through

their metamorphosis. Of the twelve placed in the box under water,

ten preserved their form without any progress in their transforma-

tion, although some had doubled or trebled their weight. It should

be observed that at the time when the experiment was begun, the

tadpoles had attained the size at which the change is about to take

place. Two only were transformed, and these very much later than

those which, in the earthen vessel, had the liberty of respiration in

air.’ Dr. Edwards concludes that the presence of solar light favours

the development of form.

The situation in which Dr. Edwards placed the tadpoles, “some

feet below the surface of the river’ in his experiment, would inevi-

tably prove unsuccessful in the full development of the frog. I have

always found the transformation, both of the triton and of the frog,

equal in the same temperature, both in the light and in the absence

of light, if placed in shallow water; but during their metamorphosis

they must be allowed to rise to the surface of the water to obtain

air, or they become asphyxiated. I therefore placed stones in

the vessel, and allowed them to leave the water for the purpose of

atmospheric respiration.

The metamorphosis of the tadpole, when at its full growth, requires

about fourteen days to bring it to the condition of a frog. About

the termination of that period, the diminution of the body is so great,

and also the absorption of the expanded caudal extremity is such, as

to diminish cutaneous respiration. Respiration by the lungs becomes

absolutely necessary to prevent the animal from becoming asphyx-

iated, which would be the case if it remained in the water—requiring

then not an aquatic, but an atmospheric medium of respiration. It

may be observed that after the tail is partially absorbed, leaving only

a portion of the solid part, the asphyxiated state has commenced ;

the little animal, with open mouth, gasps for breath: but if removed

into atmospheric air, the mouth is directly closed, and respiration is

effected through the nostrils with perfect freedom ; the animal is re-

stored directly, jumps about and is lively.

3. On the Influence of the absence of Light on the Tadpole and on

the Frog.

This time I commenced my experiments in three rock cellars,

formerly only in one.

242 Zoological Society :—

The cellars in Nottingham, cut out of solid rock, are most favour-

able for experiment; no solar light ever enters, and they are not

subject to any great change of temperature. The deepest cellar is

30 feet deep, the mean temperature 51° Fahr.; the middle cellar is

18 feet deep, its mean temperature 53° Fahr. ; the uppermost cellar

9 feet deep, mean temperature 56° Fahr.

June 11th. In each cellar I placed a shallow glazed earthenware

vessel, containing two pints of water, with grass for chlorophyll for

food, changing the water every second day. In each vessel I put

twenty tadpoles, approaching the period of their metamorphosis, fol-

lowing the example of Dr. Edwards,—a much easier method than

commencing with the spawn.

In the uppermost cellar ten were fully developed in the form of a frog

on the 8th of September, and were on the stones, having left the water.

In the middle cellar ten were fully developed on the 22nd of

September.

In the lowest cellar eight only had left the water, being fully

developed on the 20th of October.

In the following year, July 1st, I made a similar experiment in

the same cellars, three weeks later. The tadpoles were of a large

size. I obtained the same result—the full development of the

frog in the absence of light; but in this experiment I had another

object in view, that of observing the growth and obtaining the exact

weight of the tadpoles before, during, and after their metamorphosis

into a frog.

Dr. Edwards said that in his experiment ‘‘the tadpoles attained

an extraordinary size, doubling or trebling their usual full weight ;”

but he unfortunately does not mention any particular weight, or

how long the tadpoles were preserved alive; in fact there is nothing

definite.

During my several years of experiments I did not observe any re-

markable increase of weight or size as mentioned by Dr. Edwards,

although my first experiment was from the ovum to the full develop-

ment of the frog, and the two last when the tadpoles were approach-

ing the period of their development.

In my first experiment on the ovum, I never obtained a tadpole

more than 8 grains in weight in the absence of light; but I found

in a pool in the neighbourhood a number of tadpoles, some between

11 and 15 grains in weight ; seven of them weighed 15 grains each.

Of these large tadpoles I took twenty for my experiment, weighing

altogether 264 grains, and averaging about 13 grains each. After

their transformation the frogs weighed 93 grains, averaging about 43

grains each,—those of 15 grains in the tadpole state only weighing

5 grains as frogs, having lost two-thirds of their weight during their

metamorphosis.

Subsequent experiments have been in accordance with the above.

Dr. J. E. Gray on Helogale, a new Genus of Viverride. 243

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Nov. 12, 1862.—Dr. J. E. Gray, V.P., in the Chair.

The following extract from a letter addressed to the Secretary by

Edward Blyth, Esq. (Corr. Memb.), dated Maulmein, May 10th,

1861, was read to the meeting :—

“‘T have made this day a grand discovery, which neither you nor

others will believe in at the first announcement, but it is true never-

theless,—viz. that the extraordinary Rhinoceros-horn figured * as

that of Rhinoceros Crossti by Gray, in your ‘ Proceedings,’ is the well-

developed anterior horn of an old male R. swmatranus—the common

species of these provinces. My host at this place is a great sports-

man, and some noble trophies of the chase hang in his verandah ;

but what fixed my attention was the head of R. sumatranus,

with a development of horns which I had never imagined to occur

in this species ; and the resemblance of the much-curved anterior

horn to that of Gray’s supposed species, R. Crossii, struck me at once.

Conversing with my host on the subject, he remarked that he took

a similar head to England (where it now adorns his family hall), with

the front horn at least 3 inches longer, and still more curved. A

little reflection, and I felt satisfied that R. Crossii must sink into a

synonym of R. sumatranus.”

In a subsequent communication Mr. Blyth remarked :—

** All doubts now removed about the identity of R. sumatranus

and R. Crossii. Mason states that the skin of the Tenasserim spe-

cies ‘is quite smooth, like a buffalo’s’—meaning devoid of folds ;

but Col. Fytche assures me that the one he shot had the slight folds

described and figured of R. sumatranus. 'The mature female horns are

small, and the nasal bones comparatively narrow; I am not aware

that a corresponding sexual difference occurs in any other Rhino-

ceros. In the Indian one-horned species the sexes are alike in size

and development of horn.”

The following papers were read :-—

Notice or HevoGAte, a New Genvus OF VIVERRID&.

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., F.L.S., ere.

In making out a list of the skulls of the animals in the Museum,

Mr. Edward Gerrard called my attention toa peculiarity in the skull

of some of the smaller African Mangoustes. They are externally

like the -true Herpestes, but they want the smaller false premolar

teeth in the upper jaw, which are always to be found in the true

species of that genus. I propose to designate the group Helogale,

which may be thus characterized :—

HELOGALE.

Cutting teeth a; Can. oS; Premol. 3 Mol. 3 ae

* See P.Z, S. 1854, p. 250.

24.4 Zoological Society :—

Body slender ; head oval; ears distant; toes 5—5 ; claws com-

pressed, acute ; soles of hind feet half bald and callous ; tail hairy,

tapering.

1. HeLocae parvuta (Herpestes parvulus, Sundeval).

Skull broad.

Hab. Natal.

wer AAG

WANs. nasa

Skull of Helogale parvula (upper surface.)

2. HeLoGaLe tanionota (Herpestes tenionotus, A. Smith).

Skull elongate.

Hab. South Africa.

The skull differs considerably in shape from that of the species of

true Herpestes.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE GENUS CuSCUS.

By Dr. Joun Epwarp Gray, F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., ere.

In the ‘ Proceedings’ for 1858, p. 100, I gave some observations

on the genus Cuscus, with the description of a new species; and

in the volume for 1860, p. 1, I described another species of the

genus *.

Since that time we have received several additional specimens

from Mr. Wallace, and I have also been able to examine many

other examples sent home by the same excellent collector ; “the exa-

mination of these specimens has induced me rather to modify my

views as regards the species, and has led me to observe other cha-

racters for the species which were before unknown to me.

I therefore lay before the Society these additional observations, in

the hope of doing something towards settling the species of this

very difficult group of animals, which are curious as being the only

* See Annals, vol. ii. p. 67, and vol. vi. p. 65.

Dr. J. E. Gray on the Genus Cuscus. 245

Marsupials that have as yet been submitted to a kind of domesti-

cation ; though I have never been able to see why Kangaroos might

not have been domesticated by the Australian emigrant, except from

the difficulty of making them adopt new ways even in a new country.

I may observe that I believe the British Museum contains the

largest and finest collection of specimens of this genus that has

ever been brought together. A few years ago we considered our-

selves fortunate in having two specimens ; now we have thirty-three

from very different localities, and I have besides these examined about

half as many more.

The zoologists of the modern school are’ very desirous that the

name of the original namer of the species should always be inserted

after the specific name, to show to whom belongs the honour of

having first named the species,—often a very doubtful source of con-

gratulation or proof of scientific attainment, as for example in this

enus.

= Should the various coloured varieties really be proved to be good

species in this genus, we shall have to adopt the names of Lesson, an

author who seems only to have seen a very few specimens, and to

have applied a name to each of those that he saw, without giving him-

self the trouble to ascertain what were the characters that separated

them from the other examples of the genus ; and it is frequently the

case, not only with species but with genera, that the man who first

gives the name to either one or the other often knows less about

them, and takes less trouble to study the subject, than men who

have never given a new name to either genus or species. This was

specially the case with Swainson, who has given the names to many

genera of shells and birds even on the slightest characters, and with-

out the least analysis.

In my former paper I divided the Cusci into two sections, ac-

cording to the hairyness and prominence of the ears; I will now

divide them into four sections, according to the form of the skull and

the number and disposition of the anterior false grinders; and thus

place at the disposal of the student two means of determining the

species.

Sect. I. The nose of the skull short, broad, and rounded. The an-

terior conical false grinders one on each side, large, and nearly filling

up the short diastema. The grinders large, in an arched series, con-

verging behind. The forehead of the skull rather swollen over the

front, and depressed between the hinder part of the orbits. Ears

hidden under the fur. Fur of one colour. Evucuscus.

1. Cuscus (E.) urstnus, Gray, P. Z.S. 1858, p. 103.

Temm. Monog. t. 1. f. 1, 2, 3 (adult), t. f. 1-5 (half-grown)

(skull), t. 4 (skeleton).

Blackish ; tail and rump dark, like back.

Hab. Celebes (Temm.).

The three skulls, of different ages, all show only a narrow linear

space between the upper edges of the masseter muscles. The fore-

246 Zoological Society :—

head of the youngest specimen is not so concave as that of the two

older ones.

We have an adult and half-grown female from Celebes, obtained

for the Leyden Museum in 1843; and a nearly adult specimen

without any distinct indication of its sex—probably a female—with

‘the pouch sewed up, from the Zoological Society, 1855.

If this should be the case, we have only female specimens of this

genus; but I believe they have a male at Leyden.

2. Cuscus (E.) Brevicaupatus, Gray, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 102.

Pale brown ; the tail and rump of the same colour as the back.

Hab. Cape York (Mr. Macgillivray).

The skull, which is that of a very young animal, is more like that

of C. ursinus than that of any other species in our Collection.

The canines are close to the cutting-teeth, and with a very small

space between it and the first grinder. The skull is rather convex,

and swollen in front over the orbits.

We have only the young specimen and its skull, on which Mr.

Gould established the species. It seems very distinct from C. ursinus.

Sect. Il. The nose of the skull rather produced, rounded. The ante-

rior conical false grinders one on each side above, moderate-sized, near

the middle of the broad diastema. The grinders in a slightly arched

series. ‘The forehead very convex, rounded over the middle of

the orbit, and flat behind. The ears hairy outside, hidden in the fur.

The fur more or less variegated. ‘Tail pale or yellowish. Dorsal

streak none. SpiLoOcuscus.

The skulls which we have of the animals of this section show

that there are probably two distinct species. One species has grinders

of a rather larger size than those of C. ursinus, but differmg from

them in being in_only a slightly curved line, the three first grinders

forming a series of from 10 to 103 lines, or twelfths of an inch.

In this respect the skull agrees with those figured by Temminck

(Mon. Mam. t. 3. f.1-6) as of Phalangista maculata. But one skin

agrees with the description of the skin of P. chrysorrhos of that

author, and its teeth with the figure of the teeth of P. maculata.

Yet it is to be recollected that this author had only a very small

number of specimens to examine, and he does not, mention in his

description of either species the difference in the size of the grinders,

though he shows the difference in his figures.

The second species has smaller grinders, placed in the same man-

ner as the former,—the three front grinders forming a series of from

81 to 9 lines in length, as they are figured by Temminck (Monog.

t. 1. f. 4-6) as Phalangista chrysorrhos.

We have two skulls with their skins belonging to this kind; and

both have the spotted skins which Temminck calls Phalangista ma-

culata. Under these circumstances it is difficult to adopt Tem-

minck’s name. Are we to take those of the skin or those of the

skulls? Perhaps what he describes as C. chrysorrhos may be the

proper and wild state of each species, and the spotted varieties de-

Dr. J. E. Gray on the Genus Cuscus. 247

scribed as C. maculata may be albivo varieties or half-domesticated

varieties of them, for the natives of some islands are said to breed

them.

As I have not the power of examining the skulls of all the speci-

mens, I have arranged those in the Museum provisionally under

these two names, taking them as they designate the general colour

of the fur.

3. Cuscus (S.) CHRYSORRHOS.

Cuscus maculata, var. 1, 2, Gray, P. Z. 8. 1858, p. 102.

Phalangista maculata, Temm. Mam. t. 2. f. 1-5 (adult), 6 (young

skull).

The grinders * large, three front of from 10 to 103 lines in length.

Fur dark grey-brown ; sides and middle of the back blacker or

black ; face reddish ; rump and tail yellowish ; belly white.

Var. albina?

White; feet and large spots on back red-brown.

Hab. Ceram ; south coast of New Guinea ; “ Moluccas” (Temm.).

1. An adult female of a large size from the Leyden Museum as C.

chrysorrhos, Temm. 1859.

2, 3. Au adult and a three-fourths grown female, with the sides

very deep black. From Ceram; Mr. Wallace, 1859.

4. A young female specimen from the south coast of New Guinea ;

J. B. Jukes, 1846.

The skull of this animal shows that it belongs to the large-toothed

species.

Var.? albina. White, reddish varied.

C. maculata, nos. 3-5, Gray, P. Z. 8. 1858, p. 102.

5. White, with a long irregular patch on the back, and the four

feet red. A female from Dufour Island, south-east coast of New

Guinea; John Macgillivray, 1851 ; and its skull, which agrees with

Temminck’s figure of the skull of C. maculatus.

6. ? An adult male, with numerous confluent reddish spots. New

Guinea; John Macgillivray, 1855.

7. A half-grown male, with numerous small, reddish and dark-

brown spots, often confluent. Darnley Island, south coast of New

Guinea ; John Macgillivray, 1855.

I have not been able to examine the skull and teeth of these spe-

cimens ; so they may belong to the next.

4, Cuscus (S.) MACULATUS.

Cuscus maculatus, Lesson, Voy. Coq. t. 5.

Cuscus maculatus, var., nos. 3-7, Gray, P. Z.S. 1858, p- 102.

* I give the measurement of the three first of the true grinders only, because

in the young skull the hindermost grinders are not developed. I may state

that the ditference in the size of the grinders does not depend on the sex of the

species, as there are both males and females with teeth of each size.

248 Zoological Society :—

Phalangista chrysorrhos, Temm. Mon. t. 1. f. 4, 5, 6 (skull, not

skin).

eben moderate, three front forming a series of from 81 to 9

lines in length. Skull very convex on the front of the orbit, flat or

slightly concave behind the convexity, the temporal ridges close toge-

ther, united (in the adult skull) and forming a sharp ridge.

White, spotted with fulvous grey-brown or black ; forehead

reddish.

Hab. New Guinea. Waygeroo and Aru Islands.

There are both sexes in the Museum Collection.

1. Adult male. Spots on the head and shoulders, confluent on the

back and sides, small, scattered ; tail white. Waygeroo. Purchased

of M. Verreaux, 1856, as Cuscus maculatus.

2. Adult male. White, with numerous, scattered, small spots ; tail

white, slightly varied with pale reddish. Aru Island; Mr. Wal-

lace, 1857. ‘This belongs to the smaller-toothed kind.

3. Adult male and female. Very similar; yellowish white spots, nu-

merous, smooth, intense black; head reddish-brown; tail white,

marbled with pale reddish. Waygeroo; Mr. Wallace, 1860.

Mr. Wallace observes that these animals are diurnal: the female

he marks as having a pale hazel iris. The skull of the male shows

that it also belongs to the smaller-toothed kind.

The three skulls in the Museum agree with the above description,

but vary among themselves; one of the skulls from Aru (1195 6) is

much narrower in all its parts, and is less swollen and narrower be-

tween the orbits, than the others from the same locality, and is pro-

bably the skull of a female, as 1195 a is from the male specimen

sent from Aru by Mr. Wallace.

The skull of the male specimen sent by Mr. Wallace from Way-

geroo is similar to the male from Aru (1195 a), but is rather more

swollen, especially between the front of the orbits.

Sect. III. The nose of the skull rather produced, rounded. The

anterior conical false grinders one on each side above, moderate-sized,

near the middle of the broad diastema. The forehead deeply concave,

with a raised edge on each side between the orbits. Ears naked

within, extended beyond the fur of the head. Fur of body and tail

uniformly coloured, with a dorsal streak. Srrieocuscus.

5. Cuscus (S.) ceLeBeEnsis, Gray, P. Z. 8. 1858, p. 105, t. 62.

Hab. St. Cristoval, Solomon’s Group of Islands.

We have both sexes in the British Museum Collection, and the

skulls of two others nearly adult, collected by Mr. Rayner and Mr.

J. Macgillivray during the voyage of the ‘ Herald.’ There is very

little difference between the two skulls, though they are from a male

and female animal.

In the description of the species-in the paper above referred to,

the animal is erroneously said, by a slip of the pen, to have no

dorsal streak.

Dr. J. E. Gray on the Genus Cuscus. 249

We have in the British Museum a young specimen of a Cuscus

from Macassar, which is very like C. celedensis, but it has no visible

dorsal streak: it is not ina very good condition. It may be a va-

riety of this species, or the young of one of the other, or perhaps

an undeveloped state of a new one.

Skull of Cuseus celebensis (side view).

Sect. IV. The nose of the skull rather produced, rounded. The an-

terior conical false grinders fwo on each side above, the anterior rather

larger, the hinder very small, cylindrical ; both near the other grinder,

and widely separated from the canines. The forehead with a dee

concavity between the orbits. Ears naked within, extended beyond

the fur of the head. Fur on body and tail uniformly coloured, with

a dorsal streak. Cuscus.

6. Cuscus ORIENTALIS, Gray, P. 78: 1858, p. 104, t. 61.

Cuscus Quoyii, Lesson in Quoy & Gaim. Voy. Uranie, Zool. t.56.

£16,

The male and female grey brown, with a distinct dorsal streak.

250 Zoological Society :—

Var. albina?

Cuscus orientalis, Temm. & Gray.

Males pure white, without any dorsal streak.

Hab. Islands of Waigiou and Ceram.

Mr. Wallace attached to the male species this observation: “the

claws, soles, and end of the tail nearly white; eats leaves and

cocoa-nuts (young).”” Hecalls the male C. orientalis.

We have specimens of both sexes in the Museum ; a very young

and adult female from Waigiou, obtained from M. Verreaux in 1856 ;

and male and female, with two young from the pouch, from Waigiou,

and a male from Ceram, from Mr. Wallace, in 1859 and 1860.

In the skull of the female the temporal ridges are separated from

one another by a wide flat band.

Temminck, and other authors since his work, have described the

male of this animal as white, and the female as silver-grey with a black

dorsal streak ; but we have both sexes of the latter colour. Can the

white males be an albino variety, and confined to the male sex? We

have two full-grown males of that colour, one obtained from Leyden

Museum, said to come from Amboyna, and another from M. Ver-

reaux, said to come from New Zealand ; they both have the small

hinder false grinders.

7. Cuscus ornatus, Gray, P. Z. S. 1860, p. 1, pl. Lxxiv.

(male).

Both sexes grey-brown, grisled, and marked with small white

spots and a distinct dorsal streak ; the ground-colour of the male is

yellowish-red, of the female dark grey-brown.

Hab. Ternate and Batchian (Wallace).

We have a male and three females in the British Museum, all from

Mr. Wallace—a male from Batchian in 1859, two adult and a young

female from Ternate, obtained in 1858 and 1859.

Skull of Cuseus ornatus (upper surface).

Dr. O. Wucherer on the Ophidians of Bahia. 251

Skull of Cuscus ornatus (side view).

In the British Museum there are two young specimens of the

genus which I am not able to determine with certainty. They are

both of a fulvous-brown colour, and without any streak on the

back.

1. Said to come from “ Amboyna,” and is supposed to be a young

C. orientalis ; the sex is doubtful, but probably a male.

2. The other was sent by Mr. Wallace from Macassar in 1857,

and is a young male. I formerly considered it as a variety of C.

celebensis (P. Z.S. 1858, p. 43) ; and it is like that species in se-

veral particulars ; but the want of the dorsal streak is a great pecu-

liarity, which was not so distinctly seen before it was stuffed.

On THE OPHIDIANS OF THE PROVINCE oF Banta, Braziu.

By Dr. Orso Wucuerer, Corr. Mems. (Part II.*)

Of the family of Coronellide several species of Liophis are very

common in this province—Liophis cobella, L. Merremii, L. regine,

and L. conirostris. The last appears to me to occur only in the

vicinity of the city of Bahia. In several collections of Ophidians

sent to me from different parts of the province, I never found a single

specimen, whilst it is rather common in the vicinity of the city of

Bahia. It never attains to the same size as the other species. Some

specimens of LZ. Merremii show so constantly certain differences from

others, that I feel tempted to consider them as belonging to a distinct

species, particularly as those differences are by no means referable to

the different age of the individuals ; however I shall withhold my sug-

gestions until I shall have collected more materials to substantiate

them. LErythrolamprus venustissimus, of the same family, is not

unfrequent. It shares with different other snakes the Portuguese

name of Cobra Coral.

* See Annals, vol. viii. p. 179, for Part I.

252 Zoological Society :—

The species of the genus Yenodon, which have been referred to

the family of Natricide, are allied to Liophis in many respects.

Their dentition is very similar ; they may all be considered as fresh-

water snakes (some species of Liophis are called by the Brazilians

Cobras d agua), although they are frequently found in dry places

and at a distance from the water. They all live on Batrachians, and

have this peculiarity in common with the other snakes of the family

of Natricide, that they do not squeeze their prey to death before

swallowing it, nor ever coil themselves around it.

I have noticed only two species of Xenodon—X. rhabdocephalus

and X. colubrinus.

In a preliminary list of snakes observed by me, given by Dr. Albert

Giinther, X. severus is mentioned ; however, on a repeated examination

of the specimens in my possession, I must refer them all to X. rhabdo-

cephalus *, This isa very common species in Bahia. Several young

examples may be frequently found together. It is very lively and

courageous, and, on account of its broad head and rather vicious

appearance, much dreaded by the Brazilians, who give it the name

of Surucuct. In order to distinguish Lachesis mutus from it, they

call the latter Surucuct bico de jacca, from the resemblance of its

strongly keeled scales to the prominences on the Jackfruit—the fruit

of the Artocarpus integrifolia. This Xenodon is very voracious. Re-

cently I had a young living specimen of it in the same cage with one

of Liophis conirostris, and gave them two young Cystignathi fusct

for their food. The Xenodon immediately seized one of the frogs by

the snout ; but the Liophis did not succeed so well with the other frog,

and found it easier to seize the Xenodon’s prey by the hind legs. A

struggle commenced, in which the Xenodon had better hold of

the frog than the Liophis, and, the latter beg obstinate and not in-

clined to relinquish its hold, began to encompass its head with its

wide jaws. It became evident that the Zzophzs would have to share

the fate of its infended victim. As it was the first living specimen

of its species I had been able to obtain, I was very anxious to save

its life; so I cut the Xenodon in two with a knife, and the Liophis

quickly passed through the anterior segment of the Xenodon’s body

with the frog. The Liophis was returned to its cage, when it directly

seized hold of the other frog, and swallowed it undisturbed. It had

along its head, neck, and anterior part of the body minute wounds

from the Xenodon’s teeth, which bled freely while it was engaged in

swallowing the frog; but it has done quite well since, and I hope it

may arrive safely at the Gardens of the Society.

It is surprising how broad and flat a Xenodon rhabdocephalus

makes itself at times, chiefly whilst basking in the sun. ‘This is

owing, I suppose, to a peculiar conformation and attachment of its

ribs, which I have not yet examined. The species of Liophis never

make themselves so broad. A Xenodon can pass a crevice which is

exceedingly small in proportion to the width of its head,—one smaller

than that which a LiopAzs with a much thinner body can pass.

* One specimen of X. severus in the Collection of the British Museum is men-

tioned in the Catalogue as derived from Bahia.

Dr. O. Wucherer on the Ophidians of Bahia. 253

Of the interesting species Xenodon colubrinus, so well established

and happily named by Dr. Albert Giither, I received several live

specimens from Ilhéos. When irritated, it rapidly strikes the ground

with its tail—a habit I have also noticed in Spilotes variabilis, S.

pecilostoma, S. corais, and in Coryphodon pantherinus. In its

habits it resembles also XY. shabdocephalus; but in the form of its head

it shows great similarity to the members of the next family—that of

Colubride. In this species I first noticed a bright white spot or

groove on the tip of each scale. Recently I have become indebted to

Dr. A.Giinther’s kindness for a perusalof Prof. Reinhardt’s interesting

paper on these curious spots or depressions*. Reinhardt discovered

them during his stay in Brazil, about thirteen years ago, in a living

specimen of Philodryas Olfersii—a snake which has not yet been

noticed by me. After his return to Europe he found them in pre-

served specimens of many other Ophidians, and has tried to vindicate

for them the importance of a classifying character, which they un-

doubtedly possess. Reinhardt mentions that these depressions had

been noticed before by Wagler in species of Xenodon, by Holbrook

in Coluber alleghaniensis, and by Ginther in West Indian species of

Dromicus, but that they had been overlooked by other herpetologists.

In Xenodon colubrinus they are remarkably distinct, clearly perceptible

with the naked eye; they are circular, and placed very near the tip

of the scales,

The family Colubride is represented by two genera in this province

—Spilotes and Coryphodon.

Coryphodon pantherinus is exceedingly common. The grooves on

its scales are double, as in all the other species of this family, with

the exception of Zamenis Dahlit, Fitz., which, according to Reinhardt,

has scales with a single groove. Reinhardt, however, observes that

this Ophidian had been classed by Schlegel with the Psammophidea,

which have scales provided with a single groove.

Of the genus Spilotes I have noticed S. corais, S. peecilostoma, and

S. variabilis.

They are very similar in their habits, very bold; and the most un-

daunted is perhaps 8. corais. It is called by the Brazilians ‘‘ Papa-

pinto,” from its averred predilection for chickens, of which circum-

stance I have never heen able to satisfy myself. It frequents the

neighbourhood of rivers, where it often strikes terror into the

black washerwomen occupied at their calling, by approaching and

running after them. I have been told strange stories about its creep-

ing on to the beds of sleeping women who nurse, and sucking at their

breasts. It may be that, like many other reptiles, it is very fond

of milk; and this may account in part for such tales, which have

been current in other countries also. S. corais has generally seven-

teen rows of scales; but I have seen several specimens with only

fifteen rows. One very large specimen from Caravellas in my

possession, which measures 8’, has nineteen rows of scales. The

other two species of Spilotes are both called “ Cainana;” the

* See p. 255 of our present Number.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 18

254 Zoological Society.

grooves on their scales differ from those of S. corais in being

larger and oblong or elliptical. I was on the point of referring a

specimen of S. corais, with fifteen rows of scales, to Herpetodryas

dendrophis, on account of the slender form of its head ; but the pre-

sence of the two depressions on each of its scales assisted me in its

correct determination. With regard to S. variabilis, I must state

that the specimens examined by me, which were all adults, had no

loreal shield.

The Dryadide I have met with belong to two genera, Herpeto-

dryas and Philodryas. Herpetodryas carinatus is one of the most

common snakes in this province. The Brazilians call it, as well as

all the other slender species of snakes, ‘‘ Cipo,”’ which signifies the

stem or a stick of acreeping-plant. Before I had read Schlegel’s

‘ Essay,’ I referred all the specimens of Herpetodryas in which I did

not detect any keeled scales to H. fuscus, this being the only distine-

tive character given in Giinther’s Catalogue. When I found that

Schlegel had not admitted H. fuscus as a separate species, I sub-

mitted all my specimens (several dozens) to a closer examination, and

found that there was not a single one in which at least very slight

traces of keels were not to be found in some scales ; so that I feel in-

clined to follow Schlegel, and to consider my specimens as belonging

to one species. According to Reinhardt, the scales of Herpetodryas

carinatus are without any groove,—an observation with which I

cannot agree, having found grooved scales in all my specimens. In

some specimens they were found, indeed, only on a few scales. of

the neck near the head ; others had them on the two middle rows of

keeled scales. The occurrence of these grooves in Herpetodryas* is

very interesting, particularly because they are single, and not double

as is generally the case in keeled scales. They are placed near to

the inner edge, and at the point of junction of the distal with the

middle third of the scale. They are proportionately smaller in

larger specimens. The largest specimen noticed by me is 5 feet

7 inches long.

Philodryas viridissimus is not quite so common as the last species.

The largest specimen I have seen measured 4 feet. Reinhardt found

two grooves in the scales of this snake. After a careful search, I

cannot find more than one groove at the tip of the scales. Some

scales on the tail have certainly two grooves, evidently in consequence

of the confluence of two scales.

Philodryas Schottii—I obtained a single specimen in a bad

state.

Of the family of Dendrophide I have seen a single specimen of

Ahetulla liocerca}: it must be a very beautiful snake. It is said

to be exceedingly lively ; and this, with its proportionately long

teeth, may be the cause of its being considered dangerous by the

Brazilians.

* T have examined several specimens of this species : I was unable to find these

grooves in H. carinatus; one specimen of H. fuscus showed a single groove on a

few scales on the neck.—A. G.

+ I received it from Mr. Christopher Gayleard, whose unceasing kindness in

assisting me to collect specimens I am happy to acknowledge.

Miscellaneous. 255

The family of Dryophide has two representatives in Bahia, be-

longing to the genus Dryophis—D. argentea and D. acuminata.

The former is very scarce (I have seen only one specimen in Mr.

C. M. Féppel’s collection), the latter very common.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On some small Pits with which the Scales of certain Ophidia are

adorned. By J. REINHARDT.

Ir is about twelve years since, during his residence in Brazil,

M. Reinhardt observed small whitish and brilliant points scattered

over the body of the green suake, common in that country, to which

Lichtenstein gave the name of Coluber Olfersii, and which Wagler

has adopted as the type of his genus Philodryas. Careful examina-

tion showed M. Reinhardt that each scale of this snake is furnished,

close to its posterior extremity, with a small depression or pit, of

which the brilliancy is greater than that of the rest of the scale.

These impressions cease at a little distance from the point of the tail.

They are also wanting in the anterior part of the body, on the two

rows of scales nearest to the ventral plates, and even, further back,

on three or four ventral rows. At the root of the tail there are not

more than six rows of scales furnished with pits; this number soon

falls to three, and a few inches further on there are only two.

When the epidermis is carefully removed from some of the scales

furnished with pits, and examined with the lens, it is found that no

opening exists corresponding with the pits. The epidermis is only

very delicate at this point, and as transparent as glass. Nor is any

aperture to be found in the pit of the cutis, and consequently there

is no canal or cavity leading into the interior of the scale.

M. Reinhardt was naturally led to compare other Ophidia with

the Philodryas with regard to this peculiarity. Amongst 191 spe-

cies examined up to this time, he has found pits in 106. The

frequency of these little depressions is undoubtedly still greater than

might be assumed from the above numbers. In fact, M. Reinhardt

has examined comparatively a greater number of species of groups.

not furnished with pits than of those which are provided with

them.

In many species the pits are as large as, or larger than, in Philo-

dryas, and then they are easily recognizable by the naked eye.

Often, likewise, they are smaller, and cannot well be distinguished

except with the lens. Sometimes there is only one upon each scale,

sometimes there are two. In the Ophidia with smooth scales, the

species with one and those with two pits are nearly equal in number.

In the Ophidia with keeled scales, the pits, when they exist, are

almost always two in number on each scale, placed one on each side

of the keel. Some species, however, have only one.

The function of the pits is still unknown. They are not connected

with any gland, and never constitute a sexual difference. They may

18*

256. Miscellaneous.

nevertheless be employed as a check upon herpetological systems.

The classification of Duméril and Bibron, founded essentially upon

the dentition, establishes groups which by no means coincide with

the absence, presence, or number of pits on the scales. M. Rein-

hardt considers this classification as essentially artificial. He admits

that within certain limits the dentition has an incontestable systematic

importance, but he does not think that it can be regarded as a cha-

racter ruling all others. All the attempts hitherto made at classify-

ing Serpents in accordance with the dentition alone have led to the

approximation of very diverse species, and to the separation of allied

forms. On the other hand, M. Reinhardt considers the groups

established by Schlegel under the name of genera as very natural.

He thinks that the system of that author is the best in the present

state of science, provided the modifications proposed in 1858 by Dr.

Giinther, in the ‘ Catalogue of Ophidia in the British Museum,’ be

adopted. There are, no doubt, exceptions ; but we find entire fami-

lies with two pits, others with only one, and others which are desti-

tute of them. Moreover, the families in which all the species exhi-

bit a uniformity of character in this respect are generally very natural

families.

M. Reinhardt himself does not ascribe an exaggerated importance

to the pits in question. He does not dream of making use of them

as the basis of a classification. But it is interesting to-find, in a

peculiarity apparently so useless, a confirmation of the establishment

of certain families; and it may also serve occasionally to determine

the probable affinity of an Ophidian whose position is doubtful.—

Bibl. Univ. Jan. 20, 1862, Bull. Sci. p.78.

Note on Callithamnion Rothii. By G. S. Brapy.

The influence of external circumstances in introducing changes

of species, and the range of altered conditions which individual spe-

cies are qualified to bear without change or death, is a matter which

seems as yet to be very imperfectly understood, notwithstanding

that it lies near the root of much that has recently been written

respecting the succession of life on the earth. Viewed in this light,

the following remarks on one of our native Algze may not be without

interest.

In February of last, and June of the present year, I observed that

certain stones near the mouth of a cave, a little north of Hawthorne

Dene, were covered with a red velvety fleece, which on examination

proved to be Callithamnion Rothii, one of the smallest of the Rhodo-

sperms, its filaments seldom much exceeding half an inch in length.

The stones thus coated with the Callithamnion were exposed to a

heavy dripping of fresh water from the roof of the cave (not merely

a scanty fall of drops, few and far between, but a copious pelting,

sufficient to wet one very unpleasantly while gathering specimens),

and beyond the area of this dripping the plant did not extend. The

mouth of the cave is not very far below high-water mark; and I

should judge that in this position the plant must be exposed to

Miscellaneous. 257

alternations of about four hours’ washing with sea-water, and eight

hours’ with fresh. I have met with no other instance of a Calli-

thamnion growing under exposure to fresh water ; and when C. Rothi

is found (as is often the case) on rocks near high-water mark, it is

almost always so stunted as to amount to little more than a red film

or crust, in which state it constitutes the Byssus purpurea of old

authors*. In the Hawthorne locality, however, it attains a size

larger than usual even in favourable situations; so that the fresh

water cannot be supposed to exercise any prejudicial influence on its

growth. Now, it so happens that there is another genus described

by algologists (Tventepohlia), which, according to Professor Harvey,

differs from Callithamnion in no other respect than its fresh-water

habitat. Indeed, in the first edition of his ‘ Manual of the British

Algze,’ he remarks “that C. Daviesii and T’. pulchella, when the latter

is well coloured, are scarcely distinguishable under the microscope.”

It seems to me that the Hawthorne plant goes a great way to

establish Dr. Harvey’s view of the identity of the two genera; for,

though exposed for about sixteen hours out of twenty-four to the

influence of fresh water, it is certainly referable to the marine species

Callithamnion Rothii, and at the same time is undistinguishable, so

far as I can gather from figures and written descriptions, from the

fresh-water species Trentepohlia pulchella. There is nothing ex-

ceptional in the case of a plant growing indifferently either in

salt water or in fresh. The common Lnteromorpha intestinalis, a

marine species, flourishes in streams, ponds, and ditches quite away

from sea influence. Bangia fusco-purpurea has been found in like

circumstances; and even with animals, instances of a similar toler-

ance might be brought forward. In short, it seems quite unphilo-

sophical to separate plants which are to all appearance precisely

similar, merely on account of a difference in habitat ; for what does

such a circumstance show, more than that a single species possesses

the capacity of existence under widely different conditions ’—TZrans.

Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club, 1861.

Vitality of the Seed of Fumaria muralis (Sonder) and Hyoscyamus

niger (Z.) By the Rev. ALrrep Mer te Norman, M.A,

The ancient churchyard of Embleton, in the parish of Sedgefield,

was surrounded by a very old hedge, which, last year, when the church

was rebuilt, was grubbed up. Upon this freshly turned-up ground—

earth which had not been disturbed for centuries—there sprung up

in profusion two interesting plants, Fumaria muralis (Sonder) and

Hyoscyamus niger (L.). What makes the circumstance the more

* Byssus purpurea is noted by Mr. Winch as occurring “on rocks and

stones in alpine situations.” Assuming that the plant alluded to is the

same as that found on rocks with marine exposure (which, though evidently

inferred by Mr. Winch, is perhaps reasonably open to doubt), there seems ~

the less reason to hesitate m uniting the two aquatic forms. But, without

further evidence of the identity of the two terrestrial plants, it is impossible

to push this argument,

258 Miscellaneous.

remarkable is the fact that this is the first and only instance in which

I have met with either of the Capreolate Fumarie in the neighbour-

hood, notwithstanding that they have been closely looked for. Such

instances of the vitality of seeds are not unfrequent, but are always

interesting, and offer some problems well worthy of solution. Why

had not these seeds previously germinated? Perhaps because they

were too deeply buried in the ground. Butif this beso, at what depth

do seeds cease to vegetate, and what is the influence which, acting

on the germ, keeps in abeyance the vital energy stored up within ?—

Trans. Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club, Jan. 1862.

Highly interesting Discovery of new Sauroid Remains.

Mr. O. C. Marsh, a student in the Sheffield Scientific School of

Yale College, U.S., procured last summer from the coal formation of

the Joggins in Nova Scotia, where he has for several seasons spent

his long vacation in mineralogical and geological observations, two

Saurian vertebree, of which Agassiz writes to us thus :—

“ My dear Stilliman—A student of your Scientific School, Mr.

Marsh, has shown me today two vertebree from the coal formation

of the Joggins, which have excited my interest in the highest degree.

I have never seen in the body of a vertebra such characters combined

as are here exhibited. At first sight they might be mistaken for

ordinary Ichthyosaurus vertebree ; but a closer examination soon shows

a singular notch in the body of the vertebra itself such as I have

never seen in Reptiles, though this character is common in Fishes.

We have here undoubtedly a nearer approximation to a synthesis

between Fish and Reptile than has yet been seen. * * * #

The discovery of the Ichthyosauri was not more important than that

of these vertebree ; but what would be the knowledge of their exist-

ence without the extensive comparisons to which it has led? Now

these vertebrze ought to be carefully compared with the vertebrae of

bony Fishes, with those of Sauroid Fishes, of Selachians, of Batra-

chians, of the Oolitic Crocodilians, of the newer Crocodilians, of the

Ichthyosaurians, and of the Plesiosaurians, and all the points of re-

semblance and difference stated; because I do not believe there is a

vertebra known, thus far, in which are combined features of so many

vertebrae, in which these features appear separately as characteristic

of their type. Whatever be the fate of these remains, be sure that

they are preserved where nothing can happen to them, and where

_ they will be duly appreciated.

Ever truly yours,

“L. AGAss1z.”

“Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, U.S., Dec, 23rd, 1861.”

—Silliman’s Journal for January 1862.

Discovery of Saurian Remains in the Keuper of the Jura.

In making a section for the railroad now in construction in the

neighbourhood of Poligny, remains of a gigantic Saurian have been

Miscellaneous. 259

discovered. With great care and precaution the following fragments

were obtained :—three claws of eight to twelve centimetres in length,

several other phalanges with fine articular surfaces, a part of the

tarsus and metatarsus, two vertebree joined, and several other frag-

ments. The dimensions of these bones is such that the whole length

of the animal cannot have been less than from thirty to forty

metres. [?]

These remains lay in the upper strata of the Keuper, visibly

overlapped by the lower Lias. These formations have heretofore

been considered as devoid of organic remains in this country (France)

where they contain gypsum and rock-salt. Nevertheless, some years

ago, M. Pidancet, a geologist of the Franche-Comté, found in these

same strata large bones, which he deposited in the museum of Be-

sancon, and which he considers as belonging to the same species.

Besides, a few months ago, near Domblans, while opening a ditch

for the railroad, a similar fragment was found ; and M. Lauckardt,

one of the employés, has seen at the same place other bones, much

larger, which he could not remove on account of their fragility.

Another discovery, not less important, was made by M. Fro-

ment, mayor of Saint Lothaire, in strata younger than the Keuper

formation. The bones found there belong to the Elephas primigenius

and to a kind of Stag; among them are two molar teeth beautifully

preserved. ‘This deposit of bones is in a layer of sand and marl

containing boulders of quartz and numerous fragments of terrestrial

and fresh-water shells, but no trace of human remains.—Silliman’s

Journal for January 1862.

On the general conditions of the Avicula contorta Beds, and on the

constitution of the Infra-Liassic stage. By Ant. Stoppant.

The little fossil which bears the name of Avicula contorta was

scarcely known a few years ago. General Portlock first named it, in

1843, after his geological investigation of a part of Ireland. By

degrees this fossil has acquired great importance, which is due to

its abundance, and to the extent of the beds in which it has been

deposited.

The first part of M. Stoppani’s memoir contains a historical sum-

mary of the investigation of the beds which occur on the horizon of

the Avicula contorta, the description of the characters of these beds,

and the indication of their thickness, which appears to be but small

in England, about 12 metres on the northern slope of the Alps, and

from 800 to 1000 feet in Lombardy. As regards their extent, they

are known in Ireland and England, in Wiirtemberg and Bavaria, in

Westphalia, Luxembourg, and the departments of the Moselle, of La

Meurthe, of the Cote d’Or, de Yonne and of the Rhone, in the

Cevennes, in Savoy, in Switzerland, in the Vorarlberg, and at other

points of the chain of the Alps as far as Hungary. Throughout,

these beds form a convenient and clear horizon.

In his second part, M. Stoppani describes the Avicula-contorta

beds in Lombardy, previously studied by MM. Collegno, Escher, and

Omboni. These beds are there represented by the deposit of the

260 Miscellaneous.

Azzardla, formed of limestone and marl combined with the black

schists and lumachello, which are inferior to them. Both contain

Avicula contorta and a special fauna, which has already been partly

described by the author in his ‘ Paléontologie Lombarde,’ from which

this memoir is an extract.

In the third part, the author shows that the palzeontological study

of the Avicula-contorta beds ranges them in the Jurassic series, and

that they are of sufficient importance, and so clearly separated from

the beds above and below them, to form a distinct stage, to which he

gives the name of étage infraliasien. The synonyms of these beds

in other countries are given by the author as follows :—the Kossen

beds in Austria; the Bone-bed and the White Lias in England ; the

precursor of the Lias or Cloac of Wiirtemberg; the Sandstones of

Helmsingen and Loévelange in Luxembourg; the Sandstones of

Hettange; the zone of Ammonites planorbis and A. angulatus of

Oppel; the Limestone of Halberstadt ; the Limestone of Valogne ;

the “choin bdtard”’ of Lyons; the “foie de veau”’ of Burgundy ;

part of the Sinemurien of D’Orbigny ; the fourth stage of the Lias

of D’Archiac; the Superior Dolomite of Lombardy, &c. The author

gives a summary of all the classifications on this subject by means of

a table, in which he assumes that the Infra-Liassic stage placed be-

low the zone of Ammonites Bucklandi is composed as follows :—

1, zone of A. angulatus; 2, zone of A. planorbis; 3, zone of Tere-

bratula gregaria; 4, zone of Bactryllium resting on the Keuper.—

Bibl. Univ. Jan. 20, 1862, Bull, Sci. p. 67.

CODIUM BURSA.

In most botanical works this plant is described as being “‘ soft and

sponge-like :”” this only applies to its dry state. Miss Dyke Poore

has kindly sent me two specimens growing together at the base.

Instead of the plant being soft and sponge-like, it is hard and firm

like a solid fruit, of a very dark olive-green colour; the surface is

regularly granulated. The periphery of the globe is entirely formed

of dark, transparent, clavate cells, the apices of which form the

superficial granules, which are of a hemispherical shape. The ap-

pearance of the living plant is very unlike the velvety frond of the

Codium tomentosum.—J. Ii. Gray.

CAPTURE OF DIODON PENNATUM.

The Earl of Enniskillen, having observed a fine specimen of Diodon

pennatum in the collection of Henry Norris, Esq., F.R.C.S., of

Charmouth, and, on inquiry, finding that it was caught a short time

ago on the coast near Charmouth, induced Mr. Norris to transmit

the specimen to the Collection of British Animals in the British

Museum. ‘This is only the second time that the fish has been ob-

served on the coast of Britain.—J. E. Gray.

THE ANNALS

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES. ]

No. 52. APRIL 1862.

XXVIII.—On a new Fossil Reptile supposed to be furnished with

Feathers. By A. Wacner*,

“A BrRD is known by its feathers,” says the old proverb. The

universal and exclusive applicability of this is recognized not

only popularly, but also in zoology: an animal with feathers is

a bird. This distinctive character, hitherto regarded as im-

moveably fixed, has all at once been brought in question by one

of the most unexpected discoveries. The facts are as follows :—

In the course of the last summer I had the pleasure of re-

ceiving a visit from M. Witte of Hanover, who is well known to

possess an excellent collection of fossils, and to be well acquainted

with them; and on this occasion he informed me that he had

seen, in the possession of M. Hiaberlein, of Pappenheim, a slab

from the lithographic stone of Solenhofen, upon which there was

a skeleton with such a combination of characters that nothing

more surprising and odd could be imagined. This specimen,

indeed, wanted the skull and the two hands, but in other respects

the most important parts of the skeleton were well preserved.

The most remarkable thing about it was that a well-marked coat

of feathers was present both on the anterior limbs and on the

tail. These feathers agreed in their configuration so exactly

with those of true birds, that their interpretation as such could

hardly be doubted. The discovery of feathers in the lithographic

slate was of itself something unprecedented, but the mode of

their union with the skeleton bordered on the incredible. Thus

the tail-feathers were attached to a tail possessing not the least

resemblance to that of a bird, but presenting a deceptive simi-

larity to that of a Rhamphorhynchus. And the attachment of

the wings was still more astonishing; for these, on both the

* Translated by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from the ‘Sitzungsberichte der

Miinchner Akad. der Wiss.’ 1861, p. 146.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 3, Vol. ix. 19

262 M. A. Wagner on a new Fossil Reptile:

anterior limbs, formed a fan radiating from the extremity of the

fore-arm.

“ Obstupui, steteruntque come!” The statements made to

me by my friend were so unexpected and so much at variance

with previous views, that at first I did not know what to think

of them. Whether I regarded this mongrel creature as.a bird

with the tail of a reptile, or as a reptile with bird’s feathers,

was no matter; the one was as incomprehensible to me as the

other. Nevertheless this singular information came to me from

a man whose judgment I could not but respect as that of one

well acquainted with the subject. Nothing, therefore, remained

for me but to suspend my judgment for the present, and leave

it to time to furnish further elucidations of this matter. A

long absence, however, prevented my further investigating the

affair. :

The first contribution towards the completion of my knowledge

of this extraordinary animal was furnished by H. von Meyer, in

the lately published fifth part of the new ‘ Jahrbuch fiir Minera-

logie,’ &c. (1861, p. 561), where he reports as follows :—“A

fossil from the lithographic slate of the quarries of Solenhofen

has been sent to me, showing, with great distinctness, a feather

which cannot be distinguished from those of birds. In the

organization of the Pterodactyles, which is now so accurately

known, there is nothing from which we might infer that those

animals were clothed with feathers; this, therefore, would be

the earliest trace of a bird belonging to pre-tertiary time. The

feather, which is of a blackish appearance, is about 60 mill. in

length; and the vane, which gaped somewhat here and there,

almost uniformly 11 mill. in breadth. The fibres on one side of

the shaft are only about half as long as those on the other. The

quill, which was pretty strong, is also indicated. The vane ter-

minates in a somewhat obtuse angle. The feather will represent

either a wing- or tail-quill.”’

We have thus, from one of the best of our paleontologists, a

full confirmation of the correctness of the interpretation given to

these parts by M.O. J. Witte; for that this isolated feather be-

longs to the same type with that seen by the latter is open to

‘no doubt in my eyes, even from the statement of their deriva-

tion and the first discovery of such structures in lithographic

slate, and it will receive further confirmation immediately, inas-

much as I have obtained from one of my friends, who is perfectly

acquainted with his subject and was aware of the statements of

the two palzontologists above mentioned, a report upon the

same slab which M. O. J. Witte had the opportunity of seeing.

Although he had not time to undertake a minute comparative

examination of the slab, he was still able at least to acquire an

—

supposed to be furnished with Feathers, 263

accurate. notion of its principal parts. His report runs as fol-

lows :—

“Skull, neck, and both hands wanting. Of the vertebral

column, the greater part of the vertebre of the trunk and the

whole of those of the tail are completely preserved. The former

are of moderate length, and uncovered ; the tail, which measures

upwards of 6 inches, consists of about twenty vertebre of an elon-

gate narrow form, the dimensions of which slowly but constantly

diminish, so that the last of them is the smallest. Of the an-

terior limbs, the humerus and fore-arm are present on both sides;

they are strong bones, pretty nearly of equal length, and the

fore-arm consists of radius and ulna. At the anterior extremity

of each fore-arm there is a broad, short bone, but this is in-

jured.

“Of the pelvis only the right half is preserved; it is but

small, and is comparable not with the pelvis of a bird, but rather

with that of a Pterodactyle. On the left side, the whole hinder

extremity is preserved; on the right, only the thigh and shank.

The former is a powerful and not very long bone; the latter is

somewhat longer and thinner, and is simple; at least, a se-

paration into tibia and fibula is not perceptible. The tarsus

consists only of a single powerful bone, which is shorter than

the shank-bone with which it is in contact ; its lower extremity

is considerably widened, and bears three articular processes, to

which the three toes are attached. The latter are of moderate

length, and armed with strong hooked claws.

“ Feathers occur both on the anterior limbs and on the tail ;

they have, however, left only their impressions, but these show

sharply defined outlines, and upon a passing glance they present

a deceptive resemblance to birds’ feathers. From the above-

mentioned short broad bone, which lies close to the extremity of

each fore-arm, there issues a radiate fan of feathers, by which there-

fore, as a structure of this kind radiates from each fore-arm, two

feather-wings are produced, having their external outline curved

like a bow. ‘The individual feathers are characterized by their

fine shafts, on each side of which the delicate striation of the

vanes is seen. The largest of these feathers considerably exceed

in size that described by Von Meyer.

“Similar feathers are attached to the tail, but with this di-

stinction, that they do not attain the length of the wing-feathers,

and, which is of more importance, they do not radiate like the

latter from a central point, but spring from both sides of the

tail throughout its whole length, and start from it at a small

angle. ‘The tail-feathers form a group of an elongated leaf-like

or oval shape, of which the narrow end issues from the be-

19*

264 M. A. Wagner on a new Fossil Reptile

ginning of the tail, whilst the posterior end is broadly rounded,

and extends considerably beyond the last caudal vertebra.”

So far this summary report, which thus fully confirms the

statements of M. Witte, but at the same time furnishes further

important data for the interpretation of this extremely enigma-

tical fossil, which I shall now attempt. The business now is to

ascertain whether this animal, which exhibits at: the same time

characters belonging to birds and reptiles, is to be referred to

the class of birds or that of reptiles. Let us first consider those

characters which connect it with birds, and then those which

unite it with reptiles.

The most striking resemblance to a bird consists in the clothing

of the anterior limbs and the tail with feathers. Feather-forma-

tion is only known in birds. Another characteristic similarity

to birds is shown by the tarsus, which forms a single bone, but

has at its lower extremity three processes for the articulation of

the three toes. This structure occurs in all birds, but has not

yet been observed in any reptile.

The characters which do not agree with the type of birds are

the following :—A divergence of this kind is shown, in the first

place, even by the feathers themselves as regards their mode of

attachment. . The wing-quills of birds are inserted along the

whole outside of the hand and fore-arm; in the fossil now under

consideration, which unfortunately wants the hand, the fore-arm

shows no feathers; and, moreover, the whole wing is attached

only to a small bone lying close to the fore-arm, and therefore

probably belonging to the wrist, from which it radiates like a

fan. Equally strange is the mode of attachment of the feathers

on the tail, from which they issue on both sides throughout its

whole length uniformly amongst themselves, whilst the rectrices

on the short tail of birds are only attached to the last vertebra.

As such a mode of attachment of the feathers of the wing and

tail is quite foreign to birds, the question finally arises whether

these fossil feathers are actually identical structures with true

birds’ feathers, or only present the external appearance of these.

The microscopic examination of their structure and the chemical

investigation of their substance might furnish the most certain

solution of this doubt.

The structure of the vertebral column is totally different from

the type of birds, but, on the other hand, it agrees most closely

with that of the long-tailed Pterodactyles (Rhamphorhynchus).

In birds, the sacral and lumbar vertebre, and the nearest of the

dorsal vertebre, are not only firmly anchylosed together, but

also, on the outside, covered by the long lumbar sacrum in the

manner of a roof. In the fossil, on the contrary, the sacral and

supposed to be furnished with Feathers. 265

lumbar vertebrze are free and uncovered, and the lateral bones

of the pelvis are but slightly developed. ‘The difference in the

structure of the tail is equally striking. All birds, without ex-

ception, have a very short and powerful tail, composed of from

five to eight, and only in a few cases of nine or ten vertebra,

which bear strong processes, and of which the last is always

peculiarly formed, and also, with but few exceptions, the largest.

The opposite of all this is exhibited by the tail of the fossil. In

this the tail is extraordinarily long, and consists of about twenty

vertebrz, which are all elongated, slender, and without processes,

and the last of them is the smallest. Such a condition of things

is completely in contradiction to the bird-type, but, on the other

hand, agrees very closely with that of Rhamphorhynchus, in

which, moreover, radiating processes issue from the caudal ver-

tebre, although these are not feather-like, but appear to be

simple cartilaginous fibres.

I have thus detailed those data which have become accessible

to me, in order to endeavour to answer the question whether

this fossil is to be referred to the class of birds or to that of rep-

tiles. The difficulty of doing this with certainty is indeed greatly

increased by the circumstance that the skeleton is entirely desti-

tute of certain extremely important parts, of which the skull and

the hand may be particularly adduced ; nevertheless an attempt

at some interpretation must be ventured upon. In the first

place, I consider the great uniformity, especially in the structure

of the skeleton, presented by the type of birds, which, in com-

parison with that of the other classes of Vertebrata, only admits

of inconsiderable variations ; whilst amongst the reptiles—and as

in the present case we have to do only with the Saurian order,

in these, the most remarkable differences occur within the boun-

daries of the order, as may be seen from living and still more

from extinct species of Sauria. For this reason, therefore, a

reptile with the simple tarsal bone of a bird, and with epi-

dermic structures presenting a deceptive resemblance to birds’

feathers, is far more comprehensible to me than a bird with the

pelvis and vertebral column (especially the long slender series

of caudal vertebre) of a long-tailed Pterodactyle, and with a

perfectly different mode of attachment of the feathers. To this

we may add that the identity of these epidermic structures with ©

true birds’ feathers is by no means proved ; they might still only

be peculiar adornments. Even amongst insects we find peculiar

structures, to a certain extent reminding us of feathers; why,

therefore, not also, and in a higher stage of development, among

reptiles? If nothing of the kind has yet been found in the latter

class, we have already been accustomed in paleontology to meet,

in recent discoveries, with previously unknown peculiarities in

266 M. A. Wagner on a new Fossil Reptile:

the structure of different organs. Consequently, until I shall be

‘convinced by the discovery, in another specimen, of the parts:

wanting in the one now under consideration, I do not hesitate

to regard this as a reptile of the order Sauria; and I give it the

name of Griphosaurus, derived from ypidos, an enigma.

. This singularly constructed Saurian might also assist us in

the solution of another mystery which has not yet been unveiled.

It is well known that in certain strata of the Trias we meet with

impressions which have been regarded as the footprints of birds,

although no bones of birds have yet been discovered in any of

the Secondary rocks older than the Chalk. As far as these im-

pressions (the signification of which has hitherto always appeared

to me very doubtful*) may be actual footprints of animals, we

should at least become acquainted in the Griphosaurus with

a reptile with birds’ feet, or, more properly, a reptile with

the tarsus of a bird, the footprints of which must therefore have

been like those of a bird. By this I do not mean to say that

these supposed footprints of birds are due to our new genus,

but I only wish to furnish an effective support for the supposi-

tion that these footprints are produced not by birds, but by

reptiles of an extinct type. In this way also the sequence in

the appearance of the Vertebrata, as ascertained from the re-

mains of their skeletons discovered in the rock-beds, would be

brought into accordance with the observations of the footprints,

in so far as these are truly what they are said to be. The sup-

posed birds’ footprints of the Trias would thus by no means be

produced by birds, but by reptiles; they would be reptile-

tracks.

In conclusion, I must add a few words to ward off Darwinian

misinterpretations of our new Saurian. At the first glance of

the Griphosaurus we might certainly form a notion that we had

before us an intermediate creature, engaged in the transition

from the Saurian to the bird. Darwin and his adherents will

probably employ the new discovery as an exceedingly welcome

occurrence for the justification of their strange views upon the

transformations of animals. But in this they will be wrong.

If I say of the Frog that it was originally a fish, I can at least

justify such an assertion; because I can positively show by spe-

cimens the transition of the fish into an Amphibian, from the

first states of a fish-like tadpole through a whole series of inter-

mediate steps. I cannot indeed require that, in regard to Gri-

phosaurus, Darwin should show me such intermediate steps, for

of this genus we only know a single and imperfect specimen ;

but I am entitled to ask of the Darwinians, if they should desire

to cite the Griphosaurus as an intermediate creature undergoing

* See my ‘Geschichte der Urwelt,’ ii. p, 423.

Mr. J. W. Kirkby on Remains of Fish and Plants. 267

a transformation from a reptile into a bird, to show me, first of

all, the intermediate steps by which the transition of some one

living or extinct animal from one class into another was effected.

If they cannot do this (as they certainly cannot), their views

must be at once rejected as fantastic dreams, with which the

exact investigation of nature has nothing to do.

XXIX.—On the Remains of Fish and Plants from the Upper

Limestone of the Permian Series of Durham. By Jamus W,

KiRkBy, ;

Tue fossils provisionally noticed in this communication have

been found in the Upper Limestone of the Permian ‘series of

Durham. The most important of them are the remains of Fish,

most of which appear to be undescribed. The others, which are

the least numerous, belong to vegetables.

Previous to the discover y of these fossils the remains of fishes

were not positively known to occur so high in the Permian

series of the district named, the Marl-slate being the chief and

almost only subdivision in which they had been found. The

Marl-slate is nearly at the bottom of the series; the Upper

Limestone is almost at the top, it being the uppermost member,

with the exception of the Bunter Schiefer, which is unrepre-

sented in the immediate region where these fossils occur. Hence

they are amongst the es al, not themselves the latest—traces

that we possess of paleeozoic Vertebrata.

The locality where the fossils are found is in a quarry belong-

ing to Sir Hedworth Williamson, Bart., at Fulwell Hill, near

Sunderland. The bed in which most of them occur is not more

than 2 feet thick. It is mostly laminated and very fissile, and

it varies from a soft, earthy, yellow limestone to one that is hard,

crystalline, and grey.

Nearly all the fish are small Palgonisci, the largest of which

is only 4 inches in length, most of them being less. Fragments

of a larger fish, apparently belonging to the genus <Acrolepis,

have also occurred, as well as impressions of others, inter-

mediate in size, which are so obscurely preserved as to prevent

any decision as to their affinities.

1. Pala@oniscus varians, n. sp.

Maximum length 4 inches; greatest depth 1 inch or a little

more. Head somewhat less than one-fourth of the entire length,

and a little longer than wide; orbit large, and placed well for-

ward; mouth of medium size; operculum large, and covered

with delicate rugose ornamentation. Pectoral fins small; ven-

268 =Mr. J. W. Kirkby on Remains of Fish and Plants.

trals small, placed a little in advance of -posterior half of body ;

anal fin larger than the preceding, situate at the commencement

of last third of body ; dorsal somewhat larger than the anal, and

placed between the ventrals and anal, but nearest to the latter 4

caudal fin of moderate size, heterocerque, though not greatly so,

spreading slightly outwards, with both lobes of nearly equal

length. Scales vary greatly in size, those of the flank in the

abdominal region being much larger than those covering the

dorsal, ventral, and caudal portions of the body, except in those

parts where large scales advance for some distance in front of

the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins; the scales traversed by the

lateral line and those adjoining are more or less subrectangular,

the former being characterized by a deep notch in the upper

half of the posterior margin; the scales of the caudal region

are more rhomboidal in shape: the exposed margins of all the

scales are plain; two or three lines of growth generally mark

the surface just within the exposed margins ; and the surface,

though smooth to the naked eye, is finely shagreened when

magnified.

2. Paleoniscus Abbsii, un. sp.

Length 4,5, inches; greatest depth ,5, inch, or little more than

one-seventh of entire length. Length of head 1 inch; breadth

rather over half an inch. Form of head elongate, with a some-

what projecting snout ; branchiostegal rays four or five? Dor-

sal fin a little in advance of anal, but the posterior rays of the

one are parallel with the anterior rays of the other; caudal fin

more decidedly heterocerque than in the preceding species.

Scales smooth, except in being marked marginally by lines of

growth as in the preceding species; their shape resembles that

of the scales of Paleoniscus varians, except in those on the flank

being of less relative width; those of the lateral line are notched.

3. Paleoniscus latus, n. sp.

Length 23 inches; breadth 1, inch, or somewhat less than

one-half the entire length. Head: length 5% inch; depth a

little less ; slopes rapidly downward from the occipital region to

the snout ; snout very obtuse; gape small. Fins small ; ventrals

placed at the deepest part of the body, less than half an inch

from the head; the other fins are placed similarly to those of

the preceding species. The scales on the flank are longer than

in P. varians, and arranged in much steeper rows ; their general

form, however, shows no essential points of difference from the

scales of that species.

The general form. of this fish is gibbose 3; and in this respect it -

differs strikingly from the specics already noticed, more especially

from P, Abbsii.

M.E. P. Friés on the Geographical Distribution of Funyi. 269

4. Paleoniscus ? n.sp.

_ A single example of what appears to be another species of

Pale@oniscus has occurred along with those described. It is

about 8 inches long, a little more than half an inch in depth, and

its head is 5% inch in length. It differs from the species noticed

in having a more pointed head and a produced snout, also in

the greater length of its dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. As it

seems, however, to possess some points of resemblance to Pa-

leoniscus angustus, Ag., of the Zechstein, I refram from de-

scribing it as new until I have compared it carefully with that

species.

Acrolepis Sedgwicki, Ag.

Associated with the Paleonisci there has occurred a single

fragment of Acrolepis, apparently belonging to the species A.

Sedgwickiu of the Marl-slate. This specimen is 7 inches long, and

is minus head and part of tail, so that it has probably belonged

to an individual that was little under 12 inches in length.

Other fragments of this species have also been met with in the

limestone above the bed containing the Paleonisci, but in a

more imperfect state of preservation than the first.

Besides these remains of fish, there have also been found in

the two-feet bed first mentioned, and in the adjoining overlying

and underlying strata, a few remains of plants. They are, unfor-

tunately, very imperfectly preserved, and hence very difficult to

determine. They are evidently, however, the remains of terres-

trial vegetation ; at least, they possess character enough to show

that they do not belong to the Algz.

XXX.— Observations on the Geographical Distribution of Fungi.

By M. E. P. Frres*.

Tuer Alge and the Fungi properly so called are distinguished

from other cellular plants by their larger size, their brighter

colours, and by the greater variety of forms met with among

them. These two orders of cellular plants have attracted the

attention of observers from an early period, and were indeed

the only Cryptogamia which at a remote period were applied to

use ; for it 1s only within a comparatively recent date that the

Lichens have acquired a corresponding interest: on the other

* Translated by Dr. J. T. Arlidge, from the ‘ Annales des Sciences Natu-

- relles,’ 1861, 4 série, tome xv. (Botanique), p. 10. The original memoir

appeared in the ‘ Transactions of the Academy of Upsala’ for 1857, only

a year before the premature death of the author; the French translation

is hy Dr. W. Nylander.

a ae M. E. P. Fries on the Geographical.

hand, the Mosses,. Hepaticee, and lower forms of Algz have not

hitherto been available for any useful purpose, and the Muce-

dines are chiefly known by the injurious effects they produce to

other plants. These considerations afford an explanation of the

circumstance that the Greeks and Romans distinguished so long

ago a considerable number of species of Algze and Fungi, prin-

cipally of such as were either useful or noxious, whilst they

completely neglected the other tribes of Cryptogamic plants, as

is illustrated by the fact that they comprehended under the

collective name of Muscus the whole class of Mosses.

Upon the revival of botanical science in the sixteenth century,

the Fungi attracted the attention of naturalists beyond all other

cellular plants. In the course of this century, in 1583, Cesal-

pinus published his famous work ‘De Plantis,’ in which the

Fungi were not forgotten. But the first work of a special cha-

racter devoted to this class of plants was that of Charles de

’Ecluse, published in 1601, entitled ‘ Fungorum in Pannoniis

observatorum brevis historia,’ and at a later date the ‘Theatrum

Fungorum’ of Sterbeeck. These two works treated especially of

the higher Fungi. Subsequently a multitude of treatises on

the Fungi in‘general were produced, among which several sur-

vive to our time and still possess great value—such, for instance,

as those of Vaillant, Micheli, Battara, and Scheffer. It was

not until the eighteenth century that the oceanic flora received

at the hands of naturalists the attention it merited, although in

our own day it has become so favourite a study that few depart-

ments of botany can boast of so large a number of distinguished

cultivators.

At the present time the superior Fungi are, it must be ad-

mitted, very indifferently studied; and consequently their geo-

graphical distribution is more imperfectly known than that of

the other classes of the vegetable kingdom, The majority of

those who make the Fungi a special study are almost exclusively

interested in the Mucedines, in the lower forms of the class, and

‘in the parasitic and epiphyllous species. One reason for this pre-

dilection for those tribes of Fungi is doubtless to be found in the

circumstance that they may be more readily preserved in herbaria,

and that in consequence it becomes more easy, by the aid of

such collections, to determine species already known. A similar

advantage, on the other hand, is unattainable in the case of the

higher Fungi; for their fugacious nature, and the difficulty en-

countered in attempting to preserve their colour and natural

form, compel naturalists on every occasion to procure fresh spe-

cimens and study them anew, at the sacrifice of much time and

labour bestowed in the task of making themselves acquainted

with what has been already made out. The same cause renders

Distribution of Fungi. Cyall

it incumbent on the observer to carry on his researches on the

living plants where they happen to grow. Such, T believe, are.

the principal circumstances which deter mycologists of the pre-

sent day from the study of the higher Fung); for, so far as regards

the determination of specific forms, it may without fear of con-

tradiction be maintained that it is more easy in their case than.

in that of other Cryptogamia.

The most certain means of obviating the diceubie pointed,

out is to make a collection of faithfully drawn and coloured

figures, which may compensate for the absence of actual speci-

mens; and, in fact, no division of the Cryptogamia is so tho-

roughly illustrated in books as that of the higher Fungi. It is

a point of the greatest interest to science that the original draw-

ings of the figures contained in the works of L’Ecluse and Ster-

beeck should be most carefully preserved, and it is most gratifying

to learn from M. Kickx that thisisdone. These drawings are to

be seen in the library of Brussels. The published figures are

not coloured, and owing to this it often becomes impossible to

identify specimens with certainty. The same defect obtains in

the plates of the treatises of Micheli, Buxbaum, and Battara;

and of other writers prior to Scheffer. The work of the last-

named author, entitled ‘Icones Fungorum qui in Bavaria et

Palatinata circa Ratisbonam nascuntur’ (1762-1774), must

be still esteemed of eminent value in all that relates to the

higher Fungi. Among other illustrated works of importance

are those of Batsch, Bolton, Bulliard, Sowerby, &c.; and a con-

siderable number of useful figures is contained in some works of

a more general character, such as the ‘ Flora Danica,’ the ‘ Flora

Austriaca’ of Jacquin, and in many others of less note.

With respect to synonyms, it must be confessed that the au-

thors just cited, and Persoon himself, have not.taken time to

study carefully the labours of their predecessors, but have more

frequently described as new every form they have met with, ex-

cept some of the most common and well-known species. The

synonymy of this class has therefore been largely added to; and

it is only in the ‘Systema Mycologicum’ and in the ‘ Epicrisis

Systematis Mycologici’ (works by my father) that a complete

history of the older literature of the subject is to be met

with.

The following observations given by Fries in a foot-note ap-

pear to us to deserve a place here, inasmuch as they explain the

grand outline of his principles of classification, and furnish a

key to the right understanding of the divisions and groups of

Fungi hereafter spoken of :—

_ The most diverse forms are brought together under the ge-

“neral appellation of Fungi. Adopting the mode of fructification

272 M. E. P. Fries on the Geographical

as the basis for their systematic distribution, we find considerable

and essential differences in the manner in which that process is

effected present themselves, suggesting a useful division of the

Fungi into three subclasses, as follow :—

“1, Fungi properly so called, adopting this appellation in its

oldest sense and according to prevailing usage. They are recog-

nized by their hymenzum (proligerous lamina) bearing free spores,

commonly attached in groups of four at the summit of the

sporophores. The most highly developed types and the most

important Fungi appertain to this subclass, and are further

notable in presenting no near affinity either with Lichens or

with Algee.

«©2, Semi-Fungi (Mycetes), which also possess a distinct pro-

ligerous lamina, but have their spores habitually enclosed, in

groups of eight, within enclosed sacs or asc?. This subclass is

constituted of the Discomycetes and Pyrenomycetes, which ex-

hibit a transition towards the Lichens, with the fructification of

which they present the closest resemblance.

«3, Moulds (Mucedines), or Fungi destitute of a proligerous

lamina, and which are allied by insensible transitions either to

the Byssaceze or, more particularly, to the lower Algz, from

which, in many cases, they are undistinguishable except by ha-

bitat and other biological characters.”

Before entering on the account of the distribution of the

Fungi, especially of their higher forms, throughout the different

regions of the globe, we will point out, in a few words, what are

the countries respecting which we have information on this sub-

ject, and what is the value of that knowledge. In Europe,

Scandinavia and England are the countries most thoroughly

and exactly known ; and next to them certain portions of France,

of Germany, of Italy, of Switzerland, and the environs of St.

Petersburg may be mentioned. As to America, many remark-

able Fungi have for a long time been known to flourish there.

Bose was the first to furnish some special though imperfect no-

tices of American Fungi; but Schweinitz may be looked upon

as having been the true founder of American mycology, by the

publication of his work on the Fungi of Carolina and of the

United States generally. Several distinguished naturalists oc-

cupied in the special study of mycology are to be found in

America, among whom Messrs. Curtis, Ravenel, and Lecomte may

be named. Some considerable collections have, moreover, been

transmitted to Europe by different travellers from the United

States and Mexico, and have been described by Berkeley, Mon-

tagne, and Fries. Central and Southern America have equally

furnished rich collections, which have reached Europe and been

described by the same writers. The other portions of the world

Distribution of Fungi. 273

are comparatively less known. Asia is little known, except it be

the islands of the Indian Archipelago, the Philippine Islands, and

the Himalaya Mountains. The most important works on the

mycology of these distant regions are those of Junghuhn, rela-

tive to the Fungi of Java, and those of Berkeley, which have

made us acquainted with the rich collection brought from the

Himalayas by Dr. Hooker. With respect to Africa, Algeria has

been pretty well explored; Egypt and Guinea have been only

partially so; but the Cape of Good Hope and Natal have been

examined by several collectors, among whom must be mentioned

with especial praise my fellow-countryman, Wahlberg, to whom

I am indebted for a rich collection of specimens: nevertheless

the mycology of the South Sea Islands (Oceania) is still better

known, inasmuch as successful explorations have been carried

out by all the scientific expeditions which have visited those parts.

We have deemed it necessary to trace the foregoing sketch of

the sources of information to which we owe our acquaintance

with the geographical distribution of the Fungi; we will now

attempt a brief exposition of this distribution, confining our re-

marks more particularly to the higher forms (Hymenomycetes

and Gasteromycetes), since our knowledge of the inferior or

simpler Fungi (Gymnomycetes and Haplomycetes) is as yet too

incomplete, and our notions of the characters to which a generic

importance should be assigned too vague to allow of the indica-

tion of the same general results with regard to them.

With reference to the Gymnomycetes and the Haplomycetes

of non-European countries, the United States of North America

excepted, little or nothing is known, except it be respecting

some parasitic epiphyllous forms. These do not present genera

peculiar to the different zones of the globe; yet it must be ad-

mitted that the number of their species or forms augments in an

equal proportion with that of the plants which inhabit them.

In fact, these Fungi are clearly subjected to the same law as

prevails with other low organisms, the species of which are spread

in amore uniform manner over the globe than those of more

highly organized beings. Inasmuch, too, as these inferior or-

ganisms are dependent rather upon their matrix and on local

conditions than on the influence of climate, we have an explana-

tion why their distinctive differences are of less essential import-

ance. ‘Thus it is a well-known fact that the most common of

the mildews, the Penicillium crustaceum, is to be met with alike

on the Alps of Lapland and in the oasis of Jupiter Ammon in

the Libyan desert,—an example which has no parallel in the

geographical distribution of the higher plants.

Q74 M. E.-P, Fries on the Geographical

One of the most remarkable circumstances in the history of

the lower Fungi is that of their sudden appearance in immense

numbers, and their rapid extension, whence, particularly of late

years, some disastrous and destructive epidemics, both among

animals and plants, have resulted,—as, for example, the ravages

produced by the Otdiwm Tuckeri, the cause or the manifestation

of the vine-disease; or the plague-like epidemic of the silk-

worm, from the attacks of the Stachylidium Bassianum ; or the

destruction of the common Flies, usually resulting from the pa-

rasitic growth of the Sporendonema Musca. The potato-disease

is also accompanied by the growth of several Mucedines; but

their presence nevertheless is evidently nothing more than the

consequence, and not the efficient cause, of the morbid affection.

As another example, it is well to mention the Lanosa nivalis,

which grows in spring in the melting snow, and is suspected to

be the cause, in many instances, of the death of the germs of the

sprouting rye.

The semi-Fungi (Discomycetes and Pyrenomycetes) exhibit

genera characterized sometimes by a hard and carbonaceous,

and at other times by a soft and somewhat waxy texture. The

latter consistence predominates among the Discomycetes, and the

woody texture among the Pyrenomycetes. The last-named,

again, are slow in erowth ; whereas the Discomycetes increase

rapidly, and, moreover, resemble in their mode of development,

in many respects, the Hymenomycetes.

The Pyrenomycetes, particularly those that attain the greatest

development, have a more extended geographical range than any

other of the Fungi. They are to be met with everywhere, except

in water [one species, however, the Spheria Posidonia, always

vegetates under water], and especially where vegetation of any

sort is in process of decay. In fact, they possess a high import-

ance in the general economy of nature, because they accelerate

the decomposition of dead and dying organisms. The richer the

vegetation of a country is, the more numerous and varied are the

forms of Pyrenomycetes to be found there.

The more highly developed Pyrenomycetes evidently have

their geographical centre in the torrid and temperate zones ;

their dimensions and astonishing variety of form increase to the

south of the equator, as is instanced in the genera Xylaria, Do-

thidea, Diatrype, &c.; m the same way Spheria and Hypoxy-

lon, between the tropics, vegetate under an infinite variety of

forms, for the analogues of which it is vain to seek in the forests

of Europe. The superior Discomycetes, on the contrary, such as

the Helvellaceze (Morchella, Gyromitra, Helvella, Geoglossum,

&ec.) and the Bulgariaceee (Leotia, Bulgaria), grow by prefer-

ence in the colder portions of the temperate zone. This circum-

Distribution of Fungi. | 275

stance is indicated by the fact that their most remarkable species

make their appearance ordinarily in early spring, as is observed

in the case of Helvella, Morchella, Verpa, Discina, and in many

of the largest and most beautiful Pezize, which, like the Peziza

tuberosa, P. acetabulum, P. melena, P. coccinea, P. majalis, P.

protracta, &c., show themselves frequently during the melting

of the snow.

Notwithstanding these differences, all the principal groups of

semi-Fungi, and their large genera, are common to every

country on the globe. Some genera, less rich in species, though

remarkable in many points, belong exclusively to particular

countries: thus, among the Pyrenomycetes, the genus Cyttaria is

found to be limited to the region of the Antarctic beech-trees ; and

among the Discomycetes, the genus Spadonia has been observed

only in Brazil. Many, however, generally reputed to be peculiar

to certain countries, have at a later period, by means of more

attentive researches, been discovered elsewhere,—as, for example,

the genus Urnula, which was at one time considered peculiar to

North America, is found to be represented by the Urnula minor in

Guinea. In the same way another genus of North America has

been discovered by M. Lindblad in Sudermania.

.. Among the Pyrenomycetes there are not a few very remark-

able genera peculiar to tropical countries; such are Thamno-

myces, Camillea, Kretschmaria, Leveillea, &c., and probably many

others yet unobserved amid the rich vegetation of those regions,

An attempt to point out what genera of Pyrenomycetes are there

absent would be too daring a proceeding in the present imper-

fect state of our acquaintance with respect to the Micromycetes

of those countries ; for these productions of the vegetable world

are rarely gathered by travellers, to whom it is that we are in-

debted for the materials for our study. What strikes the atten-

tion of the observer is the circumstance that several large genera

of Fungi evidently correspond to each other, one in the torrid,

another in the temperate zone; for example, in the temperate

zone, the Erysiphe are evidently the analogues of the Meliole,

which inhabit the torrid zone.

The Tuberacez, properly so called, must be placed with the

Mycetes (semi-Fungi), by reason of their spores being enclosed

within thece. Although at first sight they resemble rather the

Gasteromycetes, and, by their mode of evolution, the Hymeno-

gastres, still their fructification is so different that they must be

referred to the division before named. There are also inter-

mediate forms between the Tuberacez and the other semi-

Fungi—as, for instance, certain hypogeous Pezize, such as the

Peziza sepulta, which makes its appearance yearly, after the

copious rain of autumn, in the sanded avenues of the Botanical

276 M. E. P. Fries on the Geographical

Garden of Upsala. The poverty of Sweden in representatives

of the Tuberaceze is a remarkable peculiarity of the country—

one genus only, and in fact only one single, recently discovered

species of that genus, viz. the Tuber niveum (Terfezia Leonis, Tu-

lasne), being found in two places in Ostrogothia; and even

there it appears to be rare. On the contrary, in Central and

Southern Europe these Fungi are common; and even in the

south of England their species are tolerably numerous. The

reason for the presence of a greater variety of species of this

group of Fungi in England is to be found in the circumstance

that the Tuberacez are developed chiefly during the winter, and

because England, by reason of its insular position, enjoys milder

winters and has a greater rainfall, and thereby furnishes more

favourable conditions for the vegetation of these Fungi. -In

Sweden, on the contrary, the severe cold of winter and the frozen

soil preclude the growth of Tuberacez. These Fungi, in con-

clusion, have their centre in the warmer regions of the temperate

zone ; for in hot climates their evolution is often interrupted or

destroyed by the excessive heat.

II.

Heat and humidity are the two conditions generally recog-

nized as most concerned in the vegetation of a country. No

order of plants is more dependent on these conditions than the

Fungi,—a fact peculiarly true in reference to the higher forms,

or true Fungi, Hymenomycetes and Gasteromycetes, many of

which do not make their appearance unless the weather is pecu-

liarly favourable, or, in other words, after very abundant rains.

Plants of this sort, which only show themselves under extraordi-

nary atmospheric conditions, are called “ meteoric.”

The fact must not be lost sight of in this place, that some

species of Fungi which have formerly been common in certain

localities may become within our lifetime more and more scarce,

and even altogether cease to grow there. The cause of this,

doubtless, is the occurrence of some change in the physical con-

stitution of a locality, such as that resulting from the destruction

of a forest, or from the drainage by ditches and cuttings of more

or less extensive swamps, or from the cultivation of the soil,—

all of them circumstances which cause the destruction of the

primitive fungaceous vegetation, and the production of a new one.

If we compare the fungaceous flora of America with that of Eu-

ropean countries, we observe that the former equals in its rich-

ness and the variety of its forms that of the Phanerogamous

flora; it is probable, however, that, in the lapse of more or

fewer years, this richness will decrease in consequence of the

extension of cultivation—as is illustrated, indeed, in what has

Distribution of Fungi. 277

already taken place in the more thickly peopled districts, as, for

example, in the vicinity of New York

There is this difference between the Fungi and other vegetable

productions—that the former scem to be especially dependent on

the existence of humidity, whilst heat is the more essential con-

dition to the development of plants of a higher organization.

Thus it is that the richness of vegetation in general and its whole

aspect differ so remarkably, according as the country in question

varies in regard to temperature, whereas the amount of atmo-

spheric moisture and rain predominates as the cause which most

materially determines the differences in the vegetation of Fungi.

Meteoric forms are likewise met with among the higher Fungi,

which become developed principally in hot years, and in locali-

ties which are, as a rule, under water, but have become dried up

by the heat. A parallel to this is to be found among those

Phanerogamia which in nature make the nearest approach to

Fungi, as, for example, Orobanche and Monotropa, which flourish

in the greatest abundance when the temperature ranges high

and repeated rains sodden the soil.

Further, the circumstance that the higher forms of Fungi

more especially flourish during the colder weather at the close

of autumn, such as, for instance, Agaricus velutipes, A. serotinus,

A, melleus, &e., proves that heat is not an indispensable condi-

tion to the growth of these plants. Still it cannot be denied

that the fungaceous vegetation is usually more luxuriant if there

is an abundant fall of rain in August; and it is under such cir-

cumstances that the Amanite and Bolett make their appearance

in the greatest number. From the fact of North America,

where rain falls very copiously, being one of the countries most

fruitful in Fungi that is known, the deduction may be fairly

drawn, that moisture is a physical condition peculiarly favourable

to the development of those plants.

The globe is divisible into several zones, according to the de-

gree of heat, and its more or less unequal distribution through-

out the course of the year: but, so far as the geographical dis-

tribution of the Fungi is concerned, these divisions have very

little practical or useful application ; for the differences discover-

able between the fungaceous vegetation of particular regions are

not so strongly marked as in other cases, and it often happens

that countries widely separated possess the closest affinities in

reference to their indigenous Fungi. It is enough to admit of

the existence of two zones, peculiar in their fungaceous growths—

namely, a temperate and a tropical zone; for the frigid zone of

geographers produces no peculiar types different from those of

the temperate zone; it is merely poorer in species. As to the

tropical and subtropical zones, no essential distinction can he

Ann, & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 20

278 M.E. P. Fries on the Geographical

pointed out in the present state of our information respecting

their fungous inhabitants. However, these statements are not

to be interpreted to signify the existence of any well-defined

limits; for either one of the zones described passes insensibly

into the other in countries intermediate in position, as is espe-

cially illustrated in North America, where the tropical forms of

Fungi extend themselves far northward.

The characteristic differences of the two zones are obscure in

the case of the lower orders of Fungi, but much more striking

in the higher forms. They are particularly evident in the Gas-

teromycetes, several genera of which are the denizens specially of

tropical lands, and among the Hymenomycetes, which in these

same regions assume a tough and woody consistence, whereas in

the cold and temperate zones of the globe they become more

fleshy, and are decomposable with greater rapidity. It has for

along time been the belief that the fungaceous vegetation of the

tropics was poor, because it was imagined that the heat would

arrest its development ; but more attentive observation proves

the fallacy of this opinion. It is only in the most arid regions

of the earth that a distinct fungaceous flora appears to be want-

ing. In the primitive forests of tropical countries the presence

of Fungi is not connected, as it is in these temperate regions,

with a particular season; it is constantly the same throughout

the year.

Whilst the species of Fungi in the temperate zone are distri-

buted in a very uniform manner, they appear to follow, on the

contrary, in tropical regions, a more special plan of diffusion

in the several countries. However, there are Fungi that may

be called cosmopolitan, such as Agaricus (Amanita) muscarius,

A, (Psalliota) campestris, A. (Naucoria) pediades, Schizophyllum

commune, Polyporus versicolor and P. igniarius, Lycoperdon gem-

matum and Lycogala epidendron, &e.

Great differences have been noticed, in reference to their funga-

ceous vegetation, between Cuba, Java, and the PhilippineIslands;

yet in all these countries the preponderance of the Polyport is a

fundamental or characteristic feature. That the fungaceous floras

of very distant countries may be very similar is distinctly shown

in the instance of North America, which possesses the majority

of European species, besides those others peculiar to itself. The

island of Juan Fernandez, which has been very carefully explored,

presents a fungaceous vegetation differing in only one-third of its

forms from that of Europe. The same holds true, it is asserted,

with respect to the Fungi of New Zealand and of Australia,

although these countries do also possess indigenous genera un-

known in Europe.

Since the Fungi are less dependent on heat than on the

Distribution of Fungi. 279

moisture of the climate and on the nature of their matrix, the

two mycological zones already distinguished are divisible into

several regions according to their greater or less amount of

humidity, and not according to their latitude or their elevation

above the sea; for these are circumstances that seem to exercise

little or no influence upon the Fungi. In this fact we get an ex-

planation why the fungaceous floras of Southern and of Northern

Europe respectively differ essentially so little that no distinction

can be justly instituted between them; indeed, with reference

to this point, it would perhaps be easier to separate Eastern from

Western Europe.

In any region whatever, it is necessary in the first instance to

draw a distinction between its open naked plains and its wooded

tracts. In the level open country there is a more rapid evapo-

ration of the moisture by the conjoined action of the sun and

wind ; whence it happens that such a region is more bare of

Fungi than one that is mountainous or covered by woods. On the

other hand, plains possess several species peculiar to themselves,

as, for example, Agaricus (Naucoria) pediades, certain Tricholomata,

and, above all, the family Coprini, of which they may be regarded

as the special habitat. The species of this family augment in

number, in any given country, in proportion to the extent and

degree of its cultivation; for instance, they grow more luxu-

riantly in the province of Scania, in Sweden—a district further

distinguished above all others by its cultivation and fertility.

In well-wooded countries, moisture is retamed a much longer

time, and, as a result, the production of Fungi is incomparably

greater: and it is here desirable to make a distinction between

the Fungi growing in forests of resinous-wooded trees (Coniferz)

and those which inhabit woods of other trees; for these two de-

scriptions of forests may be rightly regarded, as to their funga-

ceous growths, as two different regions. Beneath the shade of

Conifer, Fungi are earlier in their appearance, so much so that

it often happens they have attained their complete development

when their congeners in forests of non-resinous trees have

scarcely commenced their growth. In woods of the latter sort,

the fallen leaves, collected in thick layers, act as an obstacle to

the soaking of moisture into the earth, and thereby retard the

vegetation of Fungi; on the other hand, such woods retain

moisture longer. These conditions afford to several large and

remarkable species the necessary time for development. I will

cite, for example, Polyporus frondosus, P. umbellatus aud P. gi-

ganteus, Hydnum erinaceus, H. coralloides, H. septentrionale, &c.

The beech is characteristic of our own region; but further north

this tree gives place to the birch. Coniferous woods are, moreover,

divisible into two regions—that of the Pines and that of the Firs,

20%

280 M.E. P. Fries on the Geographical

The latter is richer in species than the former, because, as is

well known, fir-trees flourish in more fertile and moister soils.

Whether, with respect to the south of Europe, other subdivisions

into regions are required, we know not ; still less are we able to

decide on the like question in reference to the countries beyond

Europe.

We will now point out in a few words the great differences

which prevail between alpine regions of the temperate zone and

those of the tropical zone in relation to the distribution of

Fungi. In Lapland, according to Wahlenberg (‘ Flora Lappo-

nica’) and other travellers, the higher forms of Fungi are ex-

cessively scarce. Here and there, and only in the forests, some

of the lower Fungi or rare Agarici are scattered. The cause of

this circumstance is readily understood when we reflect that the

summer is hot and of very brief duration, and that the autumn

is exceedingly short, and, moreover, accompanied almost daily

with severe frosts. In the districts of Nordlanden and of Fin-

mark, which border on the sea, and enjoy by that position a

milder climate, the Fungi are more plentiful, “ob rorem mari-

num ibi frequentissimum,” as Wahlenberg remarks. In the

marshes and on the borders of the lakes of Lapland several

Fungi grow, such as Mitrula paludosa, Spathulea flavida, Can-

tharellus lobatus, &c.; but, from all that we know, the Alpine

region of Lapland is the poorest of all in species of Fungi.

‘Wahlenberg remarks that,in the case of the subalpine forests of

the Carpathians, the number of Fungi is rather considerable,

which shows that in the latitude of this chain of mountains they

are more abundant than amid the frosts of Lapland. But if we

turn towards the alpine regions of tropical countries, we en-

counter an entirely opposite state of things; for it is among

them that the fuhgaceous vegetation is most rich in forms and

most luxuriant, in situations where the elevation above the sea-

level secures a temperate climate. Thus, Junghyhn (‘ Preemissa

in Floram cryptogamicam Javee insulz’), during his stay in Java,

discovered that Fungi grew especially at an altitude of from

three to five thousand feet above the sea, and that their abun-

dance decreased above as well as below that zone; moreover

the vegetation of the Fungi proceeded unimpeded during the

whole year, notwithstanding the variation of the seasons. The

same thing has been observed in other tropical countries, as, for

instance, in Central America and in the Hast Indies. In the

alpine regions of Upper Asia, Dr. Hooker (see Berkeley, ‘Decades

of Fungi,’ Dec. xxxii.; xxxiii.) has remarked that Fungi were

most abundant at an elevation of seven or eight thousand feet

above the sea, and were at the same time very scarce in the

plains,

Distribution of Fungi. 281

The stations of species are determined by the physical con-

ditions presented by different localities. In relation to this sub-

ject, a distinction must be made between Fungi which grow

from the soil (Fungi geogenet) and those which grow on dead

plants (Fungi epiphyti). The most highly developed and per-

fect species of each series all grow on the ground, as Amanita,

Boletus, &c.; they are epigeous, though the mycelium of most

of them vegetates beneath the soil upon decayed wood or the

worn-out bark of trees. The species lowest in the scale of or-

ganization are, on the contrary, epiphytes. Among those Fungi

whose existence is most independent of the influence of light,

there are several species, and even entire orders, such as the

Tuberi, which are ‘hypogeous, or, in other words, which live

entirely beneath the surface of the ground. The most evident

proof attainable as to how far the development of Hymenomycetes

requires the action of light is, that such as have not been exposed

to its influence (those, for example, which have lived in the gal-

leries of mines, in caverns, or in hollow trees) assume strangely

anomalous forms. The metamorphosis of such individuals re-

mains incomplete, or, in other words, every Fungus preserves its

mycelium-nature, its abnormal growth being limited to a mon-

strous modification of this mycelium.

The ‘ coprogenous’ Fungi (those growing on manure and those

which flourish on decayed wood) occupy an intermediate position

between geogenous and epiphytic Fungi. These coprogenous

forms acquire their complete proportions in a very brief period,

and are decomposed with similar rapidity, in consequence, with-

out doubt, of the great quantity of nitrogen they imbibe in their

ordinary matrix. On the contrary, the Fungi which live upon

trees grow very slowly, on account of the hardness of the sub-

stratum; many species of them, which live at the expense of the

hard wood or of the bark, are perennial, and annually form new

layers overlying those of older date. These perennial species

abound in tropical climates, and decrease in number gradually

as we approach the poles. It might, @ priori, be supposed that

these Fungi would, on account of their solid texture, suffer less

from the effects of cold, and that, for this reason, they would

advance further rth in their distribution: such, however, is

not the case; for it is those Fungi which most speedily attain

their full and complete development which are found to exist at

the greatest altitudes on the Alps; and this so happens because

their development may be frequently accomplished within the

space of twenty-four hours.

The influence of the chemical constitution of the soil on the

production of Fungi is not at present understood ; but it is per-

fectly well known how materially the richness of the soil in

282 M.E. P. Fries on the Geographical

“humus” contributes to the beauty and abundance of fungaceous

vegetation. An essential difference among the various Fungi

must, however, be noticed; for whilst certain of them, such as

Cortinarius and Hydnum, avoid all cultivated ground, for the

reason that it is too much impregnated with animal matters,

others, on the contrary, as Pratellus, Paneolus, and, above all,

the Coprini, are never found to flourish elsewhere. Sandy plains

are always very poor in Fungi; but the rare species which do

grow in such localities are peculiar to them: as instances of

this may be cited Agaricus (Inocybe) maritimus and Peziza

arenaria. No Fungi grow in water; still, im connexion with

species of Sphagnum, in marshes, several species are met with,

the pilei of which alone show themselves above these submerged

mosses.

The epiphytous Fungi are not parasites properly so called

(as many Fungi belonging to the lowest families or the lowest

ranks in the class are) ; for they never grow except on those parts

of plants that are in a state of decay or of decomposition. For

though it often happens that Fungi are seen growing on trees

still living, yet, if a closer examination be made, it will always

be found that they have their nidus in an altered or decayed

portion of the wood, even when the superposed bark itself ap-

pears to be sound.

Certain Fungi are peculiar to certain trees, and are found on

no others—a circumstance which particularly arrests the atten-

tion when the Fungi proper to coniferous trees are compared

with those that live on trees with large and deciduous leaves.

But, further, among the latter forms of Fungi there are species

which exclusively belong to certain species of trees. The

following are examples of some such :—Agaricus (Pleurotus)

ulnarius and A. ostreatus, together with Polyporus squamosus,

grow upon most of our deciduous-leaved trees; Agaricus (Ar-

millaria) mucidus finds a fitting habitat only on the beech-

tree, Fistula hepatica only on the oak, and Polyporus salignus

and Trametes suaveolens only on willows; Agaricus (Omphalea)

campanella and Hydnum auriscalpium grow on the leaves and

cones of pines, Trametes pint on the trunk of the same trees ;

whilst Polyporus abietinus and Trametes oddrata grow ouly on

the fir. The Hymenomycetes which lead a parasitic existence

upon other Hymenomycetes—for instance, Agaricus (Mycena)

pilipes, Ag. (Collybia) tuberosus, Boletus parasiticus, Nyctalis

parasitica—are all meteoric, and are among the most singular of

the Fungi.

It would be superfluous to follow out these general observa-

tions on the stations of Fungi in detail, and we will content

ourselves by referrmg the reader to the work of M. Nicolas

Distribution of Fungi. 283

Lund, entitled ‘Conspectus Hymenomycetum circa Holmiam

crescentium.’

In botanical geography, great importance is attached to the

differences prevailing among plants in relation to their distribu-

tion, according as they are diffused, isolated, or numerous in the

localities they inhabit. These differences are, in the case of the

Fungi, even more manifest than among the Phanerogamia :

there are species of Fungi of which isolated individuals only are

‘to be found; others always met with in groups of larger or

smaller numbers; and others, again, which constantly grow in

dense clusters or aggregations. Among those species of the

second variety named which are collected in social groupings,

the aggregation is frequently the result of all the individuals

springing from a common mycelium. Sometimes such collec-

tions form in extended circles or in long lines, according to the

mode of development of the mycelium, which at times expands

itself in a centrifugal manner, or circularly, and developes the

Fungi at its periphery, and at others elongates itself only in one

direction. The Merulius lacrymans (the common Fungus of the

house) grows in a circular fashion, and attracts moisture from

the atmosphere, which it afterwards exudes from its periphery

in the form of aqueous drops: by this property it hastens the

progress of decay of the wood, which is a necessary condition to

its development. In hot countries a no less curious form of

mycelium is observable, consisting of a filamentous mucilage, to

which particles of earth, small stones, and other fragments of

matters it encounters in its expansion become so agglutinated as

to constitute a sort of conglomerate, which, on being dried,

assumes a hardness equal to that of stone itself. In this manner

the pietra fungaja of Italy is formed by the mycelium of Poly-

porus tuberaster ; in tropical countries, some similar productions

are due to the mycelium of certain species of Lentinus.

The stations of Gasteromycetes are generally the same as those

of Hymenomycetes. The Phallodei and the Hymenogastrei,

which are the most important groups of Gasteromycetes, all

grow upon the ground—are geogenous. The Nidulariacei and

the Lycoperdacei are partly geogenous and in part epiphytes.

Among the Trichodermacei are the two singular genera Aste7o-

phora and Onygena, the former of which is parasitic on other

Fungi, whilst the most remarkable species of the latter live on

animai refuse ; thus Onygena equina has its special habitat on

the hoofs of the horse, and the O. piligena on the hair and skin

of dead Mammalia.

The other families of Fungi exhibit in regard to habitats

(stations) many remarkable examples. The species of the sub-

genus Hypomyce, belonging to Hypocrea, form a lining to the

284 M.E. P. Fries on the Geographical

hymenium of various Hymenomycetes; but they only show

themselves in certain years peculiarly favourable to the pro-

duction of Fungi, and then they ordinarily occur in great abun-

dance. How and where their spores are preserved in the inter-

vals of these recurrent appearances is a question that cannot be

satisfactorily answered. Several species are epizoic, as, for ex-

ample, some species of Cordiceps among the Pyrenomycetes, and

sundry Jsarie among the Gymnomycetes,—the examples of the

genus first named living upon the larve of insects, whilst those

of the second live upon perfect insects. Only one example of

an epizoic Hymenomycetes can be adduced, viz. Agaricus (Clito-

cybe) cerussatus, y. nauseosus, which has been met with in Russia

on the carcase of a wolf; this habitat may, however, have been

merely accidental. ;

The Myxogastres exhibit, with reference both to their habitats

and to their entire development, a striking contrast with other

natural families among the Gasteromycetes. They are frequently

destitute of a visible matrix; their spores, in the course of deve-

lopment, form a drop of mucilage, which, in certain species,

augments with incredible rapidity, and assumes a very great va-

riety of shapes: of the most remarkable types among these are

those which protrude vein-like rays, which spread themselves

outwards over surrounding bodies, even on living plants, and by

their ramifications produce a sort of network. These species

often grow with such rapidity that the eye can with difficulty

follow their increase, as is illustrated in Diachea elegans. The

Spumaria alba, a common species of Myxogastres, hangs like a

frothy mucoid mass to the stems of grasses*; and when fructifi-

cation, or the actual Fungi make their appearance on this myce-

lium, they have neither the form, nor the consistence, nor the

colour of the primitive mucus, but the whole organism assumes

a yellow hue, whilst, too, its spores are black. Similar trans-

formations largely prevail among the Myxogastres : hence it is

necessary to follow attentively the different phases of their de-

velopment, in order to avoid the mistake of constructing several

species out of any one of them.

* Dr. W. Nylander, the translator of Fries’s memoir into French, appends

the following note to these remarks :— From the not very correct manner

inwhich Fries here speaks of the Myxogastres, and especially of the Spumaria

alba, it might be suspected that his views respecting these Fungi are not

very exact. Some readers might even suppose that an imperfect examina-

tion had led him to confound the mucoid mass which conceals the larva

of Cercopis spumaria with the earliest phase of development of the Reticu-

laria alba—a Fungus certainly less common in Sweden than the homo-

pterous insect above named: at least, the preceding remarks of Fries con-

cerning the first stage of Spumaria apply with more truth to the singular

product from the Cercopis,

Distribution of Fungi. 285 ~

After these general observations, we will now proceed with a

more detailed exposition of the geographical distribution of the

principal genera of Hymenomycetes and Gastcromycetes, with

respect to which it is often very difficult to decide whether their

centre is in the tropical or the temperate zone.

Ti.

The most important family in the immense class of Fungi is

without question that of the Hymenomycetes, which far excel

all other Fungi both by the richness of their organization and

the beauty of their forms. We have already mentioned the

principal distinction which prevails extensively between the Hy-

menomycetes of the south and those of the north, the fleshy

species predominating in the colder and the ligneous in the hot

zone. Another circumstance to be noted, on making a compari-

son of the Hymenomycetes pileati of Europe with those of coun-

tries out of Europe, is, that while the differences obtaining be-

tween the specific types is considerable, there are few or none to

be found between the several tribes ; and further, the genera are

always the same.

The genus Agaricus occupies the first rank among the Agari-

cine, and surpasses in the number of its species all the other

generic groups known. In the present state of our knowledge,

it appears to be well established that the Agarici have their

geographic centre in the temperate zone, and especially in the

colder portion of that zone, as though nature had destined them

in those regions for the nourishment of their inhabitants ; in

fact, they largely serve this purpose in many countries, such as

Hungary, Russia, and in general all the Slavonic territories.

In Sweden alone, from the domination of vulgar prejudices, are

their useful purposes overlooked and ignored. It 1s a curious

circumstance that all the extra-European species of this genus

Agaricus may be referred to various Kuropean subgenera.

In tropical countries it appears that the Agarict occupy only

a secondary position in relation to other genera of Fungi, such

as Polyporus, Lenzites, &e. North America, on the other hand,

is richer in species of Agaricus than Kurope; for, whilst the

majority of typical forms are common to both continents, Ame-

rica further possesses many species peculiar to itself. In the

temperate zone, so close is the analogy prevailing between the

various countries in respect to the Agaricine, that from Sweden

to Italy, and as well in England as in North America, the same

species are to be found. Of five hundred Agaricine met with in

St. Petersburg, there are only two or three which have not been

discovered in Sweden; and again, of fifty species known in

Greenland, there is not one that is not common in Sweden.

286 M.E. P. Fries on the Geographical

The same remarks hold good in reference to the Agaricine of

Siberia, Kamtschatka, the Ukraine, &c. The countries bordering

upon the Mediterranean possess, however, several peculiar types ;

and Kastern.and Western Europe present certain dissimilarities

in their Agaric inhabitants. Several species, for example, of —

Armillaria and Tricholoma which have been found in Russia

have been met with in Sweden only in Upland, that is, in its

most eastern province; all the species which belong to the so-

called abiegno-rupestres and pineto-montane regions of Sweden

are wanting in England; and it is only in Scotland that the

species of our northern mountainous and pine-bearing region are

met with—a circumstance explicable from the similarity in phy-

sical features between Sweden and the northern portions of

Great Britain.

The species of Coprinus appear to find suitable habitats in

every quarter of the globe.

The Cortinarie predominate in the north: they abound in our

latitude, especially on wooded hills; but the plains offer also

some peculiar species, which germinate during the rainy days of

August and September. In less cold countries they are more

scarce, or entirely absent. The species of the genus Hygro-

phorus would at first seem to have a similar geographical distri-

bution to those of the last group: but this is really not the case;

for the same Hygrophori are to be found in nearly every country

of Europe, and even the hottest countries (and those under the

equator) are not destitute of representatives of this wide-spread

genus.

The Lactarii, which are so abundant in the forests of Europe

and North America, appear to grow more and more scarce to-

wards both the south and the north. The same may be stated

in regard to Russula.

The genus Marasmius is dispersed throughout the globe, and

everywhere presents numerous species. In intertropical coun-

tries they are still more abundant, and exhibit peculiarities in

growth which probably might justify their collection into a

distinct group.

The genera Lentinus and Lenzites are found in every region

of the world; their principal centre, however, is in hot countries,

where they attain a splendid development. On the contrary,

towards the north they rapidly decrease in number.

The Polyport constitute a group which, unlike that of the

Agarics, especially belongs to hot countries: the Boleti consti-

tute the only exception to this rule, since they select the tem-

perate and frigid zones for their special abode, and some of them

at times find their way to the higher regions of the Alps. No

one can describe the luxuriance of the torrid zone in Polypori

Distribution of Fungi. 287

and Trametes, genera of Hymenomycetes which flourish beneath

the shade of the virgin. forests, where perpetual moisture and heat

promote their vegetation and give rise to an infinite variety of

forms. But though the genus Polyporus, which rivals Agaricus

in the number of its species, inhabits in preference warm cli-

mates at large, it nevertheless exhibits species peculiar to each

country. This arises from the circumstance that the Polypori

for the most part live upon trees, and are dependent on this or

that particular tree for a suitable habitat ; and the tropical flora

being prolific in trees of all kinds, a multitude of the most varied

forms of these Fungi is a necessary consequence. Hewxagona,

Favolus, and Laschia are common in intertropical countries, but

none of them grow in temperate climes.

When the majority of the species of a genus are of a fleshy

consistence, it may generally be concluded that that genus be-

longs to a northern region, even if it should have some repre-

sentatives in lands which enjoy more sunshine. Thus the Hydna

are the principal ornaments of our forests, where they attain so

luxuriant a growth and beauty that every other country must

yield the palm to Sweden in respect to them. In an allied

genus, that of Irpex, the texture assumes a coriaceous consist-

ence, and we find its species to be more especially inhabitants of

warm climates.

Most of the genera of Auricularini are cosmopolitan ; and the

same is true of some species of Stereum, of Corticium, &c., which

are met with in countries of the most different geographical

position. In tropical countries, these genera of Fungi assume

the most curious and luxuriant forms. The single and not

considerable genus Cyphella appears to be pretty uniformly dis-

tributed over the globe. The Clavarini are equally universal in

their diffusion, although more plentiful in the north; however,

the genus Pterula possesses several exotic forms, though in Eu-

rope it has but two representative species. That beautiful genus

of Hymenomycetes, Sparassis, occupies a similar place next the

Clavarini, and is peculiarly a production of the temperate zone

and of the Coniferous region.

The Fungi which constitute the family of Tremellinei prevail

in Europe, Asia, and North America, and exhibit no marked

differences among themselves, notwithstanding the distances of

the several countries apart. It must, however, be stated that

the Hirneole inhabit only the tropics.

__ We come now to the Gasteromycetes—an interesting family,

which exhibits several ramifications or particular series of deve-

lopments. The most perfect Gasteromycetes almost exclusively

belong to the warmer division of the temperate, and to the tro-

pical zone, where their vegetation is the most luxuriant. Of

288 M.E. P. Fries on the Geographical Distribution of Fungi.

late the catalogue of these Fungi has been greatly enriched by

the addition of numerous genera and species proper to hot

countries, previously unknown. Not uncommonly the exotic

floras differ from ours not merely in respect of the species, but

also of the genera of Gasteromycetes. It must, besides, be ob-

served that this family is rich in well-defined genera, though

very poor in distinct specific forms. Among the genera found

in Europe, many are cosmopolitan.

The Phallodei present themselves in the torrid zone under the

most varied form and colouring, and comprise many genera rich

in species. In Europe their number is very restricted. As we

advance northward, they decrease rapidly, so that the central

districts of Sweden possess only a single species, the Phallus

impudicus, and even this solitary representative of the family is

very scarce. In Scania, the most southern province of Sweden,

there is likewise but one genus and one species belonging to it,

viz. the Mutinus caninus. Among other members of the Phal-

lodet may be further mentioned the Lysurus of China, the Aseroé

of Van Diemen’s Land, and the Clathrus, one species of which,

the C. cancellatus, has a very wide geographical range; for in-

stance, it is found in the south of Europe, in Germany, and in

America; whereas the other species of this genus have a very

limited distribution.

The Tuberacet are remarkable among the Fungi in being all

of them more or less hypogeous. They are natives of warm

countries, and are distributed into numerous genera and species.

The Tuberacez, equally with the Tuberci, constitute in our lati-

tude a group of Fungi very poor in specific forms. The few

species of the Hymenogastres belongmg to Sweden, with the

exception of Hyperrhiza variegata and one example of the genus

Octaviania, are confined to the southern provinces. The greater

part of this group, like the Lycoperdacei, are met with in the

temperate zone. Most examples of the genus Lycoperdon are

cosmopolitan.

The Nidulariacei and the Trichodermacei appear to be scat-

tered over the globe in a uniform manner, although their species

are not everywhere similar. The same statement applies to the

Myxogastres, which are common in Lapland, and appear to have

their central point of distribution in the countries within the

temperate zone. At the same time, they are not wanting in

tropical regions, notwithstanding that the imtensity of heat, by

drying up the mucilage which serves as the medium for the

development of their spores, is opposed to their development.

Mr. J. Miers on Goupia. 289

XXXI.—On Goupia. By Joun Mimrs, F.R.S., F.LS. &e.

Tue place which this little-known genus should occupy in the

system has not yet been satisfactorily established, although its

typical species was described and figured by Aublet (Pl. Guy. i.

296, tab. 116) more than eighty years ago. Willdenow con-

sidered it to belong to the <Araliacee. Jussieu placed it in

Rhamnacee—a view that was afterwards adopted by most bota-

nists. Endlicher, however, classed it among the dubious genera

of Celastracee, which opinion was followed by Dr. Lindley in

his ‘ Vegetable Kingdom’ (p. 588). All these conclusions were

founded on the drawing and description of Aublet, as no other

botanist up to that time appears to have examined the genus.

Mr. Bentham, however (in 1852), gave more ample details of its

floral structure (Kew Journ. Bot. iv. 11), on which he founded

an emended generic character. Notwithstanding the many inter-

esting facts there communicated, he regarded its position in the

system as still uncertain: he remarked that the alternation of

the stamens with the petals favoured the opinion of its affinity

with the Celastracee ; but he considered that the structure of

the ovary brought it nearer to the Biittneriacee, because it is

crowned by five divaricated styles and its ovules are affixed to

the axis of a 5-celled ovary. Recently (in 1861) Dr. Reisseck

(in Mart. Flor. Bras. xxviii. p. 34) gives his opinion positively that

Goupia differs in no respect from the Biittneriacee, except in its

baccate fruit, and that its immediate affinity is with the Biite-

nerie@ and Theobromee: though speaking so decidedly, he can-

not have examined the structure of the genus, as otherwise, I

am convinced, he could not have come to this conclusion.

With all the respect due to so distinguished an authority as

Mr. Bentham, I beg to suggest that Goupia offers very slender

claims of affinity towards the Biittneriacee. My reasons are

founded on the alternate (not opposite) position of the stamens

with regard to the petals; that they are all free and isomerous,

without any tendency to become monadelphous or to be double

the number of the petals; its anthers are introrse (not extrorse),

and the zestivation of the petals is strictly valvate (not convolutely

imbricate) ; to which may be added, the umbellated disposition

of its axillary flowers. This eminent botanist considered that

the anthers are sessile upon the margin of a monadelphous sta-

minal tube, whereas I have noticed that they are perfectly free,

being furnished with distinct filaments,’in no way connected to-

gether, and seated round the ovary within a cupular disk, as in

Calypso campestris, Camb., and in Hippocratacee*.

Before I proceed to indicate what I conceive to be the real

* St.-Hil, Flor. Bras. i. 3, tab, 104,

290 | Mr. J. Miers on Goupia.

position of Goupia, it will be necessary to detail minutely all

that I have observed during a very careful examination of its

floral and seminal structure. It has a small cup-shaped calyx

covered with a dense short pile, and is deeply divided into five

acute erect teeth, which have an imbricated estivation. The

corolla consists of five linearly oblong, glabrous, fleshy petals,

more than six times the length of the calyx, their straight mar-

gins being deeply introflexed and valvate in estivation ; and their

appendiciform apices, measuring half their length, are suddenly

inflected and united together in the axis of the flower by their

valvate margins; they originate in the bottom of the calyx out-

side and around the disk, being alternate with the calycine

teeth; when the flower opens, they become horizontally ex-

panded, with the inflected apices standing erect at right angles

with them. The disk forms a notable feature in this structure,

being nearly the size of the calyx, quite cup-shaped, with five

very short teeth, which alternate with the stamens. The five

stamens are erect, and stand within the disk, free from it as well

as from the ovary; the filaments are short, subulate, and gla-

brous, supporting a much broader and thicker linear connective,

which, extending beyond the anthers, is truncated at its summit,

where it is furnished in front with a horizontal tuft of long

hairs, its margins, behind the anthers, being ciliated with similar

hairs: the anthers are bilobed, cordate at base, double the

breadth of the connective, to which they are attached by their

whole length; they are introrse, each lobe opening by a longi-

tudinal and somewhat oblique fissure; one-half of each anther

rises above the margin of the disk, and their long apical hori-

zontal tufts of hair meet in the middle of the ovary, passing

between the styles, thus serving as collectors to convey their

pollen to them. The ovary is spherical, five-grooved, and some-

what depressed in the centre, where a small umbonate point is

seen; and at some distance from this centre five distinct styles

originate, which are rather short, very distant from each other,

somewhat erect and divergent, there being no distinguishable

stigmata, except their merely glandular points; the ovary has

five equal complete cells ranged round a central axis, the dis-

sepiments corresponding with the external grooves and alter-

nating with the styles; there are several ovules in each cell, all

standing erect and crowded together at the base of the inner

angles of the cells. The fruit is spherical, and 2 lines in dia-

meter; it has been incorrectly described as a berry, but its

fleshy sarcocarp encloses an indehiscent 83—5-grooved, 3—5-celled

nut, the walls and dissepiments of which, though very thin, are

crustaceous ; each cell contains one, more generally two or three,

erect black seeds. The seed is oval when it is solitary, plane-

Mr.J.MiersonGoupia, - = 291

convex when there are two, or angular when there are three

seeds in each cell: it is covered by a smooth and very fleshy

tunic, marked on its ventral face by a prominent line ; this cannot

be an arillus, because it contains the simple chord of the raphe,

which extends from a somewhat lateral and basal hilum to a

small hollow in its summit, which it penetrates to reach the

second tunic; it is analogous to the same kind of covering as

that I have described in Magnolia and Clusia, and designated as

an arilline*, being a fleshy development of the primine of the

ovule: the next is a hard testaceous shell, regularly oval, densely

pitted by minute hollows arranged longitudinally in parallel

lines; it cannot be the testa, because it has no raphe, being a

growth of the secundine of the ovule; in its summit there is a

hollow, with a small diapylar hole, through which the chord of

the raphe passes to reach the chalaza of the inner membranaceous

integument or ¢egmen, which closely invests the fleshy albumen.

The embryo is somewhat shorter than the albumen, in which it

is imbedded, but is much narrower ; the cotyledons are oblong-

ovate and foliaceous, equal'in length to the terete radicle, the

extremity of which reaches the base, and is therefore close to the

hilum of the seed.

We have here a structure which does not correspond in all its

characters with any particular family, but which evidently be-

longs to the Cedastral alliance. It agrees with the Hippocratacee

in the position of its stamens within a cupular disk, but differs

in the imbricate estivation of its petals and in the position of

its ovules. It accords with the Celastracee in its erect ovules

originating in the base of the cells of the ovary, the external

tunic of its seeds being an arilline, that is to say, a fleshy coat-

ing containing the vessels of the raphe, and covering an internal

testaceous integument; but it differs in the position of its sta-

mens in regard to the disk, and in the estivation of its petals.

It agrees with the Jcacinacee in the estivation of its sepals and

petals, in the long apical inflection of the petals (as in Mappia,

Stemonurus, &c.), in the hairy appendages of its stamens (as in

Stemonurus), and in the number of cells in its ovary (as in Em-

motum) ; but it differs in the position of its stamens with respect

to the disk, and in its erect ovules and seeds.

If we maintain any consistency in our demarcations of the

limits of these several families, Goupia cannot be admitted into

any of them, and it must stand as the type of a distinct group,

which I propose to call Goupiacee, distinguished by the follow-

ing characters :—

* Linn. Trans. xxii. 80; Ann, Nat. Hist. 3 ser. iv. 26; Contributions to

Botany, i. 211.

292 Mr. J. Miers on Goupia.

Govrrace£.—Flores hermaphroditi vel subpolygami. Calya

parvus, 5-dentatus, dentibus estivatione imbricatis. Petala 5,

linearia, zestivatione introflexo-valvata, apicibus longe propen-

dentibus introflexis. Stamina 5, libera, introrsa, brevia, cum

petalis alterna, intra disecum cupuliformem hypogyna. Ovarium

globosum, 5-loculare; ovu/a plurima in quoque loculo, erecta, et

anatropa. Styli 5, subulati, breves, late segregati, subdivari-

cati, cum dissepimentis alterni. Stigmata subnulla. Drupa

globosa, carnosula; nux tenuissimus, 8-4—5-locularis, loculis

]-2-3-spermis. Semina erecta; integumentum externum (aril-

lina) carnosulum, raphigerum, raphe simplici, dorsali; integu-

mentum secundum testaceum, evasculosum, Albumen carnosum,

Embryo orthotropus. Cotyledones foliaceze ; radicula teres, ad

hilum spectans.

Arbores frondosi Guianenses ; folia petiolata, paucinervia, venis

crebris, parallelis, transversis ; stipulee subulato-lineares ; flores

axillares, parvi, umbellati.

On a former occasion, when discussing the question of the

relative affinities of the Icacinacee with the Celastracee, Hippo-

eratacee, Aquifoliacee, &c.*, and determining the position of the

former in the system}, I exhibited in a tabular form the lead-

ing differential features of the several families that enter into

the Celastral alliance. I now repeat the same under a more

synoptical form, including the Goupiacee.

1, Mstivation of petals imbricate.

A. Stamens outside disk.

#, Ovules erect, with a ventral raphe, or sus-

pended, with a dorsal raphe; seed albumi-

MOUS SS heist eet ots cee tenes eee e te vee Celastracee.

B. Ovules suspended t; seed exalbuminous.... Chailletiacee.

B. Stamens inserted inside or upon disk ..... ..... Hippocratacee.

c. Stamens hypogynous; disk almost obsolete.

#. Ovules suspended, with a dorsal raphe ; coty-

ledons large in regard to radicle ........ Aquifoliacee.

8. Ovules suspended, with a! ventral(?) raphe ;

cotyledons small....... slaw o,simahea eterno Cyrillacee.

2. Mstivation of petals valvate

A. Stamens inserted inside disk; ovules erect....... Goupiacee.

B. Stamens inserted outside disk; ovules suspended Icacinacee.

I may here observe that an essential point in the development

of the ovules and seeds in the several groups above enumerated

is the relative position of the raphe. It has been shown that an

erect ovule with a dorsal raphe is a mere resupination of a sus-

Pe Ann. Nat. Hist. 2 ser. viii. 167-169, ix. 220; Contrib. to Bot. i. 27-

29, 50.

+ Ann. Nat. Hist. 2 ser. ix. 221; Contrib. to Bot. i. 51.

t With a dorsal raphe, according to Agardh, Syst, 294,

Mr. J. Miers on Goupia. 293

pended ovule with a ventral raphe, and that a suspended ovule

with a dorsal raphe is equivalent to an erect ovule with a ventral

raphe, the former being a reversion of the ovule upon its funicle

by the mere effect of pressure. These are distinctions of some

value, which are generally neglected, but which ought always to

be recorded. It will hence be seen that, although in one case

the ovules are suspended and in the other erect, there is a nearer

approximation in their development in the Icacinacee and Gou-

piacee than the position of the raphe at first sight indicates.

This circumstance and the valvate estivation of the corolla bring

them into close proximity; but the insertion of the stamens in

regard to the disk, the distantly separated styles, more numerous

ovules and seeds, the nature of the seminal integuments, and

other characters claim for the Goupiacee a very distinct position.

I offer here a more ample diagnosis of the genus under con

sideration founded on my own observations :—

Govrra, Aubl.;— Gupia, Jaume St.-Hil.; — Glossopetalum,

Schreb. ;—Calyx parvus, cupuliformis, 5-dentatus, dentibus

acutis, eestivatione imbricatis. Petala 5, inter discum et caly-

cem inserta, cum dentibus calycinis alterna, oblongo-linearia,

‘apicibus longe attenuatis et inflexis, zestivatione e marginibus

profunde introflexis valvata. Discus cupuliformis, calyce vix

minor, inter petala et stamina enatus, omnino liber, glaber,

dentibus 5 minimis remotis cum staminibus alternis margine

instructus. Stamina 5, inter discum et ovarium inserta, cum

petalis alterna, e basi erecta, omnino libera, discum paulo exce-

dentia ; filamenta brevia, subulata, compressa, in connectivum

latum apice truncatum ultra antheras extensum et hinc pilis

longissimis patentibus intus instructum marginibusque pone

antheras longe ciliatum summo expansa. Anthere bilobz, imo

cordate, ad connectivum dimidio angustius dorso adnate,

lobis ovatis, obliquis, utrinque rima longitudinali subintrorsum

dehiscentibus. Pollen globosum, 3-sulcatum. Ovarium de-

presso-globosum, disco fere omnino occultum, liberum, gla-

brum, 5-sulcatum, apice umbone punctiformi signatum, 5-

loculare ; ovula in quoque loculo plurima, fasciculata, e basi

ex angulo versus axin adscendentia, cum raphe ventrali.

Styli 5, remotiusculi, subulati, breviusculi, subradiatim diva-

ricati, cum sulcis et staminibus alterni; stigmata inconspicua,

glandulosa. Fructus drupaceus, globosus, calyce immutato

suffultus ; pericarpium pergamineo-coriaceum, sulcatum, inde-

hiscens, 3-4—5-loculare, dissepimentis sulcis oppositis, loculis

1-2-3-spermis. Semina e basi erecta, oblongo-ovata ; integu-

mentum externum (arillina) carnosulum, leve, raphe ventrali

lineari immerso-prominente, hiloque fere basali parvo cavo

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix, 21

294, Mr. J. Miers on Goupia. ;

notatum : integumentum secundum testaceum, durum, lineis:

creberrimis longitudinalibus rugulosis signatum, apice chalaza

circulari parvula centro (pro raphes vasorum introitu) perforata

instructum; integumentum internum tenuissime membrana-

ceum, pellucidum; albumen solidum, carnosum. Embryo or-

thotropus, albumini paululo longiori immersus; cotyledones

. ovali-oblonge, foliaceze, compresse, radicule tereti ad basin

_ attingenti subzquilongee.

Arbores Guianenses et Brasilienses; folia alterna, ovato-lunceo-

. lata, integra, acuta, speciosim venosa, petiolata ; stipule utrin-

que lineares, acute, decidue; pedunculi solitaru, axillares;

pedicellos plurimos umbellatos 1-floros apice gerentes; flores

minim.

1: Goupia glabra, Aubl. Pl. Guian. i. 296, tab. 116; Lam. Dict.

i, 15, tab. 217; DC. Prodr. ii. 29; Benth. in Hook. Kew

Journ. iv. 12; Reisseck in Mart. Flor. Bras. fase. 28. p. 34 ;—

Glossopetalum glabrum, Schreb. Gen. Pl. No. 526; Willd.

| Sp. Pl. No. 588 ;—arbor excelsa, ramosa; ramulis angulato-

striatis subflexuosis; foliis ovato-lanceolatis, acuminatis, in-

tegris, basi inequalibus, utringue glabris, nitidis, nervis utrin-

que 3-4 remotis obliquis, 2 inferioribus suboppositis, venis

creberrime parallelis et transversis reticulatis speciosim sig-

natis, subtus minutissime albo-punctulatis; petiolo tereti ;

~ stipulis linearibus, caducissimis; pedunculis axillaribus, soli-

tariis, petiolo sub-brevioribus, pedicellis illis longioribus gra-

cillimis 20-24 umbellatis, unifloris, imo bracteolatis; fructu

globoso, carnoso, piperis magnitudine.—Cayenne et Brasilia

Septentrionalis, v. s.; prope Panuré, Rio Uaupes (Spruce,

No. 2624).

One of the most conspicuous features in this plant is the ele-

gant disposition of the veins in its leaves, greatly resembling in

this respect the leaves of Poraqueiba Surinamensis*, belonging to

the Icacinacee. The internodes are about ? inch apart; the

leaves are 4—5 inches long, 1-2 inches broad, on a petiole 4 lines

in length; the stipules are 4 lines long, 4 line wide ; the peduncle

is 3-4 lines, the pedicels 6 lines long; the calyx is 4 line long;

the petals are 4 lines long (including the inflected apex of 1 line);

the drupe is 2 lines in diameter f.

2. Goupia tomentosa, Aubl. loc.cit. ;—Arbuscula, precedenti sub-

similis, cortice foliisque valde amaris ; foliis utrinque hirsutis.

—Guiana et Ins. Cayenne.

-* Contributions to Botany, vol. i. pl. 10.

+ This species, with full analytical details, will be represented in the

‘ Contributions,’ vol. ui. Plate 74.

- —

Mr. A. Adams on new Mollusca from Japan. 295

XXXII.—On some new Species of Mollusca from Japan.

By Artuur Apams, F.L.S. &c.

Genus Kiernevua, A. Adams.

Kleinella sulcata, A. Adams.

K. testa oblonga, tenui, turbinata, profunde umbilicata; spira elata,

conoidea, sordide alba, transversim sulcata, sulcis distantibus, inter-

stitiis longitudinaliter concinne striatis; anfractibus 33, planis,

superne angulatis ; anfractu ultimo ventricoso; apertura oblonga,

antice eversa et subeffusa; labro tenui, postice angulato.

Hab. Suwonado Sea; 7 fathoms.

Genus Cyritia, A. Adams.

Cyrilla decussata, A. Adams.

C. testa oblonga, obliqua, vix ineequilaterali, alba, solida; costellis

radiantibus et lirulis concentricis confertim decussata; cardinis

dentibus posterioribus in laminas non desinentibus-

Hab.: Gotto Islands ; 48 fathoms.

Genus Mucronatta, A. Adams.

- Mucronalia exilis, A. Adams.

M. testa parva, subulata, graciliore, apice subito mucronato, recta,

tenui, alba, polita, semiopaca, linea spirali angusta rufo-fusca or-

nata; anfractu ultimo lineis duabus succincto ; apertura elongato-

ovata.

Hab. Simonoseki, Suwonado Sea; 7 fathoms.

Genus Apicatia, A. Adams.

Testa distorta, polita, imperforata, subulata; anfractibus irregulari-

bus, supremis in mucronem dispositis. Apertura oblonga; labio

simplici.

This form of Hulimide bears the same relation to Eulima that

Mucronalia does to Leiostraca. It is milk-white, without any

coloured markings, and the whorls are distorted ; but it has the

very peculiar mucro observed in Stylifer and Mucronalia.

Apicalia gibba, A. Adams.

A. testa obliqua, elevato-conoidea, alba, solida, vix opaca; anfractibus

normalibus 4, convexis, subgibbosis, supremis angustatis in forma

mucronis dispositis ; ; apertura obliqua, ovata ; labio subincrassato.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 71 fathoms.

Genus Niso, Risso.

Niso interrupta, Sow.

Aniinal milk-white. Tentacles flat, subulate, diverging, ob-

296 Mr. A. Adams on new Mollusca from Japan.

tuse at the tips, not folded or ear-like, margined with pale black.

Eyes small, black, and sessile at the outer bases of the tentacles

just within the margin of the head. Head bordered with pale

black. An oblique pale-black line extends from the lower part

of the neck down the side, ending at the operculigerous lobe,

which is large, thick, and closely applied to the under surface of

the last whorl.

Hab. Simonoseki; 7 fathoms.

Genus Scata, Klein.

Scala soluta, A. Adams.

S. testa pyramidali, acuminata, alba, glabra, pellucida; anfractibus

disjunctis, angustis varicibus 6 distantibus laminatis simplicibus

prope suturas in angulum productis; apertura circulari.

Hab. Port Lindsay ; 15 fathoms.

This pretty species has the loosely rolled whorls and form of

S. hyalina, Hinds, and the simple varices of S. laxata, Sow.

Genus IsanpEr, H. & A. Adams.

1. Isander maculosus, A. Adams.

I. testa globoso-conoidea, solida, anguste umbilicata, alba, polita,

superne transversim sulcata maculis rufo-fuscis ornata ; anfractu

ultimo ultra peripheriam angulato; apertura subquadrata ; labio

rectiusculo, antice dilatato ; umbilico angusto, margine crenulato-

Tugoso.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 71 tathoms.

2. Isander crenelliferus, A. Adams.

I, testa globoso-turbinata, late umbilicata, alba, solida, semiopaca,

longitudinaliter plicato-rugosa, suturis canaliculatis; anfractibus

ad suturas crenulatis; apertura subcirculari; labio incrassato,

arcuato; umbilico margine crenato.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 71 fathoms.

Genus Eruarra, H. & A. Adams.

1, Ethalia candida, A. Adams.

Zi. testa depresso-turbinata, alba, solida, opaca, transversim regulariter

valde striata; anfractibus 23, planulatis; apertura circulari ; labio

callo expanso umbilicum vix tegente ; umbilico margine crenato-

rugoso.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 71 fathoms.

2. Ethalia polita, A. Adams.

£. testa orbiculato-conoidea, alba, levi, polita, vix opaca, spira sub-

Mr. A. Adams on new Mollusca from Japan. 297

conica, basi conyexa, callo crasso obtecta; anfractibus sub lente

obsolete transversim striatis ; apertura circulari, peritremate con-

tinuo ; labio incrassato.

Hab. Gotto Islands ; 71 fathoms.

Genus Semicassis, Klein.

Semicassis japonica, Reeve.

Animal light pmk. Head long, narrow, flattened. Tentacles

subulate, flattened, broad at the base, pale yellow, with opake-

white tips and with a dark-brown tapering marginal stripe.

Eyes very large and black, without pupils, on slight swellings at

the outer bases of the tentacles. Edge of foot narrowly mar-

gined with greenish yellow.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 71 fathoms.

Genus CyLuEnr, Gray.

Species incerta.

Animal semipellucid, white, with an opake-white stripe along

each side of the upper surface of the foot, and two short di-

verging stripes of the same colour on the upper part immediately

behind the operculum. Head broad, triangular, and depressed ;

tentacles long, filiform, diverging. yes large and black, on

swellings at the outer bases of the tentacles. Siphon recurved,

moderate. Foot large, broad, with parallel sides, straight and

auriculate on each side in front, and truncately rounded behind,

bearing the operculum obliquely ; the hind margin simple.

Hab. Satanosaki, south coast of Kiusu; 55 fathoms.

Genus Crypra, Humphrey.

Crypta lamellosa, A. Adams.

C. testa depressa, orbiculari, lamellosa ; apice parvo, spirali, postico,

submarginali; lamellis dorsalibus concentricis, rugosis, confertim

imbricatis ; septo interno postico, angustato, curvato; margine

libero concavo.

Hab. Gotto Islands; 48 fathoms.

A small, flat, orbicular, lamellose species, with a narrow con-

cave septum.

Genus Turricuta, Klein.

Turricula (Costellaria) pyramidella, A. Adams.

T. testa pyramidali-turrita; spira producta, attenuata; anfractibus

64, planatis, supremis parvis angustatis, longitudinaliter costatis,

costis rectis distantibus, interstitiis transversim liratis ; apertura

‘ subtriangulari; labio recto, plicis tribus obliquis spiralibus in-

298 Mr. A,Adams on the Molluscan Fauna of Japan.

structo; labro margine in medio obtusim angulato; colore fulvi-

- cante,

Hab. Satanosaki, ath coast of Kiusu; 55 fathoms.

Genus Zurpons, A. Adams.

On comparing my examples of this curious little genus, I

observed that I had confounded two species under the name

calceolina. The second of the two I beg leave now to describe

under the nanie of

Zeidora reticulata, A. Adams.

Z, testa oblonga, dorso convexa, lineis elevatis longitudinalibus ra-

diantibus et lirulis concentricis pulcherrime. decussata ; apertura

margine crenulato, fissura profunda angusta.

Hab. Mino-Sima; 63 fathoms.

This species differs from Z. calceolina in being much more

convex, less obtuse anteriorly, and in the fissure being narrow

and deeply incised. The sculpture, moreover, is very different,

the surface being finely reticulate instead of widely cancellate.

Yokuhama, August 11, 1861,

XXXITI.—Note on the Molluscan Fauna of Japan.

By Arruur Apams, F.L.S. &e.

Wiru regard at least to the Molluscan fauna, the Manchurian

province, indicated with doubt by Professor Edward Forbes in

his ‘ Map of the Distribution of Marine Life,’ does not exist.

The Japonian province is bounded on the north by the Ok-

hotzian and on the south by the Indo-Pacific province, and it

receives contributions from both. Littorina grandis and sub-

tenebrosa, Cryptochiton Stellert and Amicula amiculata, for ex-

ample, have travelled south from the Sea of Okhotsk; while

Littorina sinensis and Acanthochites scutiger have come north-

ward from the Yellow Sea. The great northern species of

Neptunea and Buccinum and the Velutina family abound and

flourish towards its northern boundary, while to the south linger

vestiges of the great tropical families of Cowries, Olives, and.

Cones. The neutral ground, or place of meeting of north and

south, seems to be near the Strait of Tsuka, or the south end of’

Yesso and the north of Niphon.

Some genera and species have only been met with hitherto in

the Sea of Japan, and are possibly peculiar to the Japonian pro-

vince; at least we must consider them indigenous to this sea

until they shall have been detected elsewhere. Examples of this

occur in the genera Zeidora, Cranopsis, Morchia, Cyrilla, and

Dr. Strahl on a Species of Riippellia. 299

Enida, which I have recently discovered, and in the species

Eburna japonica and Haliotis japonica.

The remainder, or possibly the greater part, of the Molluscan

inhabitants have been introduced by foreign immigrations from

the north, south, and west.

1. Boreal or Northern Forms.

These have travelled from the Sea of Okhotsk, passing through

the Strait of La Pérouse, and, following the prevailing cold current,

according to our observations, have distributed themselves along

the coast of Manchuria and the shores of Yesso. Some of these,

for example Cryptochiton Stellert and Littorina grandis, may

have been derived from the Shantar Sea, having passed through

the Gulf of Amur into the Gulf of Tartary.

2. Indo-Chinese or Southern Forms.

These, issuing from the China, Eastern, and Yellow Seas, have

entered by the Korea Strait, and, following the prevailing warm

current along the shores of Niphon, have spread themselves

over the Sea of Japan, mingling with species from the north

and west.

3. Pacific or Western Forms.

These mollusks have crossed the North Pacific Ocean,. and

passed into the Sea of Japan by the Straits of Tsuka and La

Pérouse. Among them may be instanced Saxidomus Nuttalh

and Gemma gemma. Saghaleen has derived some species from

Sitka, the Manchurian coast from Oregon, and the islands of

Yesso and Niphon from California.

I can say nothing from personal observation concerning the

influence of the gulf stream of the North Pacific, but possibly

during the summer of the present year 1 may have an opportunity

of visiting the western coast of Niphon.

Shanghai, China, May 15, 1861.

“XXXIV.— On a Species of Riippellia, Milne-Edwards, and the

Limits of the Brachyura. By Dr. Stran*,

Dana, in his work on the Crustacea, describes a Riippellia which

he identifies, with doubt, with R. annulipes, M.-E. The figure

given by him facilitates a comparison with the statements of

Milne-Edwards. Dana’s Riippellia is evidently a new species,

and not to be identified with any one of Milne-Edwards’s three

species.. The species described as Riippellia annulipes by Dana

’ * Translated from the Monatsbericht der Konigl. Akad. der Wiss. zu

Berlin, November 1861, p. 1004.

300 Dr..Strahl on the Limits of the Brachyura.

I propose to name R. truncata, because the frontal margin is

not distinctly toothed, but almost entirely smooth as in R. w-

nosa, M.-E. R. truncata is further distinguished from R. annu-

lipes, and also from R. vinosa, by the lower margin of the orbit

bearing four small teeth, and from R. annulipes, M.-E., by

the want of the horizontal ridge upon the teeth of the lateral

margin, by which the latter is specifically distinguished.

The genus Riippellia consequently includes four well-marked

species. The Cancer Calypso, Herbst, which Milne-Edwards

supposed might belong to Riippellia, belongs to the genus Pilum-

noides, Dana. Riippellia is most nearly allied to Ozius, Leach ;

for, besides that, as Dana has already pointed out, the spatium

prelabiale is distinctly divided on each side by a longitudinal

seam, and the efferent canal of the branchial canal thus bounded,

corresponding to the anterior margin of the third joint of the

external maxillipeds, exhibits a round emargination, the form of

the first joint of the external antennz agrees in Ozius and _

Riippellia ; this joint, in its course from behind forwards, is bent

in the form of a knee from within outwards. The agreement in

external structure is so great in the two genera that they might

conveniently be united in a single one, but for the presence of a

distinction which refers each of these genera to a particular divi-

sion. Thus, in Riippellia the pterygostomium and forehead come

so close together that the orbit is thereby completely closed in-

ternally, as in Eriphia and Trapezia; whilst these parts in Ozius

leave a cleft between them, in which, as in the allied genera

Galene, Pilumnus, &c., the moveable portions of the external

antennz conceal themselves.

Dana’s Ozine enable the Eriphine to be approximated to the

Xanthine and Chlorodine, in so far as in the Ozine, Xanthine, and

Chiorodine, and likewise in the Portunide, the pterygostomium

never closely approaches the forehead, and completely closes the

orbit internally, but a wider or narrower cleft always remains

here ; if the orbit be nevertheless closed internally, this is always

effected by the first joint of the external antenna, which is then

of large size, as in Melissa (Euxanthus, Dana), Etisus, Thala-

mita. The Eriphine might probably be arranged next to the

Oxyrhyncha, which I formerly limited more accurately as Bra-

chyura perfusa; in the latter the amalgamation of the pterygo-

stomium with the first jot of the external antenna and with the

epistomium effects the complete closure of the orbit, and the se-

cond joint of the antenna is always inserted at the summit and

in front of the orbit.

As I have already indicated, the group of Brachyura incuneata

established by me includes by far the greater part of the Bra-

chyura ; and decided differences of organization call for a further

Dr. Strahl on the Limits of the Brachyura. 301

division of them. The Incuneata break up into the Cancrovdea,

Grapsoidea, and Leucosia. The structure of the maxillipeds and

respiratory apparatus, and also the position of the male sexual

organs, are the grounds of this classification. Dana has set

up the Corystoidea also as a peculiar type ; but these must be

united with the Cancroidea with even more justice than the

Thelphusine, especially as the most multifarious transitions occur

within the Cancroidea,—as the genera Paraxanthus, Lucas, Pla-

tycarcinus, M.-E., and Perimela, Leach, unless the last-men-

tioned genus must be entirely removed to the Corystoidea.

The Leucosie I consider to include only Dana’s Leucoside,

with Dorippe and Aithusa. I separate the Calappide and Matu-

tide from them, and unite them with the Parthenopine rejected

from the Oxyrhyncha, whilst Oncinopus must be placed amongst

the Liberata in the neighbourhood of Hymenosoma. This com-

bination is justified by the agreement in the situation of the

afferent canal of the branchial cavity and of the male sexual

organs ; and a close affinity is also shown by the strongly keeled

claws, of which the hands are usually long : moreover, the fore-

head is not divided at the point of attachment of the first jomt

of the external antenna, but this joint is merely squeezed in

between the pterygostomium and the first jomt of the inner an-

tenna, the other parts of it are fully moveable, and thus, as it

were, a step is made towards the Liberata. In this section the

Parthenopine approach nearer to the Cancroid type, and the

Matutide and Calappide to the Leucoside type, in regard to the

structure of the outer maxillipeds. Here belongs undoubtedly

the genus Zebrida, Adams and White, as appears from the figure

in the ‘ Voyage of the Samarang,’ and, with some doubt, also

Harrovia, Adams and White, of which no inferior view is given.

The same arguments apply to Ceratocarcinus and Gonatonotus,

Adams and White; nevertheless Gonatonotus appears rather to

be Cancroid so far as the form of the claws allows one to judge.

In estimating the relations here indicated by me, both figures

and descriptions unfortunately frequently fail one.

The Grapsoidea are formed naturally only of those of Dana’s

Grapsoidea which remain after the separation from them of the

families formerly named by me as Liberata. The genus Grapsus,

limited by the rejection of Leptograpsus, Metopograpsus, &c.,

and represented by the species Pharaonis, strigosus, Webbii, &c.,

must be removed not only out of the Grapsoidea, but even en-

tirely out of the Brachyura, because the structure of the external

antenn differs completely from that which prevails amongst

the Brachyura. Grapsus, namely, has no operculum at the base

of the external antennz, but a perforated tubercle, as in the

Macrura, and must therefore at least be placed among the Ano-

302 Dr. Strahl on the Limits of the Brachyura.

mura, somewhere in the vicinity of the Dromide ; in any case

it forms a particular section, on account of the position of the

female sexual organs.

The external antenna is not suspended immediately from the

cephalothorax, like the internal antenna, but by means of an

articular piece, which is called “article basilare” by Milne-

Edwards in the Macrura. This articular piece is not a complete

ring, but only a half-ring, which moves by its ends in a hinge-

joint, and fulfils a double function. It not only bears the ex-

ternal antenna with its subsidiary organ, the antennal scale,

but also contains the efferent orifice for the secretion of Suckow’s

gland. ‘The latter point has been confirmed by the malforma-

tion discovered by me, and described in Reichert and Du Bois-

Reymond’s ‘Archiv’ (1859, p. 333), but I wait for further

corroboration. In all Macrura and Anomura this articular piece

possesses a tubercle, which is perforated at the summit and closed

by a membrane, the so-called tympanum. But this tympanum

has a slit in its centre, which may be opened and closed by

muscular action. This slit leads, by a tube of greater or less

length, to the so-called auditory vesicle, which collects the secre-

tion of the green gland.

This structure is shown by the articular piece throughout,

even if the antennal scale be entirely wanting, as in the Palinu-

ride, the Scyllaride, the Galatheide, the Porcellanide, the Hip-

pide, and the Raninide. In the Porcellanide this piece is still

of considerable size, but in the Dromide it becomes so shrunken

that essentially only the tubercle remains, but this fully de-

veloped. In Dromia the tympanal membrane is very small,

but still the slit is apparent ; and Grapsus sensu strictiore has

the same structure. The Brachyura show no trace of antennal

scale ; and from the Dromide to them is only a step. Thus, if

we imagine the slit in the tubercle of Dromia carried out to one

side, so that here the peripheral margin is completely separated,

we have the operculum of the Brachyura in its perfect form :

for this operculum by no means possesses a construction com-

parable to that of the stapes in the auditory organs of the higher

animals; it is rather a valve, which is attached externally to the

pterygostomium, and can be opened in the direction of the me-

dian line of the animal; its opening and closing is subject to the

will; and for this purpose the operculum possesses on its inner

margin a manubrium ascending into the interior of the animal,

to which the muscles are attached. I have fully investigated

this structure in both Carcinus Menas and Platycarcinus Pagurus,

and found in these also that a reservoir is reached, likewise si-

tuated in front of the stomach, and connected with a glandular

organ, which is the apple-green organ (Suckow’s gland).

Rev. T, Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes. 303:

- If Grapsus is to be entirely removed from the Brachyura, the

name Grapsoidea cannot be retained for a Brachyurous group.

In the group in question, Planes, Leach (Nautilograpsus, M.-E.),

is the oldest genus; and I therefore provisionally give this group

the name of Planide. But I also give up the name of Brachyura

altogether ; for Grapsus and the Dromide are Brachyura in re-

spect of their abdomen. I rather group together all those Deca-

poda of which the external antenna exhibits an operculum, as

Opercularia, and call all the remainder Tubercularia, because their

outer antenna presents a tubercle. I consequently also get rid

of the section Anomura, which hitherto included the forms

which, in regard to the structure of the abdomen, constituted the

transitions from the Macrura to the Brachyura. With respect

to the structure of the external antenne, the Anomura agree

throughout with the Macrura: even the Lithodide and Poguride

exhibit more or less of the antennal scale.

The Opercularia consequently include all the genera cited by

Dana as Brachyura, with the exception of the genus Grapsus in.

the restricted sense ; but, in compensation, the Bellidea, placed

by Dana amongst the Anomura, fall into this groups

XXXV.—A Catalogue of the Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall. By the Rev. Tuomas Hincxs, B.A.

[Continued from p. 207.]

Fam. Celleporide.

CxrLtepora, Fabricius,

Section «. Encrusting, adnate.

1. C. pumicosa, Linneus.

- Very common, on stones, shells, Sertulariada, &c.

This species is of very variable aspect. Sometimes it forms

small oval masses on the stems of Zoophytes. This is the con-

dition figured by Mr. Busk (Catal. pl. 110. fig. 4). When de-

veloped on the surface of shells, &c., it forms somewhat circular

mounds, raised in the centre and sloping off towards the edge.

Sometimes it occurs in irregularly-shaped porous masses, of very

considerable size, involving more or less the fragment of shell or

other body which constituted the original support of the poly-

zoary. A specimen of this description from Torbay measures

about 33 inches in length, 24 inches in width, and 13 inch in

thickness.

Much as this differs in general appearance from the smaller

304 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

varieties, I can find no distinction between them in the minute

characters.

2. C. Hassallii, Johnston.

Occasional, on shells and stone; on Anomia from Plymouth ;

on stone from 30 fathoms, Cornwall (very fine), &c.

3. C. edax, Busk, ‘ Polyzoa of the Crag,’ p. 59, pl. 9. fig. 6,

pl. 22. fig. 3.

On a Turritella (?) from Plymouth.

Of this very curious form I have only obtained the single

specimen referred to by Mr. Busk in his ‘Monograph ;’ and I

am not aware that any other recent example has occurred. It

seems to be not uncommon in the Coralline Crag.

The Devonshire specimen, which has been moulded on a small

univalve shell, probably a Turritella, is in very fresh condition,

and shows the minute characters well. Like its fossil kindred,

the Cellepore has completely removed the substance of the shell

on which it originally took up its abode. Nothing now remains

but the form, which is perpetuated by the stony crust of the

Polyzoon.

A strictly analogous case occurs amongst the Actinozoa. A

Zoanthus has been described by Diiben and Koren, under the

name of Mamillifera incrustata, which is commonly parasitic on

shells that are tenanted by a species of Pagurus. In all cases,

however, the shell is destroyed after a while by some process of

erosion or absorption, the diffused basal crust of the Zoophyte

forming a perfect cast of it, and affording shelter to the crab.

This form occurs in Shetland and the north of England, as well

as in Norway, and“is regarded by Mr. Gosse as a variety of Z.

Couchii. ‘Taking into account, however, the differences in the

number and colour of the tentacles, which the northern natu-

ralists have pointed out, and in the characters of the base, as

well as the remarkable peculiarity just referred to, I am inclined

to regard the M. zncrustata as a distinct species.

4, C. avicularis, Hincks. Pl. XII. figs. 6, 6a.

‘Microscopical Journal,’ vol. viii. p. 278.

Common, encrusting the stems and branches of Zoophytes

from deep water, with large and nodulous rolls. The Gorgonia

is frequently laden with masses of it.

This is one of the best-marked of the crustaceous Cellepores

—a most perplexing tribe to deal with. After the repeated ex-

amination of a multitude of specimens, I find myself quite un-

able to speak with confidence as to the forms which are eutitled

to specific rank; indeed the bewilderment increases with the

number of specimens examined.

of South Devon and South Cornwall, 305

The C. avicularis, however, is well marked and readily recog-

nized. The cells are crowded, erect, uneven, some being elevated

considerably above the others; the orifice orbicular above, with

a pointed sinus below; the peristome elevated into a border, and

rising in front into a rostrum, which bears an oval avicularium

on one side of it; ovicell prominent, subglobose, punctured—

generally an ascending process on each side of it, bearing a

small oval avicularium ; here and there amongst the cells, large

mounted avicularia, with broad triangular mandible; spatulate

avicularia distributed over the surface of the polyzoary. The

number and variety of the avicularian appendages in this species

are remarkable.

Numerous circular apertures are distributed over the poly-

zoary amongst the cells.

5. C. tubigera, Busk, ‘ Crag Polyzoa,’ p. 60, pl. 22. fig. 2.

To this species I refer (not without some doubt) two specimens

obtained from Plymouth. They form subconical masses, the

surface of which is covered with irregular prominences. ‘The

cells are distant and very distinct, sometimes connected by

ridges, punctured round the orifice; orifice orbicular, with a

sinus below; a process in front, bearing, near the top, an oval

avicularium ; occasionally amongst the cells other stouter pro-

cesses, supporting larger avicularia; spatulate avicularia nu-

merous.

Section 8. Erect, branching.

6. C. ramulosa, Linneeus.

Very common, on Zoophytes from deep water: off Exmouth

(fine) ; Cornwall (30 fathoms), &c.

7. C. dichotoma, n. sp. Pl. XII. figs. 7, 8.

Polyzoarium slender, narrowed towards the base, dichotomously

branched ; branches cylindrical, tapering towards the extremi-

ties, pointed ; cells ovate, ventricose, smooth ; orifice orbicular

above, slightly produced below, in front of it a short and tumid

rostrum, with a small avicularium on one side of it, near the

top; ovicell globose, silvery, covered in front with punctures,

the margins of which are raised; occasionally a spatulate avi-

cularium on one side of the orifice; numerous minute sub-

circular avicularia distributed amongst the cells. The surface .

of the polyzoary is pierced by circular orifices, which occupy

the intercellular spaces.

On Zoophytes from 30 fathoms, off Polperro,

[Ireland. ] :

306 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

Fam. Escharidz.

1. Escuara, Ray.

1. Z. foliacea, Ellis & Solander.

- Common in deep water, Devon and Cornwall: off Budleigh-

Salterton (very abundant), Exmouth, &e.

2. E. cervicornis, Busk, ‘ Catalogue,’ p. 92.

Common on stones from deep water, coast of Cornwall ;

‘Devonshire’ (Dr. Coldstream).

_ Great uncertainty exists as to the synonymy of this species.

The form here intended is the Cellepora cervicornis of Couch’s

«Cornish Fauna,’ which would seem to be identical with the

Eschara cervicornis of the ‘ British Museum Catalogue,’ judging

from the description in that work. Mr. Busk, however, in a paper

on Norwegian Polyzoa (Ann. Nat. Hist. for 1856, vol. xviu.p: 82),

expresses an opinion that these are distinct species, identifying

Mr. Couch’s with a Norwegian form, of which a figure (without

description) is given. The figure, which is not from Mr. Busk’s

hand, is of little value, and does not help towards a settlement

of the point. At present I am inclined to regard the C. cervi-

cornis of Johnston and Couch and the E. cervicornis of the

‘Catalogue’ as one species. The Millepora cervicornis of Ellis

and Solander is a perfectly distinct form.

3. E. Skenei, Ellis & Solander.

Not common, deep water: Torbay, on shell; off Polperro.

“Qn stones and the Pinna ingens, off the Deadman; rare”

(Couch). :

2. Reterora, Lamarck.

R. Beaniana, King.

Very rare: on a stone from 40 fathoms, south-west of Pol-

perro. A very fine full-grown specimen of this beautiful Coral,

and one or two young ones, were obtained from the above

locality.

[Shetland (Barlee) ; off the Land’s-End (Couwch)].

Suborder Cyclostomata, Busk.

Fam. Idmoneide, Busk.

Pustutopora, Blainville.

P. defleza, Couch.

Common on stones, shells, &c., from deep water: coast of

Cornwall, abundant; dredged close under Berry Head, on

weed.

of South Devon and South Cornwall. — 307°

The erect cylindrical stalks are the free extremities of a branched

creeping base, which spreads, like an Alecto, over the surface of

shell or stone. A number of branches radiate from a common

stem, along which tubular cells are ranged, and each of these

branches terminates in a free portion, somewhat clavate, at times

expanding into an enlarged head, from all sides of, which long

waved tubes project. Mr. Couch has not described the common

creeping base. It would pass for an Alecto, in the absence of

the erect portions.

I feel much doubt whether this form is correctly referred to

the genus Pustulopora, It is probably the Tubulipora deflexa of

Couch, the free and erect branches agreeing exactly with his

description and figure. But no mention is made by him of a.

branched creeping stem, nor is there any in the diagnosis of

Pustulopora as given by De Blainville, Johnston, or Busk. In

a beautiful specimen dredged near Berry Head, the free por-

tions are dichotomously branched, the branches terminating in

a triplet of clavate expansions. From the nature of the habitat,

the creeping stem is in this case very inconspicuous ; but on

stone there is little variation in the form. The creeping

branches which radiate from a common stem are adnate through

a great part of their course, and bristle with long tubes, but

towards the extremities they become erect, cylindrical, subclavate,

and bear the cells on all sides. The surface is punctate. This

species has the closest affinity with Alecto.

Fam. Tubuliporide, Busk.

1. Tusu.irora, Lamarck.

1. 7. serpens, Linn.

Very common, on stones, shells, and Zoophytes from deep

water: on Pinne from 60 fathoms, off the Deadman ; on Gor-

gonia (very fine), &c.

Some of the specimens on Pinna exhibit a very beautiful

mode of growth. They are of radiate form, attached to the

shell at the centre only, the bifid branches being free and sub-

erect.

2. T. lobulata, Hassall,

Occasional, on shell: Torbay.

This is probably a good species, and not, as Dr. Johnston

was inclined to consider it, a variety of the preceding.

There are important differences between the two forms, in the

character and disposition of the cells as well as in the mode of

growth. The cells of 7. dobulata are short and stout, and pro-

ject very slightly from the crust. They are horizontal, and are

308 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

generally not united, nor do they ever form the deep, somewhat

curved, transverse rows which are so characteristic of T. serpens.

The dividing lines are much less strongly marked than in the

latter species, and disappear altogether in the expanded portions

which terminate the lobes. The lobes or segments are linear

and narrow, gnd more or less rounded at the extremities. Those

of 7’. serpens are usually truncate. The polyzoary is depressed,

and of a dull-purplish colour, wanting altogether the bright

frosted surface of the other species. ;

The “flower-like” variety of JT. serpens, which Mr. Alder

identifies with the 7. lodulata of Hassall (Northumb. Catal.

p- 46), may be the radiate form which I have described under

the first-named species.

[Isle of Man, very common on old shells.]

8. T. phalangea, Couch.

Common on shells and weed in moderate depths: Salcombe

Bay (abundant), &c.

Cornwall, “in from 10 to 20 fathoms water, common”

(Couch).

This fine species exhibits two marked forms. In one, the

polyzoary is subcircular or very obscurely lobed ; the cells are

long, slender, sub-erect, and somewhat flexuous, crowded toge-

ther, and often disjunct at the upper extremity; the mesial

dividing lines are almost obliterated. In the other, the lobes

are distinct and pointed; the cells are short, united through-

out, of somewhat larger bore than in the preceding, and

arranged with extreme regularity on each side of a well-defined

line, which runs from the centre to the extremity of each lobe.

The spaces between the lobes are filled with cells, sometimes

united in pairs, sometimes single. Towards the margin they

are horizontal and wholly immersed, the apertures forming a

close network. In this beautiful form the polyzoary is much

depressed, and the surface flat.

To this species perhaps may be referred a remarkable Tubuli-

pora which I have met with in old bivalve shells from Sal-

combe Bay. It forms large, somewhat circular, lobate masses,

about an inch in diameter. The central portion is round, with

sometimes as many as ten lobes, which are broad at the base,

then gradually narrow for some way, and at the extremity ex-

pand into a clavate head. The heads, which vary in size, occa-

sionally coalesce, and in some cases the lobes are united through-

out the greater part of their length, and we have a somewhat

circular crust with a very irregular and jagged outline. On the

central disk and the basal portion of the lobes the cells are

arranged as in the normal 7. phalangea, On the enlarged heads

of South Devon and South Cornwall. 309

they are disposed in somewhat radiate fashion. This curious

variety, deprived of its terminal expansions, bears a striking

resemblance to the Solaster. In form and general appearance it

is utterly unlike the ordinary 7. phalangea ; and yet, such is the

tendency to irregularities of growth and habit in this section of

the Cyclostomata, that I do not venture to regard it as more

than a very singular illustration of this characteristic.

In an early stage, 7. phalangea exhibits a simple bilobed

form, and is often of very delicate texture and of a silvery lustre.

In this condition the polyzoarium is stalked, and divided into

two rounded lobes, which are bent backwards from the point of

division, so as to embrace the stalk, below which they finally

coalesce. As growth proceeds, other lobes are developed on the

opposite side, until the normal figure is completed.

4. T. flabellaris, Fabricius.

Rare: in a valve of Pecten, from the Brixham trawl-boats ;

on stone.

One or two specimens only have occurred to me in the West

of the species figured by Johnston (pl. 46. figs. 5, 6), and which

he identifies with the Tubipora flabellaris of Fabricius.

[Near the mouth of the Clyde, on coal.]

5. T. penicillata, Johnston.

On the Cornish Pinne, common ; on stone from 40 fathoms ;

in a shell from Torbay.

In this species, the erect portion, which bears the expanded

celluliferous head, springs from a creeping <Alecto-like base,

which is thickly set with tubes. This creeping stem is com-

monly branched, and at the extremity of each branch rises one

of the disk-bearing stalks. The lower portion of the stalk

frequently bears a number of the tubular cells on one side,

which are free, and of considerable length. There is great di-

versity in the height of the peduncular support and in the size

of the terminal disk. Mr. Couch, in his description, takes no

notice of the creeping base. Should not the genus Alecto be

modified so as to include both this species and the Pustulopora

deflexa of Johnston ?

[Lamlash, Arran, on stone. |

2. Atecto, Lamouroux.

A. granulata, Milne-Edwards.

“On stones and shells from deep water, not uncommon ;

Polperro” (Couch).

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 22

310 On the Temperature of the Incubating Female Python.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIU.

Fig. 1. Membranipora discreta, un. sp.

Fig. 2.. Lepralia affinis, n. sp.

Fig. 3. Lepralia ochracea, n. sp.

Fig. 4. Lepralia hastata, nu. sp.: 4 a, rostrum, with avicularium.

Fig. 5. Lepralha armata, n. sp.

Fig. 6. Cellepora avicularis, Hincks: 6a, the preoral rostrum.

Fig. 7. Cellepora dichotoma, u..sp.; nat. size.

Fig. 8. Cellepora dichotoma; portion magnified.

Fig. 9. Valkeria tremula, n. sp.

[To be continued. |

XXXVI.—Note on the Temperature of the Female Python Sebze

during Incubation. By P. L. Scuater, Ph.D., F.R.S.

In the communication made to the French Académie des Sciences

Naturelles, in 1841, by M. Valenciennes, and published in their

‘Comptes Rendus’ for July of that year (vol. xi. p. 126), certain

results are stated to have been arrived at from careful observa-

tions made during the incubation of a female of the Indian Python

(Python bivittatus), which deposited eggs in the menagerie of the

Jardin des Plantes on the 5th of May 1841, and hatched out eight

young ones on the 8rd of July following. M. Valenciennes’s

own words on this subject are as follows :—“ II faut conclure de

cette observation que la femelle du Python bivittatus couve ses

ceufs, qwils sont. cinquante-six jours au moins a éclore, et que

pendant ce temps animal développe une chaleur propre qui

diminue cependant graduellement 4 mesure que l’on approche

du moment de léclosion des ceufs.”” From the table of observa-

tions which is appended to M. Valenciennes’s article, it appears

that the heat of the incubating female decreased gradually from

41°:5 Cent. (when she first commenced incubation) to 28° Cent.

(when the young Pythons were produced),—the temperature of

the chamber in which she was kept varying meanwhile from

17° to 28° Centigrade.

When the female Python Sebe in the Zoological Society’s

reptile-house deposited eggs on the 18th of January last, and

commenced sitting upon them, it became a matter of much in-

terest to ascertain whether M. Valenciennes’s views as to the

evolution of heat by the incubating Python could be substan-

tiated. The thermometers we first used for these experiments

being found imperfect, Messrs. Negretti and Zambra, the well-

known instrument-makers, on being applied to, kindly supplied

us with others of great, nicety, manufactured specially for the

purpose.

The following is the result, in a tabular form, of the observa-

tions made with these instruments by Mr. A. D. Bartlett, the

Mr. J. Aldet on some New and Rare Zoophytes. 311

Superintendent of the Society’s Gardens, Mr. Negretti, Mr.

Zambra, and myself, on different occasions.

Air in den. |Station of Thermometer.| Male. | Female.| Difference.

Feb. 12 58°°6 | Surface of body..| 70°2 | 73°0 | 28

Between the coils | 74°8 | 81°6 6°83

Feb. 23 65°°4 | Surface of body. .| 71°8 | 75°4 3°°6

Between the coils| 74°°0 | 83°:2 9°2

March 2 60°°0 | Surface of body..| 71°°6 | 84°°0 | 124

Between the coils | 7670 | 96°0 | 20°0

March 9 61°-0 | Surface of body.. | 72°8 | 79°5 | 67

Between the coils}...... 86°'5

March 16 | 66°0 | Surface of body. .| 72°4 | 77°6 | 52

Between the coils | 77°6 | 86°°0 8°4

The male and female Python being in the same compartment

of the reptile-house, and subject to exactly the same external

influences, it appears evident that the increase of temperature

from 6° to 20°, always observed in the case of the latter, can

only be attributed to the process of incubation. But these

observations do not confirm M. Valenciennes’s views as to the

gradual decrease of heat towards the time for the eggs being

hatched.

XXXVII.—Descriptions of some New and Rare Zoophytes found

on the Coast of Northumberland. By Josuua Axper, Esq.

[Plates XIII. XIV. & XV.]

Order HYDROIDA.

Fam. Tubulariade.

Hydractinia areolata, n. sp. Pl. XIII. figs. 1-4.

Polypary encrusting, consisting of a solid chitinous expansion,

from which arise simple linear spines in irregular groups, leaving

areolar spaces between them. Polypes naked, small, white, co-

lumnar, slightly enlarging above, and terminating in a conical

mouth, below which is a single circle of from six to ten linear

tentacles, appearing of different lengths from their varying con-

tractility. Gonophores (reproductive organs) sessile on the chi-

tinous base, large, globular, or slightly pear-shaped, contaiming

each a single medusoid. Height of polype about 4, ich.

Medusoid with a moderately deep subglobose umbrella, having

four golden-yellow radiating canals, at the bulbous bases of

which, on the margin of the umbrella, are four rather short ten-

tacles ; four shorter ones alternate with them ; and intermediate

22%

312 Mr. J. Alder on some New and Rare Zoophytes”

between these are eight others, almost tubercular. The peduncle

is rather long and columnar, with four tufts of thread-cells sur-

rounding the mouth.

A single specimen only of this imteresting little Hydractinia

was obtained, parasitical on a dead shell of Natica Alder, brought

in by the fishing-boats at Cullercoats. I have since seen a dead

and rather worn specimen, upon Natica Grenlandica, among the

Zoophytes collected in Shetland by the Rev. A.M.Norman. The

species differs from H. echinata in its much smaller size, the

simple linear form of its spines, their irregular grouping, and

more especially in its bearing medusoids ; these latter spring from

the encrusting base. No capsule could be detected, but this

might possibly arise from its great transparency. The medu-

soids bear a great resemblance to those of Podocoryne carnea,

Sars, the only difference being in their having eight inter-

mediate tubercular tentacles. In this respect they also differ

from the medusoid of a Hydroid polype described by Professor

Lovén, and referred by him to Hydractinia, but which appears

rather to belong to the genus Podocoryne, as the base was not

horny or spinous. As far as I am aware, therefore, this is the

only instance in which medusoids have been ascertained to be

produced by a true Hydractima.

Coryne implexa, Alder.

Some confusion has arisen about this species, the polypary of

which I described under the name of Tubularia implexa in my

‘Catalogue of the Zoophytes of Northumberland and Durham,’

not having at that time been able to ascertain the character of

the polypes, from which alone the genus in this group can be

properly determined. Dr. T. Strethill Wright, however, has

since met with it in a living state, and has found that it belongs

to the genus Coryne. The Coryne figured in my ‘Catalogue’

under the provisional name of Coryne pelagica (pl. 7. fig. 2) ap-

pears, in fact, to be the young of it. I have lately met with it

again in this state at Cullercoats, and have ascertained that its

medusoid is similar to the one described by Professor Allman as

that of his C. Briareus, which I now think, with Dr. Wright,

must also be referred to the same species. Specimens sent me

from the Firth of Forth by the latter gentleman are intermediate

in size between my Tubularia implexa and Coryne pelagica. The

more humble growth appears to be not uncommon on our coast,

as I have met with it several times on old crusted shells of Fusus

antiquus, and Mr. G. Hodge has lately sent it me from Seaham

Harbour, creeping over Cellepora pumicosa. As the curious and

beautiful medusoid of this species has not yet been figured, I

have given a representation of it in Pl. XIV. fig. 4.

found on the Coast of Northumberland. 813

Atractylis arenosa, n.sp. Pl. XIII. figs. 5-7.

Polypary minute, consisting of a creeping fibre, from which

arise short funnel-shaped tubes, rather irregular in form, but

always expanding more or less at the top, from which the polypes

issue ; generally covered with minute grains of sand. Polypes

entirely retractile, with long, slender, strongly muricated tenta-

cles, varying in number, according to age, from six to twelve.

The genus Afractylis has been established by Dr. Strethill

Wright for a group of Hydroid Zoophytes resembling Huden-

drium in many of their characters, but differing in the conical

form of the mouth of the polype, and its retractility (partial

or complete) within the tubular polypary. They are generally

of small size, and seldom branched. ‘Their reproduction is usu-

ally by medusoids; but Dr. Wright, who has lately met with the

present species in the Firth of Forth, has ascertained that it

produces planuloid young direct from the summit of the ovarian

sac. This affords another proof of the difficulty of establishing

a genus from the mode of development.

I have met with this species occasionally, for some years past,

on stones and the roots of Laminarie at Cullercoats and Tyne-

mouth. From its minute size, it requires to be carefully looked for.

Atractylis linearis, n. sp. Pl. XIV. figs. 1-8.

Polypary linear, horn-coloured, unbranched (?), nearly smooth,

a little undulating and slightly wrinkled on the lower part; the

stems united together by reticulated creeping tubes at the base.

Polypes slender, retractile, with eight long muricated tentacles,

held alternately up and down. Gonophores pear-shaped or sub-

globular, set two or three together on the stem of the polypary,

each capsule containing a single medusoid. Height a quarter

of an inch.

Medusoid globose, slightly truncated below, with a contracted

aperture; four moderate-sized subclavate tentacles arise from

four semicircular yellowish lobes at the margin of the umbrella:

sub-umbrella small, with four radiating canals, the centre occu«

pied by a mass of yellowish or orange granules, apparently ova;

peduncle inconspicuous, branched at the base.

On Turritella communis, Astarte Damnonie, and other shells

from deep water, Cullercoats.

This species has considerable resemblance to 4. repens, Wright,

but its polypary rises much higher, is proportionally more slen-

der, and not so much expanded at the aperture. In the young

state, however, it is difficult to distinguish them. Their medu-

soids, nevertheless, are very different, and prove them to be

distinct species. I have never met with A. linearis branched,

though it is possible it may occasionally be so in luxuriant

specimens.

314 Mr. J. Alder on some New and Rare Zoophytes

Corymorpha nana. Pl. XV. figs. 1-5.

Corymorpha nana, Alder in Tynes. Club Trans. vol. iii. p. 108.

It is now nearly twenty years since I first met with this

interesting little species, at Newbiggin, from which time I had

looked for it often without success until the summer of 1860,

when I fortunately obtained two living individuals at Culler-

coats. This puts me in a position to add considerably to the

information hitherto published concerning the species, as well as

to give more correct drawmgs of it in the living state. Cory-

morpha nana is a very active animal, constantly changing its

form and the proportions of its parts. Sometimes the head is

elongated into a slender tube, sometimes contracted so as to be-

come nearly globular. The tentacles and body are equally sub-

ject to dilatation and contraction in their different parts. In

many of its states it bears a considerable resemblance to a minia-

ture Corymorpha nutans, from which, however, it differs not only

im its diminutive size, but in the smaller number of tentacles,

and in the gonophores being sessile (not pedunculated or

branched as in the latter), and large in proportion to the size of

the animal. The medusoid differs from that of C. nutans in

having the umbrella rounded at the top; in other respects it is

very similar. The following detailed description will show the

characters of this species more distinctly :—

Head subtubular, yellowish, the mouth conical, surrounded

by about sixteen or eighteen short tentacles, forming two im-

perfect rows. A single circle of fifteen to twenty long filiform

tentacles surrounds the base of the head, immediately above

which the gonophores form another circle of urn- or bell-shaped

bodies, in different stages of development ; these are sessile, and

im their more advanced state assume the perfect medusoid form,

showing lively motions of systole and diastole for some time

before becoming free. The body of the polype is elongated,

tubular, and tapering to a point at the base ; it is soft and flexible,

transparent, white or yellowish, with opake, white lines. It is

enclosed in a transparent filmy sheath, ending at the base in a

gelatinous mass (colletoderm of Wright ?) by which the animal

is attached, though slightly, the pointed base of the fleshy body

(coenosarc) being free. Tubercles arise from the lower ends of

the opake white lines, which frequently enlarge into linear pro-

cesses, whose use is not very apparent. They may possibly

form additional organs of attachment, but in the specimens

examined their ends were free. Length of the polype i to 3 inch.

Medusoid with a rather deep, semiglobose, transparent, white

umbrella, having four yellowish radiating canals; three of them

ending in a yellow bulb at the margin of the umbrella, the

found on the Coast of Northumberland. 315

fourth produced into a ¢lub-shaped tentacle, apparently not

capable of much extension. The peduncle is rather long and

thick, terminating in a plain rounded mouth.

These medusoids were produced from one only of the indi-

viduals obtained ; the other had gonophores of a different: shape,

having tuberculated lobes rising somewhat irregularly from the

upper part, as represented in fig. 5. These reproductive bodies

were also sessile, and remained attached during the whole time

that the polype continued to live—about ten days—without

showing the least signs of assuming the medusoid form. Indeed

their appearance was very different from that of the same organs

in the medusa-bearing individual, and I have little doubt of their

remaining permanently fixed. This difference in the reproductive

organs in different individuals of the same species has not been

before observed, as far as I am aware, in this genus. They

probably represent a sexual distinction. Professor Sars has met

with a Corymorpha on the Norwegian coast (C. glacialis, Sars),

in which the gonophores are persistent, and apparently somewhat

similar to the non-medusoid form of this species; but in the

Norwegian Zoophyte both sexes were found to have the same

character.

Family Sertulariade.

Halecium filiforme, n. sp.

Polypary very slender, flexible, simple or consisting of a

single tube throughout; the stem not much branched; the

branchlets short, alternate, arising from the side of a cell; the

internodes rather long. Cells rather slender, tubular, with a

slightly everted rim. Length 43 inches, ;

From the fishing-boats, Cullercoats.

This species is distinguished from all those of a similar size,

belonging to the same genus, by having the stem simple and

uncompounded throughout its whole length, as well as by its

very slender thread-like form and great flexibility; most of the

species of this genus becoming rigid whendry. It has occurred

to me only once, when I obtained a few specimens together,

apparently torn from the same base. The reproductive capsules

were absent, but there can be little doubt of its distinctness from

any described. species.

Family Campanulariade.

Campanularia raridentata, n. sp. Pl. XIV. f. 5.

Polypary with a creeping stem, from a slight bulbous expan-

sion of which arise at intervals rather short pedicles, ringed

above and below, and terminated by a single cell. Cells rather

long and narrow, tapering a little below, and with 5 or 6 deep

pointed crenulations round the margin, Height ,', inch.

— 816 Mr. J. Alder on some New and Rare Zoophytes

Parasitical on other Zoophytes, from deep water, Cullercoats ;

occasionally.

This delicate little Campanularia bears great resemblance to

C. Johnstoni, from which it is distinguished by its much smaller

size, by its cell being much narrower, and not having more than

half the number of denticles on the margin, and also from the

pedicles springing from a bulb at the base. It is sometimes

associated with C. Johnstoni and other closely allied species,

but may generally be detected at once by its greater mimuteness

and delicacy. Mr. Hincks states that this species is not un-

common on the Devonshire coast.

Order ASTEROIDA.

Family Pennatulide.

Virgularia Christi, Koren and Danielssen.

Virgularia Christii, “ Kor. and Dan. in Magaz. f. Naturv. (Christiania,

1847);” idem in Fauna Litt. Norv. pt. 2. p. 91, t. xii. f. 7-12; Sars

in Fauna Litt. Norv. pt. 2. p. 71.

A notice of the occurrence of this fine species on the North-

umberland coast was inserted in the ‘Transactions’ of the

Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club (vol. v. p. 60), and some ac-

count of it was then given. As, however, our specimens differ

in some respects from the description given by MM. Koren

and Danielssen in the ‘ Fauna Littoralis Norvegie,’ I have

thought it necessary to describe the British form more at length,

premising that, as the specimens were obtained from the fisher-

men in a dried state, the account of them must necessarily be

somewhat imperfect.

Polypary about 17 inches long, very slender, linear, with the

upper part curved into an arch. The lower and sterile portion

of the stem, occupying from a fourth to a fifth of the entire

length, is slender and cylindrical above, and scarcely more than

a tenth of an inch in diameter (when dry) ; about three-quarters

down, however, it swells abruptly to three times that breadth,

and is a little flattened, tapermg from thence to an obtuse re-

curved point. About three-fourths of the upper portion of the

polypary is covered with rather small, sessile polype-cells, which

are arranged in two very oblique rows in front, sloping upwards

towards the centre. At first these rows have a central space

between them, but higher up they approach so close as to touch

each other. The upper rows contain 5 or 6 cells each, decreas-

ing in number below. The dorsal ridge is bare, but the polype-

cells twist once round the axis during their course. The curved

portion of the stem does not occupy more than a tenth part of

the whole length; and at that part the fleshy base of the cells

found on the Coast of Northumberland. 317

extends into a web-like expansion. The cells are conical, termi-

nating in two unequal points above. Their walls contain lear

calcareous spicula in bundles converging to these pots. The

polypes also contain spicula. The osselet or central bony axis,

extending the whole length of the polypary, is linear, cylindrical

and very slender, but becomes thicker and fusiform towards the

base. It terminates above in a fine curved filament.

In the Norwegian specimens the polypary is 26 inches in

length, and the curve occupies about one-third of the whole,

whereas in British examples the entire length (in the three

specimens obtained) is not more than 17 inches, and the curve

does not exceed a tenth of the whole length. A more striking

peculiarity consists in the web-like expansion of the polypiferous

base in the curved portion; but this may possibly be occasioned

by the contraction of the fleshy part in drying; and as dead

specimens only have been obtained, these small discrepancies

cannot be considered sufficient to constitute a specific distinction.

Professor Sars describes a fine Virgularia, 40 inches in length,

belonging to this section of the genus, in the ‘ Fauna Littoralis

Norvegiz,’ under the name of V. Finmarchica. It was obtamed

by him in Finmark, and approaches very closely in many of its

characters to V. Christii. These species differ from Virgularia

mirabilis in containing calcareous spicula.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

PuATeE XIII.

. Polypary of Hydractinia areolata on Natica Alderi, natural size.

. Hydractinia areolata, highly magnified.

. A portion of the polypary of the same, highly magnified.

. Medusoid of the same, highly magnified.

. Atractylis arenosa, natural size.

. The same, highly magnified.

. A tentacle of the same, much enlarged.

PLATE XIV.

. Atractylis linearis, natural size.

. The same, highly magnified.

. Medusoid of the same, highly magnified.

. Medusoid of Coryne implexa, highly magnified.

. Campanularia raridentata, highly maguitied.

PLATE XV.

NID O BOON

see

ohWN

1. Corymorpha nana, with medusoid gonophores, magnified.

2. Another individual, with persistent (non-medusoid)- gonophores,

magnified.

Fig. 3. Medusoid gonophores, more highly magnified.

4. Free medusoids, more highly magnified.

Fig. 5. Non-medusoid gonophores, more highly magnified.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 23

318 Zoological Society :— .

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

November 12, 1861.—Dr. J. E. Gray, V.P., in the Chair.

DESCRIPTION OF A New Species OF ELAPOMORPHUS FROM

Brazit. By Dr. OrnHo Wucuerer, Corr. Mens.

ELAPOMORPHUS SCALARIS.

Eight upper labials, the fourth and fifth touching the eye, the

seventh largest. Scales in seventeen rows ; 128-130 ventral shields ;

dirty brick-red above ; head brownish, with a black narrow dorsal

streak traversed by short black bands; narrow black spots on the

sides.

Hab. Caiiavieras, Matta de S. Joao, Bahia.

Description.—The body of moderate length, almost cylindrical ;

belly flat ; the tail short. Head moderate, distinct, with flat crown ;

the cleft of mouth moderate; rostral shield triangular, almost reaching

the surface of the head, recurved, concave, the inferior edge slightly

protruding ; three frontals, two anterior and one posterior, the former

small, almost triangular, very narrow in the antero-posterior direc-

tion, the posterior one very large ; one nasal pierced by the nostril ;

nostril large, lateral; superciliary shield small; one anterior, two

posterior oculars, the anterior large, high, forming a short suture

with the vertical ; loreal elongate ; vertical moderate, almost trian-

gular; occipitals large, forked behind; one temporal, sometimes

two, one behind the other, touching the inferior posterior ocular ;

upper labial shields eight, the fourth and fifth touching the eye,

the seventh largest; eye moderate, sublateral, pupil round ; scales

rhombic, not truncated, smooth, equal, without any groove, a few in

the middle row of the tail larger, in seventeen rows; posterior tooth

longest, grooved ; two pair of chin-shields. Snout and part of crown

brown and bluish iridescent, irregularly speckled with black ; lips

white ; the back is of a dirty brick-colour: a black streak, of the

breadth of the middle dorsal row of scales, runs along the body almost

to the tip of the tail; this is crossed by short, transverse, black

bands, some of which do not correspond exactly in their lateral

halves; on the sides a line of narrow, almost linear, black spots ;

underneath uniform yellowish white.

Dimensions of two specimens :—

Weneth OF head. i. S 4. io sst'say) OPOL0 0013

duenipth or tall sega 61050. 8 0:040 0°055

RGus Nettie fees Sees o 0 0°320 0°250

Wentral Shiclds’.'>.%<. osc sto 128 34

Subcaudal shields ..,....... 130 34

The smaller specimen is in the British Museum. The larger spe-

cimen was sent to me from Cafiavieras. It was injured in the head,

and a few characters are not recognizable; the smaller corresponds

with it in every particular. I received it from M. C. Gayleard, from

the Matta de S. Joao, a few leagues south from the city of Bahia.

Dr. J. E. Gray on a new Species of Pilot-Whale. 319

This species differs from others in the shape of its head, which is dis-

tinct, in having ashorter body, broader ventral shields, and seventeen

rows of scales ; but the dentition and coloration are very similar.

Notice or A New Species or Pitot-WHALE (GLOBIO-

CEPHALUS), FROM THE Coast oF DorsetsHiRE. By Dr. J.

E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., ere.

In 1853 the British Museum received the skull of a Cetacean

which was dredged up at Bridport, on the coast of Dorsetshire, from

the Rev. John Beecham, of the Wesleyan Mission Board. It is evi-

dently a species of Globiocephalus; but on comparing it with the

skull of G. Svineval, the Common Pilot-Whale, and other species of

Globiocephalus which have come under my observation, it appears to

be quite distinct from them, and, as I believe, of a species that has

not before been noticed.

It is evidently the skull of a large animal, being nearly as large as

that of the Common Pilot-Whale ; but it is at once distinguished

from all the other species of that genus by the convexity of the

palate and the oblong form of the nose of the skull, which is nearly

of the same width for the greater part of the leagth, and is regularly

rounded in front; while in G. Svineval it gradually converges from

the notch to the apex, and the palate is quite flat, especially in front ;

and this is the case with all the other species of the genus.

GLOBIOCEPHALUS INCRASSATUS. Thick-palated Pilot-Whale.

Teeth pas or as the nose of the skull attenuated, the sides

nearly parallel, and regularly rounded in front; the palate very

convex, especially in the front ; the upper surface of the intermaxil-

laries rugose in front.

Hab. British Seas, Bridport (Rev. J. Beecham, 1853).

inches.

Length of the skull........ 28

of the nose........ 14

of the;teeth)9..,...... 8? imperfect, worn at the end.

Width of nose at the bridge 10

——-— of nose at the under. 93

— of skull at orbits.... 17

The back of the skull is higher and much narrower than in the

skull of G. Svineval. (See woodcuts, pp. 320, 321.)

This species does not appear to have been observed before as

British, and I do not find any indication of its having been de-

scribed as an exotic species. But it is so distinct both in the form

of the nose of the skull, in the width of the intermaxillary bones,

and more especially in the thickness and convexity of the palate of

the front part of the skull, from the species that has hitherto been

described, and the differences are so visible, that Mr. Edward Gerrard

selected it as a distinct species as soon as he saw it.

It has been suggested that this may perhaps be the other sex of

the common Pilot-Whale (Globiocephalus Svineval); but I can

23%

320 Zoological Society :—

searcely think this probable, as I have seen many skulls of the latter,

and they have been all nearly similar and very unlike the one under

toe ;

Upper surface of the skull of Globiocephalus Svineval.

consideration; and I can scarcely believe that all I have seen could have

been of the same sex, for it is a Whale that comes on the coast in

great shoals, and hence one of its names is the “ Social Whale,” and

Dr..J. E. Gray on a new Species of Pilot-Whale. 321

specimens of both sexes have been recorded as caught on the British

coast. Atthe present moment there is an inclination to regard some

of the Whales which have been considered species as mere sexes of

Upper surface of the skull of Globiocephalus incrassatus.

the same species, simply because the specimen described in one case

happens to be a male and in the other a female. Thus Delphinus

micropterus is said to be the female of Ziphius Sowerbiensis, for the

322 Zoological Society :— ’

above reason ; but I have not heard that any new specimen has been

discovered, or any fact eliminated, to prove the truth of this sug-

gestion, and it may be only an instance of accidental coincidence—

Fig. 2.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Side wew of skull of Globiocephalus incrassatus.

Fig. 2. Diagram of the cross-section of the palate of G. inerassatus.

such a case as may be disproved by the next discovery of either

animal.

Dr. J. E. Gray on a Species of Teredo. 323

In the same manner Professor Eschricht, of Copenhagen (and no

one has studied the Whales of the North Sea with greater earnest-

ness and success), regards Hyperoodon latifrons as the male of the

old well-known Hyperoodon rostratum, because his example of the

former belongs to a male, and that of the latter to a female specimen ;

and he exhibits them side by side as sexes of the same animal in his

Museum (see Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1852, ix. p. 281). Now

this is an evident mistake, arising from mistaking an accidental coin-

cidence for an established fact.

The specimen from which the skeleton of Hyperoodon latifrons

was derived, that is in the Museum of the College of Surgeons in

Edinburgh, was a female, which was taken on the 24th of October,

1839, accompanied by a young male, in the Frith of Forth. Therefore

there are female as well as male specimens known of Hyperoodon

latifrons, which is regarded by Professor Eschricht as the male of the

more common H. rostratum, of which I have also seen males as well

as females, as recorded in my paper on this subject in the ‘ Pro-

ceedings’ of the Society for November 1860.

On a LarGE Species oF TEREDO, SUPPOSED TO BE THE

ANIMAL OF THE GENUS FuRCELLA, Lamk. By Dr. J. E.

Gray, F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., F.L.S., etc.

In a former communication to the Society on the genus Furcella,

I came to the conclusion that the animal of that genus was destitute

of any shelly valves, because on examining the tube of a young

specimen in a very perfect state, containing in its cavity the two

palettes of the animal, it had no appearance of valves, which I sup-

posed would be of too large a size to have escaped out of the tube,

more especially as the palettes were in it, which were of a much

smaller size and more slender character than the valves were likely

to be, and the tube had all the appearance of the animal which

formed it having been eaten out by the larvee of Muscidae, as the

skins of the larvee and pupa-cases were found in the tube with the

palettes.

But this shows the danger of coming to any conclusion without

having the actual specimen before one ; for we have lately received

from Mr. Jamrach, along with a number of Fishes, Reptiles, and

other animals in spirits, chiefly from the Dutch Colonies of the

Indian Ocean, two specimens of a large species of true typical Te-

redines in spirit, without their shelly tube, but with their palettes

attached, which seem to be very probably the animal of the genus

Furcella.

The reason why I believe them to .be the animal of that genus is,

first, their large size, which is quite sufficient to form a tube as large

as the younger specimen of the genus Furcella, and, secondly, the

form and size of the palettes, which agree in general character with

those which were found in the tube of Furcella, and which are

figured in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Society for 1857, p. 243, Mol-

lusca, pl. xxx1x. f.3. Yet there is just that amount of difference

324 Zoological Society :—

between the palettes of these animals and those found in the young

specimen of Furcella which prevents one from saying that the animal

is absolutely the animal of the Furcella.

The palettes of Furcel/a were slender, cylindrical, with a dilated

tip like a double-headed hammier, like the young palette of T'eredo

malleolum of Turton, but of a much larger size; and they had a

small, slightly-raised tubercle on the middle of the inner side of the

dilated end.

The palette in the two specimens of Teredo which we have lately

received is of precisely the same form, and nearly of the same size ;

but instead of having this small tubercle, the middle of the dilated

end is produced into an elongated process about half an inch long,

which is more slender and oblong at the base, thicker, flattened, and

dilated above, and truncated at the top.

The valves of the shell are exactly like those of the Teredo navalis,

T, norvegicus, and other normal species of the genus, but larger.

I am inclined to name this species Teredo furcelloides; for I

do not think it would be safe to decide, without further evidence,

that it is the animal of Furcella, Lamk.; but at the same time I

consider it right to bring the occurrence of this animal at once before

the Society, as it has led me to doubt if my conclusion was correct

that Furcellais a genus of Conchiferous Mollusks without any valves,

as I was inclined to believe before the animal occurred, and which

the evidence then before me led me to believe was a correct conclusion.

The palettes are situated at the hinder end, just within the edge

of the mantle, the siphons being quite distinct from or within their

base. The siphons are slender, of nearly equal diameter, and. united

nearly to their tips; in their contracted state they just reach to the

dilated part of the palette at the base of the terminal elongated pro-

cess. There are some fragments of a thin lamina of shell attached

to the hinder end of the mantle near the base of the palettes.

If this should prove to be the animal of Furcella, or even of a

Furcella-like Teredo, it shows most conclusively that the cup at the

end of the tubes cannot be regarded as the analogue of the true

valves of the genus, as I have also proved in a former paper (see

Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 258).

If these animals prove to belong to the genus Furcella, as I su-

spect they may, then that genus or group of species will only be

separated from the other Teredines by the habit of living in sand,

by the club-shaped form of the tube closed at the end with two

arched plates, the division and separate prolongation of the tubes of

the siphonal aperture, and the hammer-like form of the palettes.

Nov. 26, 1861.—Dr. J. E. Gray, V.P., in the Chair.

Nores ON THE BREEDING AND REARING OF THE CHINESE

CrAaNE (GRUS MONTIGNESIA) IN THE SocreTy’s GARDENS.

By A. D. Bartuetrt.

Near the middle of May a pair of these birds formed a rude nest

of dry rushes on the ground ; and soon afterwards two eggs were laid.

The parent birds took turns upon these eggs during the time of in-

Mr. A. D. Bartlett on the Chinese Crane. 325

cubation. On the 24th of June a young Crane was hatched, the period

of incubation having been thirty days.

The young bird was well covered with down of a light-brown or

fawn colour, with darker markings on the back ; it was short on its

legs, and the bill also appeared short; in fact, it appeared less

like a Crane than I expected to see it. It was able to walk about

as soon asit was hatched, but appeared feeble, and now and then fell

or rolled over in its attempts to follow its parents.

The old birds attended to the young one with much care, and

furiously attacked everything that came near the place; they col-

lected worms and beetles, &c., from all parts of their enclosure, which

they brought in their bills towards the young bird, and after muti-

Jating all living food, they would hold it near the young bird, who

would advance and pick it from their bills, or from the ground as

soon as it was dropped by them. The young Crane never opens its

mouth and cries for food like the Storks or Herons and many other

young birds, but utters a rather loud note, like peep, peep, peep, not

unlike the chick of a common fowl] ; it is not, however, as adroit and

able to obtain its food as the young of the Gallinaceous birds gene-

rally are; and consequently the parent birds are far more attentive,

and watch every opportunity of obtaining food and preparing it for

the young one. I have frequently seen the old birds offer a piece of

biscuit (that the young bird found was too large tc swallow), and they

then would place it upon the ground, and by repeated blows break it

up in small pieces, and then drop these close to the young bird, who

would pick them up and swallow them. From these observations I

am induced to consider that the Cranes (Grus) occupy an interme-

diate position between those birds that feed their young like the He-

rons and Storks, and those groups, like the Bustards and Plovers,

whose young are at once able to run about and seek their food.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing is the rapid growth of the

young Crane, which is very surprising. As I have before stated, at

first the legs are short ; in fact, as compared with the parents, the

bird is remarkably small, and few persons would guess what it

possibly could be; in a few days, however, the legs begin to grow

rapidly, and the neck and bill become elongated, and the bird quickly

appears a Crane in shape.

From the time of hatching, the female alone broods upon or nestles

the bird, although the male takes turn in the task of incubation; and

I notice the female does not squat down on the young one to brood,

but sits down on the ground near it, and the young bird imme-

diately walks behind her ; she then raises her long black plumes, be-

tween which he creeps, and passes forward under one of her wings,

until quite out of sight; her plumes are then lowered into their

ordinary position.

There is a beautiful example of the progressive growth from the

first down to the perfect feathers to be seen on the young of this bird.

I have in many birds observed this, but not to so great an extent. It

appears that the first down is not thrown off, but continues to grow

longer, until the perfect feather is developed having the early down

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. ix. 24

326 Zoological Society :—

attached at its point: this condition is to be seen not only on the

points of the primaries, but also on the ends of the feathers of the

entire plumage. Thus the bird for some time carries his early dress

on the outside of his second plumage. The rapid growth of the

plumage can be best understood from the fact that on the 27th of

September it was found necessary to catch the young bird in order

to cut the primaries of one of its wings (which I exhibit), to prevent

its flying away. The bird by this time almost equalled its parents

in size, and is now assuming the colour of the adult.

On a CouuecTion oF FisHEes SENT By Capt. Dow FROM THE

Paciric Coast or CentTrRAL America. By Dr. ALBERT

GUNTHER.

A small collection of Fishes transmitted to the Society by its

Corresponding Member, Capt. Dow, from the Pacific coast of Cen-

tral America, has proved to be one of great interest, not only because

it contains an unusually large proportion of new species, but also

because it illustrates a very strange fact with regard to the geogra-

phical distribution of the class of Fishes, Several instances of one

and the same species occurring on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides

of Central America have been known to me for several years. Ne-

vertheless when Mr. Fraser sent home his last collection, made on

the Pacific side of the isthmus, and when I found several West

Indian species of fishes in it, I was much surprised, and rather in-

elined to assume that accidentally some confusion had taken place.

Every doubt, however, is removed by this last arrival, of Capt. Dow’s

collection, containing five species out of fourteen which are identical

with Atlantic forms, namely :—Batrachus surinamensis, Salarias

atlanticus, Clinus Delalandii, Mugil proboscideus, and Fistularia

tabaccaria. It is, however, worthy of remark, that nearly all the

species belong to genera living near the coast, and freely entering

fresh waters.

The ichthyic fauna of the western coasts of America, between

8° north and 8° south of the Tropic of Cancer, offers a remarkable

assemblage of types which belong to very different geographical re-

gions,—representatives of the faunas of North-west America, of the

Pacific coasts of South America, of Japan, and of the Sandwich Is-

lands, and of the Atlantic being mixed with a great number of forms

peculiar to the area mentioned.

We give, first, a list of the species contained in Capt. Dow’s col-

lection :—

1. Apogon Dovit, n. sp.

Gobius paradoxus, . sp.

seminudus, 0. sp.

. Euctenogobius sagittula, n. sp.

. Batrachus surinamensis, Bl. Schn.

. Blennius brevipinnis, n. sp.

. Salarias atlanticus, C. & V. var. (see Gthr. Acanth. iii. p. 243).

. Clinus Delalandii, C.&V.

DA Or ODO

Dr. A. Giinther on Central-American Fishes. 327

macrocephalus, n. sp.

10. Auchenopéerus monophthalmus, n. sp.

11. Mugil proboscideus, n. sp.

12. Myaxus harengus, n. sp.

13. Fistularia tabaccaria, L.

14. Halicheres, sp.—The species appears to be new; but the

single specimen sent is in too bad a condition to admit of a descrip-

tion.

With the exception of the first species, the others are included

in my ‘ Catalogue of Acanthopterygian Fishes,’ vol. ii., for which the

following accounts have been prepared.

Apogon Dovit.

D. 6 | z A.z. L.lat. 25. L. transv. 3/9.

A roundish black spot on each side of the root of the caudal; the

spinous dorsal colourless, transparent ; uniform olive (in spirits).

Head densely punctulated with brown. Only the hind margin of

the posterior preeopercular ridge is serrated. Dorsal fins nearly

equal in height.

The height of the body is one-third of the total length (with-

out caudal), the length of the head two-fifths; eye large, its dia-

meter being more than one-third of the length of the head. Pala-

tine and vomerine teeth present. The upper jaw overlaps slightly

the lower ; maxillary extending backwards to below the posterior

third of the orbit. Operculum with an upper flexible point, and

with a lower stiff spine. The third dorsal spine is a little longer than

the second, one-half of the length of the head. Caudal fin slightly

emarginate, with the angles rounded.

Total length 26 lines.

This species is so closely allied to 4. énermis, from the Mediter-

ranean, that perhaps it would be better not to separate it; the only

difference which we can find is the form of the soft dorsal fin, which

is considerably higher than the spinous in the Mediterranean species.

GoOBIUS PARADOXUS.

D6 ii, .As9,- Lislat. 14,

The head and the trunk are entirely naked to between the second

dorsal and the anal, the remainder is covered by ctenoid scales of

moderate size; there are nine or ten of them in one of the anterior

transverse series. The height of the body is contained five times and

two-thirds in the total length, the length of the head four times and a

quarter. Head nearly as broad as high, its width being rather more

than one-half of its length. Eyes rather close together, of moderate

size. Snout obtuse, rounded, as long as the eye; cleft of the mouth

slightly oblique, with the jaws equal in length, and with the max-

illary extending to below the middle of the eye. Teeth in villiform

bands ; there are two curved canine teeth on each side of the lower

jaw. The first dorsal spine is elongate, filiform, sometimes extending

to the base of the caudal; caudal rounded, shorter than the head ;

none of the pectoral rays silk-like ; the ventral terminates at a great

24°*

328 Zoological Society :—

distance from the vent. Blackish (in spirits), caudal and ventral fins

black ; the dorsal filament whitish.

GoBIUS SEMINUDUS.

6] 15. Ay10,

Head and anterior portion of the trunk naked ; sides with exceed-

ingly small scales, becoming somewhat larger posteriorly. The

height of the body is one-sixth of the total length, the length of the

head one-fourth. Head with the cheeks swollen, depressed, broader

than high, its width being two-thirds of its length. Eyes close to-

gether, directed upwards, of moderate size ; snout obtuse, as long as

the eye; cleft of the mouth slightly oblique, with the jaws equal

anteriorly, and with the maxillary extending to below the middle of

the eye. Teeth in villiform bands, the anterior of the lower jaw

slightly enlarged ; there are two small curved canine teeth on each

side of the lower jaw. Dorsal fins rather low, the hind part of the

spinous dorsal being scarcely lower than the anterior ; caudal round-

ed, as long as the pectoral; none of the pectoral rays silk-like ;

ventral rather short, terminating at a great distance from the vent.

Blackish, fins and sides of the head dotted with black ; ventrals black.

The largest of the specimens examined is two inches long. The

species has such peculiar characters that it will be readily recognized.

It has no natural affinity to the other small-scaled Gobies, which

generally have an elongate form.

EvCcTENOGOBIUS SAGITTULA.

Deb] Was ok b4.,) de late.

Twenty longitudinal series of scales between the dorsal fin and the

anus, twelve between the anterior portion of the second dorsal and

the anal. The height of the body is one-eighth of the total length,

the length of the head five times and two-thirds. The head is as

high as broad, its width being somewhat more than one-half of its

length. Eyes very close together. Snout obtuse, shorter than the

eye, the diameter of which is one-fourth of the length of the head.

Cleft of the mouth slightly oblique, with the jaws equal anteriorly,

and with the maxillary not extending to below the centre of the eye.

Head naked ; scales on the nape and behind the axil very small, be-

coming larger posteriorly. The second dorsal spine is the longest,

somewhat lower than the body underneath, but higher than the soft

dorsal ; caudal rather elongate and pointed, two-ninths of the tota!

length. Pectoral shorter than the head; the ventral terminates at a

great distance from the vent. Light greenish olive with a series of

four brown spots along the middle of the tail; sides of the head

with some irregular blackish-violet blotches; dorsal, caudal, and

pectoral fins dotted with black, ventral and anal immaculate.

This species has a second series of very small teeth within the

maxillary front series; these internal teeth do not appear to be’

fully developed, but destined to replace those in function. The teeth

of the lower jaw form a very narrow band anteriorly, and stand in a

single series posteriorly.

Dr. A. Giinther on Central-American Fishes. 329

BLENNIUS BREVIPINNIS.

D.%. A. 15-16.

The height of the body is nearly equal to the length of the head,

and contained four times and a half in the total. The snout is

obtuse, with the upper profile very oblique. Jaws without a curved

tooth, Orbital tentacle slender, fringed at the base. The dorsal fin

commences in the vertical from the operculum, is deeply notched,

and not continuous with the caudal. The pectoral is longer than the

ventral, and extends on to the vent. Greyish-brown (in spirits),

with a darker lateral band.

PRICED. 5.52 dla, x kOe eh rets ered et 18 or 23

Prete Ot tesbOUY: agi. <a c.w wiuyaic o's ss 4or 5

CLINUS MACROCEPHALUS.

GLE. CATA Oy (lig a Sh, Pag 2

The height of the body is contained seven times and a half in the

total length, the length of the head five times. The head is de-

pressed, rather short, nearly as broad as long; crown of the head

broad and flat ; interorbital space concave, narrower than the orbit.

Snout very short, obtuse, rounded; the maxillary does not extend to

behind the posterior margin of the orbit; lips thick. The teeth in

the jaws form a band with an outer series of stronger ones ; vomer-

ime teeth in a narrow band; palatine teeth none. No orbital ten-

tacles ; those at the nostril and on the neck very small. Gill-openings

wide, the gill-membranes being united at the throat. Head naked ;

_ seales on the body not very small, cycloid. The dorsal fin commences

at the occiput, and terminates near the base of the caudal: the

spines are flexible, and much lower than the soft rays; the three

anterior ones are rather more remote from one another than the

following: none of the rays of this or of the other fins are branched.

Caudal rounded. The anal is higher posteriorly than anteriorly,

about as high as the spinous dorsal. Pectoral rounded, with the

middle rays longest, shorter than the head. Ventrals jugular, half as

long as the pectoral, with the spine and the outer ray enveloped in a

common thick membrane. Dark greyish olive ; head and fins black-

ish ; head, base of the pectoral, anterior part of the body, and dorsal

dotted with white.

lines

PERT SF Roh 63 os, wit wh oats > aie 61

PCIe rtGt MNO OMG: ope eee. Gee tle. ae 8

PipeetHeGt Cie MOAR ie Like soe weno a Veni 12

Greatest.width of the head .......,.....- 11

Diep ait ey ABA. 5) ahs) rok ides See aaa 3

Densth ot thescaudal fi) 0.0) 00 eo.) tate 10

of the: pectoral fink. 0,0 ee 103

CREMNOBATES (BLENNIID2).

(Substituted for Auchenopterus, which is preoccupied.)

Body moderately elongate, with the scales small or of moderate

330 Zoological Society :—

size. Snout rather short, with the cleft of the mouth of moderate

width. A band of small teeth in the jaws; teeth on the vomer.

Two separate dorsals, composed of spines only; the anterior short,

formed by three spines. Ventrals jugular, composed of three rays.

Head with tentacles; gill-opening wide.

CREMNOBATES MONOPHTHALMUS.

D.3 (27. oA. 3.90.3. Lelat. 38)

A fimbriated superciliary tentacle ; a small one at the nostril and

on each side of the nape, both multifid. A black ocellus, edged with

white, on the posterior quarter of the dorsal fin.

Description.—This fish is very similar to Cristiceps argentatus in

general habit, but may be readily distinguished by the dorsal fin,

which is entirely composed of spines. Head and body are oblong

and compressed ; the length of the former is one-fourth of the total,

the height of the latter one-sixth. The cleft of the mouth is of

moderate width, with the lower jaw slightly prominent, and with the

maxillary extending beyond the vertical from the centre of the orbit.

The teeth in the outer series are stronger than those in the narrow

band behind ; vomerine teeth apparently in a single series; palatine

teeth none. The orbital tentacle is shorter than the eye, with three

or four cilia; the nasal and nuchal tentacles are still shorter. The

pectoral is nearly as long as the head, rounded, with the middle rays

longest ; ventral slender, somewhat shorter than the pectoral, with

the outer ray longest. The first dorsal fin commences in the verti-

cal from the preeopercular margin ; the two anterior spines are a

little higher than the second dorsal, and flexible; the membrane

behind the third spine extends backwards to the base of the second

fin. All the spines of the second fin are stiff and pungent, of nearly

equal length, the anterior ones being a little shorter ; the membrane

of the last spine terminates immediately before the base of the caudal,

leaving that fin quite free. Caudal rounded, one-seventh of the total

length. The anal commences below the seventh spine of the poste-

rior dorsal, and terminates before the caudal ; it-has two spines an-

teriorly. The scales are of moderate size; the lateral line runs

closely along the dorsal profile, is bent downwards behind the pec-

toral, and proceeds along the middle of the tail to the caudal.

Brownish, irregularly marbled with darker ; anterior dorsal black-

ish; a black ocellus, edged with white, on the nineteenth and twentieth

spines of the posterior dorsal.

Total length 2 inches.

MUGIL PROBOSCIDEUS.

D. 4 A. =. L. lat. 38. - L. transv. 14.

The front part of the upper lip is extremely thick, conically pro-

duced ; the lower parts of both lips with a band of soft pavement-

like papille, arranged in oblique series. Cleft of the mouth deeper

than broad.

Description.—This species is naturally more closely allied to

Agonostoma plicatile than to Mugi/, but differs from it in having no

Dr. A. Giinther on Central-American Fishes. 331

teeth at all in the jaws, except that in one specimen the band of

papillae passes into a series of fine moveable teeth anteriorly in the

upper jaw. The head and especially the body and tail are com-

pressed ; the greatest depth of the body nearly equals the length of

the head, and is contained four times and a half in the total length.

The upper anterior profile is nearly straight, obliquely descending.

The interorbital space is convex, one-half of the length of the head,

and scaly, whilst the parts before the orbits are naked. The anterior

portion of the upper lip is extremely thick, conically protruding, and

nearly as long as the remainder of the snout. A narrow band of

soft papillz occupies the lower parts of the lips anteriorly and

M. proboscideus.

laterally ; the papillee are arranged in oblique series, having a pave-

ment-like appearance. The lower jaws are rather narrow, and the

cleft of the mouth is much longer than broad. The maxillary is

entirely hidden by the przeorbital, which has the extremity truncated

and minutely serrated. The eye is much shorter than the snout, and

in the present specimen, which apparently is a young one, one-fourth

of the length of the head. There are twenty-three scales between

the snout and the spinous dorsal fin. The latter commences somewhat

nearer to the base of the caudal than to the end of the snout: the

soft dorsal and the anal have series of small scales between the rays ;

the former is higher than the spinous dorsal, and commences above

the middle of the anal fin. Caudal emarginate ; the anal is rather

higher than long, as high as the soft dorsal. The pectoral is inserted

above the middle of the depth of the body, and its length is four-fifths

of that of the head.

Silvery, upper parts greenish ; dark stripes along the series of scales.

MyxvS HARENGUS.

D.4|4. A. ZL. lat. 38.

A single series of small fixed teeth in the upper jaw, none in the

lower or on the vomer; lips thin. Preeorbital serrated anteriorly

and inferiorly. Anterior dorsal spines of moderate length, half as

long as the head.

Head and body are compressed, the greatest depth being about

one-fifth of the total. The cleft of the mouth is rather broader than

deep, and does not extend to the anterior margin of the orbit. Sides

and belly bright silvery ; back green.

332 Royal Society.

ROYAL SOCIETY.

February 20, 1862.—Major-General Sabine, President, in the Chair.

“On the Dicynodont Reptilia, with a Description of some Fossil

Remains brought by H.R.H. Prince Alfred from South Africa in

November 1860.”’ By Professor R. Owen, F.R.S. &c.

In this paper the author describes some fossil remains obtained,

at the suggestion of H.R.H. the late Prince Consort, by H.R.H.

Prince Alfred, during his journey in South Africa. They are refer-

able to two genera of Dicynodont Reptilia. The first specimen is an

unusually perfect specimen of the skull, retaining the lower jaw in

connexion with the tympanic pedicles, of a species of Ptychognathus,

showing distinctive characters from previously described species,

and which the author dedicates to its discoverer under the name of

Ptychognathus Alfredi. The anatomical characters of this fossil

were described in detail. It was obtained from a greenish sandstone,

probably Triassic, of the Rhenosterberg, South Africa,

The second specimen is the skull, with the lower jaw, also in situ,

of a true Dicynodon, referable by its size to the largest known spe-

cies (Dicynodon tigriceps, Ow.). The right maxillary and zygo-

matic arch having been partially removed in quarrying the rock

containing the fossil, a further detachment of the matrix brought

into view the descending cranial plate of the frontal, the inter-

orbital septum, the upper surface of part of the bony palate with

the pterygoid, and the rhinencephalic continuation of the cranial

cavity. The presphenoid projects forward as a compressed plate,

exceeding in relative length and extent of ossification that im Che-

lonia, and more resembling that in Crocodilia. Anterior to the pre-

sphenoid is the vomer, which expands laterally to join the palatines

and pterygoids. Other cranial characters deducible from the pre-

sent and not shown in previous specimens are noticed. As a whole,

the skull exemplifies the near equality in size of this extinct two-

tusked reptile of South Africa with the existing Walrus; and it

shows that in the structure of the bony palate, as in some other

parts of the skull, the Dicynodon combines Crocodilian with Chelo-

nian and Lacertian characters.

The specimen above described was obtained by H.R.H. Prince

Alfred, from the Karoo beds, in the district of Graaf Reinet, South

Africa.

The author next proceeds to describe the pelvis of a Dicynodon

equalling in bulk the D. ¢égriceps, and most probably belonging to

that species. It includes, with five sacral vertebrze, the last of those

of the trunk which supported free ribs, showing that there are no

vertebrze having the character of lumbar ones in Dicynodon. The

length of the six successive centrums was 1 foot 2 inches. The ribs

of the first sacral vertebra resemble in size and shape the human

scapula, but are much thicker ; their expanded terminations, 6 inches

in breadth, underlap or pass anterior to the iliac bones, to which this

rib has been attached by syndesmosis. The ribs of the succeeding

Royal Institution. 333

sacral vertebree are shorter and thicker, and abut against the ossa

innominata, as far back as the ischial tuberosities. The ilium,

ischium, and pubis have coalesced to form one bone, as in some

lizards and in mammalia; and, as in the latter class, the symphysis

at which the ischio-pubic portion of each os innominatum joins its

fellow is continuous; the pubic symphysis is not separated from the

ischial symphysis. But ossification has advanced further than in

any mammal, to the complete obliteration of the obturator foramina,

which in most reptiles are represented by very wide vacuities. The

pubic bones show an oblique perforation near the acetabulum, homo-

logous with that which co-exists with large obturator openings in

most lizards. The brim of this singularly massive pelvis measures

10 inches in antero-posterior, and 1] inches in transverse diameter :

the outlet measures 4 inches in antero-posterior, and 9 inches in

transverse diameter.

In the comparison of this, at present, unique type of pelvic struc-

ture, it is interesting to observe, in connexion with the mammalian

tusks in the skull, a mammalian condition of the symphysis pubis,

and also a mammalian expansion of the iliac bone. In the number

of sacral vertebrae Dicynodon resembles the Dinosaurian reptiles, as

well as some mammalia; and hence it may be inferred that, like the

Megalosaurus and Iguanodon, a heavy trunk was in part supported

on a pair of large hind limbs, the weight thereupon being transferred

by a larger proportion of the vertebral column than in the prone

crawling crocodiles and lizards of the present day.

The author, from certain associated fossils, deduces a probability

of the triassic age of the sandstones including the above-described

South African Reptilia, and remarks that it is in a sandstone of triassic

age in Shropshire where fossil remains occur of a reptile which, in

biting with trenchant edentulous jaws, also pierced its prey by a

pair of produced weapons analogous to the tusks of Dicynodon. Of

this reptile, the Rhynchosaurus artieeps, Ow., the author describes

the skull, vertebree, and some other bones, which have been lately

discovered in the New Red Sandstone of Grinsill, Shrewsbury. The

remains of the limb-bones in this specimen bespeak a reptile capable

of progression on dry land, as well as of swimming in the sea—of one

that might leave impressions of its foot-prints on a tidal shore.

ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN.

Friday, March 7, 1862.

*On the Distribution of Northern Plants.” By Professor D.

Oliver, of University College, London.

The discourse referred primarily to the botanical evidence bearing

upon the hypothesis advanced by Professors Unger* and Heer+ of an

Atlantic communication between Europe and America at some period

of the tertiary epoch. The close analogy which is to be traced

between the miocene flora of Central Europe and the existing flora of

* ‘Die versunkene Insel Atlantis.’ tT ‘Flora Tertiaria Helvetie.’

334 Royal Institution.

the Eastern American States, these authors conceive can only be

explained by assuming such direct overland connexion of the two

continents.

The speaker explained the basis upon which comparisons between

two recent floras and between a recent and fossil flora should rest,

referring to the peculiar conditions which affect the latter comparison

owing to the imperfect and partial character of the fossil element.

The general character of the tertiary flora of Central Europe was

described. In the tertiary beds of Switzerland, according to Pro-

fessor Heer*, about 800 species of Phanerogamia have been dis-

covered, referable to 197 genera (exclusive of Phyllites, Carpolithes,

&c.), of which number 145 still exist. Of these genera—

76 are common to the Swiss tertiary,

and to the present flora of . . Europe.

77 : } : , : . Japan.

88 ; , : : ’ . United States, America.

120 ; 4 : ‘ 2 . Europe and Asia

(taken together, and

including Japan).

It is to be noted that the 77 of Japan include 26 not occurring in

Europe: amongst them several forms highly characteristic of the

tertiary, as Glyptostrobus, numerous Fici, coriaceous-leaved oaks

and Lauraceae, Juglandee, Liquidambar, &e.

The genera common to the Swiss tertiary and the United States,

which are not found also in the old world, are Sabal, Taxodium,

Bumelia, Liriodendron, Ceanothus, Ptelea, and Carya. But in

respect to these 7 it was observed that at least 5 were very doubtful

determinations. The 9 largest orders of the ‘ Flora Tertiaria Hel-

vetiee’ are Leguminosae, Amentacee, Cyperacee, Proteaceae, Lau-

racee, Graminee, Conifere, Composite, and Aceracee. Of these

Orders 3 are included in the 9 largest of Europe, 4 in the 9 largest of

the United States, and 6 in the 9 largest of Japan, while the re-

maining 3 of the tertiary, not included in the 9 largest orders of

Japan, are much more largely developed in Japan than in the

United States. They are Lauraceae, Aceracee, and Proteacee.

The proportion of ligneous to herbaceous species in the above

floras was alluded to. Heer estimates ligneous plants to have

formed about 66 per cent. of the phanerogamic vegetation of the

tertiary in Switzerland. The speaker considered this estimate as too

high, believing that sufficient allowance had not been made for the

advantages that ligneous plants, which are often tall-stemmed, possess

over herbaceous species in securing access of their leaves and débris

to the waters in which they had been floated and ultimately pre-

served. He admitted, however, that ligneous species were relatively

very numerous in the vegetation of the tertiary period. The pro-

portion of ligneous plants he estimates in the existing flora of Japan

at near 40 per cent., in the Southern States 22, Northern States 18,

Europe 9 to 12.

* The Tertiary data were throughout derived from the ‘Flora Tertiaria

Helvetia’ of Professor Heer.

Miscellaneous. 335

The intimate relationship traceable between the tertiary and

Japanese floras in the numerous characteristic types common to

both ; the issue of the ordinal and generic comparisons given above ;

the larger proportion of ligneous species in the Japanese than in the

Eastern American flora; and the number of types peculiar, at the

present day, to Eastern America and Eastern Asia, compared with

the few restricted to Europe and America, the speaker contends,

favour the view advanced by Professor Asa Gray in reference to

plants, and by Mr. Darwin as to animals, viz., that the migration of

forms to which is due the community of types in the Eastern States

of North America and the miocene of Europe, took place to the

north of the Pacific, an overland communication, it may be supposed,

having existed during the tertiary time somewhere about Behring’s

Straits or the line of the Aleutian Islands. This view is confirmed by

the occurrence of miocene vegetable remains in North-west America

(including genera yet growing in Japan but lost to America), which

prove, further, the temperature of these latitudes to have been at that

time sufficiently high to have permitted their existence so far north.

The evidence in favour of the ‘ Atlantis’ hypothesis might, more-

over, be expected to have been more marked in the existing vegeta-

tion of the Atlantic Islands than is the case. Professor Heer points

out the genera Clethra, Bystropogon, Cedronella, and Oreodaphne

as common to the Atlantic Islands and America. Japanese species,

however, have been described of Clethra and Cedronella ; and Messrs.

_ Webb and Berthelot limit Bystropogon to Atlantic-island species.

Oreodaphne occurs in South Africa and adjacent islands.

A connexion between these islands and Europe, at perhaps a late

period of the tertiary, may be considered as highly probable from

the predominance of Mediterranean forms in their flora. The few

genera characteristic of the tertiary which they possess may have

been derived during this connexion; but the hypothesis that a

continent should have extended westward as far as America, the

speaker considered the available botanical evidence did not in the

least substantiate.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On the Reproduction of Red Coral.

By M. vr Lacaze Duruiers.

M. Lacaze Dututers having been appointed by the Government

of Algeria to investigate the natural history of the Red Coral, with a

view to the regulation of its fishery, passed nearly a year on the

African coast of the Mediterranean, in order to study the reproduc-

tion of that Zoophyte. Some of the results of his researches have

recently been communicated to the Academy of Sciences.

He finds that the individual polypes of each colony are partly

male and female and partly hermaphrodite, and that the individuals

of one sex usually predominate over those of the other on particular

branches—one branch consisting almost exclusively of male, and an-

336 Miscellaneous.

other of female polypes. The impregnation of the females is effected

through the intervention of the water. Male polypes are seen to

send forth smail jets of a white liquid, which forms clouds in the

water, and contains the male elements.

The seminal and ovigerous capsules are not easily distinguished

with a lens; but the microscope shows in the ova the germinal spot

and vesicle and the granulations of the vitellus, and in the seminal

capsules the spermatozoids and the cells which produce them. The

ova and testes are milk-white—the former opake, the latter slightly

transparent. After death, the testes remain white, whilst the ova

become yellowish ; they are then easily distinguished.

It is at the base of the intestiniform folds and, beneath these, in

the delicate membrane which unites them to the wall of the body,

that the genital glands are placed. During development, they pro-

ject out of the plates, and appear to be attached by long and slender

pedicels, by the rupture of which they are separated and fall into the

general cavity. In this cavity both the transformation of the egg

after fecundation, and digestion, are accomplished ; so that the same

cavity serves at once as a stomach and as an incubatory pouch.

The observation of the development of the ovum was attended

with great difficulties ; and it was only after passing some time on

board a fishing-boat that the author succeeded in tracing it. The

ovum, originally naked and spherical, becomes elongated and covered

with vibratile cilia. A cavity is then formed in it, which opens

externally and finally becomes the mouth. It then acquires the form

of a little white worm, and is very active, swimming in all directions,

avoiding its comrades when they meet, and rising and descending in

the vessels, with the extremity opposite to the mouth always fore-

most.—Comptes Rendus, Jan. 13, 1862, p. 116.

On the Polar Globules of the Ovum, and the mode of their Produc-

tion, and on the Production of the Blastodermic Cells without

segmentation of the Vitellus in some Articulata. By CHarixs

Rosin.

Since Dumortier, most embryologists have indicated under the

names of mucous, oily, or transparent globule, hyaline corpuscle, &c.

a translucent globule which appears on the sides of the embryo.

When once produced, it remains under the vitelline membrane,

taking no part in the phenomena going on beside it ; and it is left

behind with the envelope on the hatching of the young animal. Its

production paves the way for the segmentation of the vitellus, and

consequently for the generation of the cells of the blastoderm.

The point of the surface of the vitellus on which these globules

are produced marks, a few hours beforehand, the pole of the vitellus

which is about to become depressed and then to form a dividing

furrow which by degrees becomes equatorial; hence the name of

polar globules given to them. This is also the point where the

cephalic extremity will afterwards appear, and it indicates the spot

at which segmentation will commence.

Miscellaneous. 307

Tn animals of which the vitcllus undergoes segmentation after the

extrusion of the ova, it is at from four to six hours after the latter

that the polar globules begin to appear, that is to say, at from twelve

to twenty-four hours after the disappearance of the germinal vesicle.

Their production takes from two hours to three hours and a half; and

about two hours after their completion the segmentation commences.

The mode of production of the polar globules is remarkable : it is

a true gemmation from the limpid substance of the vitellus, followed

by a constriction and then by the transverse division of the base of

the process. It commences by the retreat of the granules of the

vitellus from a circular portion of the surface about 0°05 mill. in

diameter, leaving the hyaline substance quite clear. In a few minutes

this transparent portion forms a hemispherical projection, which

afterwards becomes conical. Its base contracts, giving it for a mo-

ment the form of a cylinder about 0°02 mill. in diameter, and twice

as long; the contraction soon causes a constriction, the projection

becomes pyriform, and it rapidly separates from the vitellus, with

which, however, it remains in contact. These phenomena last from

fifteen to twenty-five minutes, during which the vitellus is the seat

of slow deformations, but it resumes its spherical form immediately.

The phenomena are reproduced a second time in the Mollusca, and

even a third and fourth time in most other animals. In those in

which the vitellus does not entirely fill the vitelline membrane, as in

Nephelis, there are eggs in which the process of the hyaline sub-

stance forms at first a long cylinder, which contracts and becomes

segmented transversely in three places, forming three polar globules.

The globules have no distinct walls or cavities ; and the few vitelline

granules which pass into their interior show no trace of Brownian

movements.

After the completion of the last of these polar globules, or even

before this, a very curious phenomenon takes place, characterized by

the successive union of two or four globules into a single one, which

persists up to the period of exclusion, and in which a cavity distinct

from the wall in some species, or from one to three nuclei, or some-

times some granules which did not exist originally make their ap-

pearance. This union is accomplished in two modes: sometimes the

first-formed globule gradually diminishes in size, its substance pass-

ing into the next one until it completely disappears ; and when there

are more than two globules, the phenomena is repeated until only

one remains in contact with the vitellus; in other cases the globules

mutually coalesce by the gradual enlargement of their plane of con-

tact. A few moments after the reduction of the polar globules to a

single one, segmentation commences; sometimes, however, it is set

up a little earlier.

The Moilusca present a peculiarity in this respect. At the mo-

ment of the commencement of segmentation, after the union of the

polar globules, another and somewhat larger globule makes its ap-

pearance, which elevates the preceding one, and strongly refracts

light. This second globule rises perfectly formed from the midst of the

superficial substance of the vitellus without any preliminary clear space.

It at the same time elevates, at the surface of the vitellus, a very

338 Miscellaneous.

delicate translucid pellicle, of mucous appearance, beneath which all

the phenomena of segmentation take place. In unfecundated ova

the second polar globule is not produced, any more than the thin

pellicle which it elevates; in these no phenomena of segmentation

take place in the fresh-water Mollusca, and in most of the marine

species. The polar globules produced by gemmation appear, but

they remain distinct and contiguous.

Hitherto observation has led to the supposition that the first

cells of the embryo are always formed by the segmentation of the

vitellus; but the author has found that there are certain animals

in which the segmentation of the vitellus does not occur, although

their fecundated ovum presents a very distinct blastoderm. The

production of the blastodermic cells, which marks the close of seg-

mentation in other cases, takes place here by a process of gemmation.

This phenomenon is observed most distinctly in the eggs of the

Culiciform Tipulidee, in which the whole of the blastodermic cells,

and not merely the polar globules, are produced by gemmation. The

same thing probably takes place in the other Tipulide, but the im-

perfect transparency of the envelopes of their eggs renders observa-

tion difficult. The arrangement of the blastoderm in the Muscidze

leads to the supposition that it is formed in the same manner ; and

the author thinks it possible that similar phenomena may occur

throughout the Diptera.

These phenomena are described as follows by M. Robin :—The

vitellus, which up to the deposition of the egg completely filled the

vitelline membrane, is retracted, and immediately afterwards the

production of the polar globules commences towards the smaller ex-

tremity of the egg. These are produced as above described, and

frequently two are formed at the same time close together. They do

not, however, coalesce to form a single globule, but, on the contrary,

increase in number by scission. At the same time, a nucleus is gra-

dually developed in them, giving them the character of true cells.

Lastly, instead of resting on the side of the embryo almost like a

foreign body, they soon take part in the formation of the blastoderm.

In the Culiciform Tipulide the cells forming the blastoderm are

produced quite independently of any segmentation of the vitellus.

They begin to show themselves at the extremity of the vitellus oppo-

site to that at which the polar globules are produced. Coming into

existence side by side, they gradually occupy the rest of the surface

of the vitellus. It is at the expense of the hyaline substance of the

vitellus that the blastodermic cells are produced ; and their formation

is by a process of gemmation. The surface of the vitellus, observed

by transmitted light, presents small hemispherical projections, the

elevation of which gradually increases. When their height equals

their breadth (which is from 0:0014 to 0°0016 mill.), they begin to

be mutually compressed. At an hour or an hour and a quarter after

this commencement, the adherent extremity of each projection is

gradually constricted, so rapidly as in a few minutes to separate from

the vitelline substance with which it was continuous. Thus are

produced as many cells as there were projections, forming a single

series of colourless, transparent, blastodermic cells surrounding the

Miscellaneous. 309

rest of the vitellus in all parts, and separating it from the vitelline

membrane.

An hour after the completion of this first layer of the blastoderm,

a second is produced in the same manner. This is formed of similar

cells and without segmentation of the subjacent portion of the vitel-

lus. The latter becomes less and less, darker, and more granular, in

proportion as the blastoderm thickens by the gemmation of new

cells. After the formation of a third series of cells, the centre of the

vitellus consists only of contiguous oily drops, which strongly refract

the light.—Comptes Rendus, Jan. 13 & 20, 1862, pp. 112 & 150.

On the Young of Leipoa ocellata. By Ricuarp ScHoMBURGK.

It has hitherto been supposed that the young birds of the Leipoa

ocellata, after escaping from the egg, remain for some time in the

sand-heaps before emerging to the light of day, because they first

show themselves in an advanced state of development. As I was

recently plundering a nest for the sake of the eggs, I remarked that

one bird was just beginning to break the egg-shell. I took the egg

home with me, and placed it under a sitting hen, The next morning

the bird had crept out. To my great astonishment, it was clothed,

not with down, like other young birds, but with perfectly formed

feathers. At the same time, it already showed great wildness and

much strength in the feet.

The young birds are not hatched simultaneously, but singly, and

they do not keep together. A nest usually contains from ten to

twelve eggs; and if these be opened, the young birds are found of

all sizes.— Monatsbericht der Akad der Wiss. zu Berlin, November

1861, p. 1027.

On a Hybrid Duck. By Autrrep Newton, M.A., F.L.S., F.ZS.

I am indebted to the kindness of my friend Mr. Newcome for the

opportunity of exhibiting to the Society a specimen of a fine hybrid

Duck, beautifully mounted by Mr. Ellis of Swaffham, which presents

several points of interest.

This bird (a male) was bred by Mr. Durham of Bremley Grange,

near Ripon, from a male Widgeon (Mareca Penelope, Selby) and a

female which was a cross between the common Wild Duck (Anas

boschas, Linn.) and an ordinary farm-yard Duck. It was sent to

Mr. Newcome by the intelligent gamekeeper at Hornby Castle,

Mr. Anthony Savage, from whom I learn that Mr. Durham has

since bred several other hybrids from the same male Widgeon and a

female of the domesticated variety of Anas boschas known as the

“Grey Call-duck.” Of these hybrids Mr. Savage informs me that

he sent a pair to Mr. Grantley Berkeley, and another pair to Mr.

John Hancock.

No detailed notice of the particular cross I now exhibit has to my

knowledge been hitherto published, though Mr. Yarrell in the last

edition of his work (‘B. B.’ ed. 3, iii. p. 276) mentions the fact as

having occurred, and my friend M. de Selys-Longchamps, who has,

it is well known, devoted especial attention to the subject, informed

340 Miscellaneous.

me about two years ago that he was aware of other instances of such

a hybrid. According to the views of the last-named accurate ob-

server, the Anas bimaculata of Keyserling and Blasius*—the Anas

glocitans of Gmelin (but not of Pallas)—is the result of this cross ;

and Mr. Berkeley has also expressed a similar opinion (‘ Field,’

March 16,1861). With the greatest deference to these authorities,

my own idea is that the birds so denominated have descended from

the Wild Duck (Anas boschas, Linn.) and the Teal (Querquedula

erecca, Steph.), as has already been suggested by Mr. Tomes and

Mr. Bartlett (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 1698); and I have arrived at this con-

clusion not only from repeated examinations of the specimens de-

scribed by Mr. Vigors (Linn. Trans. xiv. p. 559), which are now

in the British Museum, but also from having seen several other birds

of the same kind in different collections.

The principal distinctions observable between the subject of the

present notice and the so-called Anas bimaculata are in the greater

size of the former, and in the comparative obsoleteness of the dark

patch which, in that supposed species, separates the lighter-coloured

spots on the sides of the head. In the bird I now submit to your

notice this patch is reduced to a mere line, scarcely perceptible until

looked for. The breast also wants the well-defined dark spots which

are characteristic of the hybrid known as the “ Bimaculated Duck.”

—Proc. Zool. Soc. Dec. 10, 1861.

On a new Species of Finch, of the Genus Sycalis, from Mexico. By

Puruip Luriey Scuater, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S.

In a small collection of Mexican birds lately sent to me for exami-

nation by M. Parzudaki, of Paris, I find a little Finch of the genus

Sycalis, which I propose to call—

SYCALIS CHRYSOPS, Sp. nov.

S. brunnescenti-olivacea, capite obscuriore substriato: interscapulio,

alis et cauda nigricantibus, fusco marginatis: loris, oculorum

ambitu, tectricibus subalaribus et corpore subtus flavis, pectore

medio et lateribus obscurioribus, fuscescentioribus: rostro et

pedibus fuscis.

Long. tota 4-0, alee 2°6, caudze 1°6 poll. Angl. et dec.

Hab. In Mexico merid.

Obs. Affinis S. arvensi, sed staturé minore et loris ciliisque aureis

distinguenda.

This bird is interesting as the first species of the genus Sycalis

recorded from the country north of Panama. It was, however, to

be expected that the Trans-Panamanic province of the Neotropical

region would produce representatives of this, as of other peculiar

South-American genera. Sycalis chrysops belongs to the same sub-

group as 8. arvensis, but may readily be distinguished from it by its

diminutive size.— Proc. Zool. Soc. Nov. 26, 1861. '

* Several writers assign the authority of Pennant for the trivial name “ d¢ma-

culata.” J cannot trace it further back than the ‘ Wirbelthiere Europas’ of the

naturalists I have mentioned. There is no question about the .dnas glocitans of

Pallas being a good species, but I do not know any recorded instance of its oc-

currence in Europe..

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES. ]

No. 53. MAY 1862.

XXXVIII.—On the Calathi of the Canary Islands.

By T. Vernon Wo taston, M.A., F.L.S.

AtrHoucH there are probably few groups of Geodephagous

Coleoptera less attractive than Calathus, yet, from the important

part which it plays in the insect-population of the Atlantic Islands,

I have thought that the following descriptive enumeration of the

various members of it as yet detected at the Canaries may not be

altogether without interest, at least to those entomologists who

are occupied more particularly in the question of geographical

distribution. When we consider that the last revised catalogue

acknowledges but 20 unequivocal species of this genus for the

whole of Europe, it seems scarcely credible that so many as 16

(and all of them apparently endemic) should have been observed,

up to the present time, in this small archipelago; and yet, even

whilst allowing a wide margin for aberration, which we may

reasonably suppose to have been considerable where the twofold

influence of altitude and long isolation has been brought to bear

upon the several forms, I have not been able, after a careful

study of an extensive series of specimens, collected in the different

islands and at numerous heights above the sea-level, to reduce

them satisfactorily to a smaller number.

The Canarian type of Calathus is rather a singular one,

being remarkable for its more or less flattened form and elliptic

outline. In Teneriffe there is an additional peculiarity, which

is more or less traceable in most of the species, and strongly

expressed in some of them—in the fact of the alternate inter-

stices of the elytra being branded with a longitudinal row of

large punctures ; and although the exact number of these rounded

impressions is essentially variable, the variations seem neverthe-

less to take place within limits sufficiently well defined to render

them an important feature in drawing out the several diagnoses.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser.3. Vol. ix.

342 Mr. T. V. Wollaston on the Calathi

They are nearly all of them sylvan insects, the C. simplicicollis

of Lanzarote, and the ascendens and rectus of Teneriffe, being

apparently the only exceptions. Indeed the C. ascendens, which

occurs beneath stones at a very lofty elevation (attaining its

maximum at about 8000 feet above the sea), would seem to re-

present in these islands the (Kuropean) C. fuscus of Madeira.

And I may further add that the Teneriffan C. ciliatus may per-

haps be regarded as the analogue of the C. vividus of the latter

group, the Teneriffan C. depressus as that of the Madeiran

complanatus, and the barbatus from Grand Canary as that of the

Porto-Santan fimbriatus.

Genus CaLatuus.

Bonelli, Observat. Ent. i. tab. syn. (1809).

§ I. Tibie in utroque sexu (omnino vel fere) simplices.

a. Corpus magnum, prothorace postice plus minus angustiore, punctis ely-

trorum discalibus obsoletis.

1. Calathus sphodroides, n. sp.

C. nigropiceus, subdepressus ; capite prothoraceque nitidiusculis, hoc

subquadrato postice distincte angustato, ad latera sat late recurvo

necnon ante medium paulo rotundato, angulis anticis subobtusis,

postice distincte punctato ; elytris minus nitidis, striatis, postice

subrotundatis ; antennis pedibusque rufo-piceis.

Long. corp. lin. 7-72.

Habitat in sylvaticis editioribus Teneriffe, rarissimus.

The present species and the following one are remarkable

amongst the Canarian Calathi for their immense size (the C. c7-

liatus, of the second section, being the only one which equals

them in bulk), by their prothoraces being narrower behind than

in front (a structure of rare occurrence in this genus), and by

the discal punctures of their elytra being obsolete. Inter se

they may be known by the C. sphodroides being darker than its

ally, by the different shape of its (more basally punctured) pro-

thorax, and by its elytra being somewhat less flattened, rounder

posteriorly, and not so acuminated at their apex. It is extremely

rare, and confined to the sylvan regions of Teneriffe, at inter-

mediate and rather lofty elevations, the only specimens which I

have seen (seven in number) having been captured by myself,

beneath loose rotting bark, at the Agua Garcia and in the woods

above Taganana.

2. Calathus acuminatus, n. sp.

C. piceus vel rufo-piceus, depressus ; capite prothoraceque nitidius-

culis, hoc subquadrato postice paulo angustato, ad latera late re-

curvo necnon in medio paulo rotundato, angulis anticis porrectis

of the Canary Islands. 343

subacutis, postice leviter punctato ; elytris minus nitidis, striatis,

apice acuminatis ; antennis pedibusque lete rufo-ferrugineis.

Long. corp. lin. 73-73.

Habitat Teneriffam sylvaticam, in lisdem locis ac preecedens.

As may be gathered from the above diagnosis, the C. acum-

natus may be known from the last species by its more piceous or

rufescent hue; by its prothorax being less conspicuously nar-

rowed behind, with the sides more elevated and more regularly

rounded in the middle (instead of Jefore the middle, as in that

insect), less punctured towards the base, and with its anterior

angles more porrected and acute ; by its elytra being flatter, and

more acuminated at their apex; and by its limbs being of a

uniformly paler tint. It occurs in precisely the same spots as

the C. sphodroides, being peculiar (so far as I have observed

hitherto) to the wooded districts of Teneriffe. Although very

rare, it is not quite so scarce as its ally. I have taken it in the

forest-region of the Agua Mansa, above Ycod el Alto, and at

the sides of the Vueltas leading down from the Cumbre to

Taganana.

b. Corpus minoris magnitudinis, prothorace postice (ut in Calathis typicis)

plus minus latiore, punctis elytrorum discalibus plus minus distinctis.

3. Calathus rufo-castaneus, n. sp.

C. rufo-castaneus, subdepressus ; capite prothoraceque unitidissimis,

hoe transverso-subquadrato postice paulo latiore, ad latera sub-

pellucido late recurvo; elytris minus nitidis, striatis, interstitiis

depressis, tertio punctulis 3-5 minutis notato ; antennis pedibusque

testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 53-6.

Habitat in elevatis humidis sylvaticis Teneriffee, rarissimus.

The pale rufo-eastaneous hue of this distinct and rather large

Calathus, in conjunction with its highly polished head and pro-

thorax (the latter of which is a good deal recurved, and some-

what pellucid, towards the edges), the minute size of the discal

punctures of its elytra, and its testaceous limbs, will at once

separate it from the other species here described. Only nine

examples have hitherto come under my notice, and it may be

considered, therefore, as decidedly rare. They were all taken in

the wooded region above the Agua Mansa of Teneriffe ; so that

the species is probably peculiar to the upper portion of the sylvan

districts.

4. Calathus carinatus.

C. piceus, depressus; capite prothoraceque nitidis, hoc angusto,

elongato-subquadrato postice vix angustiore, ad latera sat recurvo;

elytris ellipticis, complanatis, linea basali in utroque valde profunde

arcuata, valde opacis, striatis, interstitiis valde depreSsis, tertio

25%*

344 Mr. T. V. Wollaston on the Calathi

punctis circa 5-9 et quinto 2-4 (interdum etiam septimo 1-2)

distinctis notatis ; antennis pedibusque piceo-testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 43-53.

Calathus carinatus?, Brullé, in Webb et Berth. (Col.) 55 (1838).

Habitat Teneriffam, in iisdem locis ac preecedens, sed sat vulgaris.

A most remarkable species, at once known by its narrow,

elongate-quadrate prothorax, and by its extremely depressed,

opake, and elliptical elytra, which have the basal line of each

(from either shoulder to the scutellum) very deeply curved, and

their discal punctures (of which there are usually from five to

nine on the third, from about two to four on the fifth, and occa-

sionally one or two on even the seventh interstice) exceedingly

distinct. I have but little doubt that it is the C. carinatus of

M.Brullé; for, although I was not able, whilst in Paris, to ob-

tain a sight of his Calathi, yet I think there is just sufficient in

the description (if “description” it may indeed be called) to

render it probable -that this is the insect to which he referred,

though his total silence on all the salient peculiarities of the four

Canarian species which he wished to indicate (one of which is

no Calathus at all, but an Argutor !) renders his diagnoses utterly

worthless.

The C. carinatus is rather common throughout the sylvan

regions of Teneriffe. I have taken it abundantly at the Agua

Garcia, as also in the woods above Taganana and at Las Mer-

cedes, in the last of which localities it was also found by the

Bardo do Castello de Paiva.

5. Calathus advena, nu. sp.

C. pallide fusco-piceus, depressus ; capite prothoraceque nitidiusculis,

hoc angustulo, subtrapeziformi, postice lato, ad latera paulo re-

curvo; elytris ovatis (pone medium ampliatis), subopacis, linea

basali in utroque subrecta, striatis, interstitiis subconvexis, tertio

punctis duobus notato; antennis pedibusque longiusculis, gracili-

usculis, rufo-testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 3.

Habitat Canariam Grandem, tempore vernali A.p. 1858 specimen

unicum (sc. masculum) inveni.

The present Calathus is the only one of which I have not an

extensive series to compile my diagnosis from, the single specimen

which I have seen being one which I captured in Grand Canary

(I believe in the region of El Monte) during the spring of 1858.

Fortunately, however, it happens to be a male, so that I can

have no hesitation (from its simple unfimbriated tibiz) as to

which of my sections it belongs to. It is remarkable for its basally

wide (though altogether not very broad) prothorax, for its sub-

opake ovate elytra (which ‘are a good deal expanded behind the

of the Canary Islands. 345

middle, and have, in the example before me, but two punctures

developed on their disk), for its fusco-piceous hue, and for its

rather elongate, slender limbs. There is certainly no species

here enumerated to which it could possibly be referred.

6. Calathus abaxoides.

C. piceus, subellipticus, nitidiusculus ; prothorace subtrapeziformi,

postice lato, ad latera antice haud, postice vix recurvo, angulis

posticis subacutis; elytris postice paulo convexis subattenuatis,

striatis, interstitiis subconvexis, tertio punctis 3-5 sat distinctis

notato ; antennis pedibusque piceo-testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 32-4.

Calathus abaxoides?, Brullé, in Webb et Berth. (Col.) 56 (1838).

Habitat in sylvaticis humidis Teneriffe, sat frequens.

I refer this insect to M. Brullé’s C. abaxoides from the mere

fact of the latter’s specific name, there being no other Canarian

Calathus which could be compared in outline to an Adax; but

since he says that the abazoides is much of the same form as his

following species, the C. angularis (which is an Argutor, and no

Calathus at all), and since he speaks of it as “ cing* lignes de

longueur,” whilst it is only four, I cannot but feel doubtful, in the

absence of even a single distinctive character in his “ diagnosis,”

whether it be correctly identified. It may be readily known by

its small size, elliptical outline, and the almost equally shining

surface of its prothorax and elytra, the former of which is broad

posteriorly and almost unrecurved at the sides (except slightly

so towards the basal angles); whilst the latter are gradually

somewhat narrowed behind, with their interstices slightly convex,

and with their discal punctures (from three to five on the third

interstice) pretty evident.

The C. abaxoides is rather abundant throughout the sylvan

regions of Teneriffe, occurring in exactly the same places as the

last species. I have observed it more particularly at the Agua

Garcia, Taganana, and Las Mercedes. It has also been com-

municated by the Bardo do Castello de Paiva and Professor Heer

of Zurich, who obtained it from M. Hartung.

7. Calathus ascendens, un. sp.

C. fusco-piceus, subdepressus, subnitidus ; capite prothoraceque vix

rufescentioribus hoe transverse subquadrato, postice vix angustiore,

* So far as the sizes of his insects are concerned, I can place no de~

pendence on them at all; and my impression is that he has transposed the

relative lengths of his C. depressus and abawxoides. And that this is not

mere conjecture, in accordance with the immense series of specimens now

before me, is rendered quite certain from the fact that, whilst stating his

C. depressus to be only four lines long, I find, by actual measurement of

the length given for it in his own plate, that it is exactly five!

346 Mr. T. V. Wollaston on the Calathi

ad latera pallidiore et sat recurvo; elytris linea basali in utroque

arcuata, striatis, interstitiis subdepressis, tertio punctis circa 3-7

distinctis notato ; antennis pedibusque rufo-testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 42-53.

Habitat sub lapidibus in montibus Teneriffe, usque ad 8000! s. m.

ascendens.

The present Calathus (which I have observed only in Tene-

riffe) is essentially an inhabitant of the loftiest elevations, attaim-

ing its maximum at about 8000 feet above the sea, and but

rarely descending into the sylvan districts. It may be known

by its only slightly chining surface, fusco-piceous hue, and

rather large size; by its prothorax (which is a little rufescent at

the edges, and not much recurved) being about equally narrowed

before and behind; and by the discal punctures of its elytra

being well developed and distinct. I took it in profusion, during

May of 1859, from beneath stones, on the Cumbre adjoining

the Cafiadas, above Ycod el Alto, as also on the opposite Cumbre

above the Agua Mansa. In both instances, however, I observed

a few stray specimens at a rather lower altitude, namely, almost

at the Agua Mansa and Ycod el Alto themselves; but as even

those spots could not be less than some 5000 feet in elevation,

there can be no doubt that the C. ascendens must be regarded as

an alpine species.

8. Calathus rectus, n. sp.

C. subdepressus ; capite prothoraceque nitidissimis, rufo-piceis, hoc

subquadrato, postice vix latiore, ad latera pallidiore et paulo re-

curvo ; elytris piceis, obscurioribus, linea basali in utroque rectis-

sima, leviter striatis, interstitiis depressis, tertio punctis plerum-

que 3 sat distinctis notato ; antennis pedibusque testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 4—43.

Calathus fulvipes?, Brullé [nec Lat.], in Webb et Berth. (Col.) 56 (1838).

Habitat in locis inferioribus et intermediis Teneriffe, passim.

In their very shining head and prothorax, and duller (though

scarcely opake) and lightly striated elytra, as well as in their

general hue and comparatively smaller size, the present Calathus

and the following one have much in common. Nevertheless the

C. rectus is the larger and flatter of the two, and has its limbs

considerably longer ; its head and prothorax also (the latter of

which is a trifle more elongate and wider behind, and has its

edges more evidently recurved) are more rufescent ; and the

basal line of its elytra (extending from either shoulder to the

scutellum) is less arcuate, being, in fact, almost perfectly straight.

Whilst the following species occurs only (so far as I have ob-

served hitherto) in Lanzarote, the C. rectus is scattered sparingly

over the lower and intermediate elevations of Teneriffe. I have

of the Canary Islands. 347

taken it near St Cruz and Orotava (at the latter of which it was

likewise found by Mr. Gray), as also on the mountains above

Taganana; and it has been communicated by the Bar’do do Cas-

tello de Paiva from Las Mercedes.

I have but little doubt, from its size and superficial aspect,

that it is the insect referred by M. Brullé to the European C.

fulvipes, with which, however, it has, in reality, nothing (except

its generic characters) im common.

9. Calathus simplicicollis, n. sp.

C. piceus, angustulus, subconvexus ; capite prothoraceque nitidissi-

mis hoc subquadrato, postice vix latiore, ad latera anguste palli-

diore et vix recurvo; elytris obscurioribus, linea basali in utroque

paulo arcuata, leviter striatis, interstitiis depressis, tertio punctis

plerumque 3 sat distinctis notato; antennis pedibusque brevius-

culis, testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 3-33.

Habitat Lanzarotam borealem, tempore hiberno et vernali, sat fre-

quens.

As may be gathered from what has already been said, the

present Calathus (which seems to be peculiar to Lanzarote)

differs from the last one in being a little smaller, narrower, and

more convex, of aslightly darker hue, and with its limbs consider-

ably shorter. Its prothorax, also, is somewhat less conical, with

the sides move narrowly rufescent and Jess recurved ; and the basal

line of its elytra (joining either shoulder with the scutellum) is

more arcuate. It is about the size and general outline of the

common European C. melanocephalus, of which it is Just possible

(though, I think, hardly hkely) that it may be but a geogra-

phical state. It differs, however, from all the specimens and all

the varieties of that insect which I have yet seen (including the

peltatus, Kolen., the ochropterus, Dufts., and the alpinus, Dej.,

for types of which I am indebted to my friend Dr. Schaum) in

having its prothorax totally free from the slightest trace of the

two basal foveze which are always more or less expressed in that

insect, as also a trifle wider posteriorly, and perfectly unmargined

behind the hinder angles, which are themselves a little more

sharply defined (or, more strictly, right angles) ; its head, too, is

altogether thicker and more developed, with the eyes less promi-

nent, with the incrassated edge of the clypeus (immediately be-

hind the insertion of the antennz) more rounded, and with the

forehead more convex ; and its colour (on which, however, I Jay

but little stress) is different, its head being somewhat redder (or

less black), whilst its prothorax is not so red (or more infuscated).

Its elytra also are perhaps a little more shining and less de-

pressed. The only locality in which I have hitherto taken the

348 Mr. T. V. Wollaston on the Calathi

C. simplicicollis is the extreme north of Lanzarote, where it is

not uncommon in the rocky ground behind the Salinas and

about the Risco.

§ II. Tibie posteriores maris intus plus minus dense fimbriate.

10. Calathus ciliatus, n. sp.

C. fusco-piceus, depressus ; capite prothoraceque subnitidis, hoc in-

zequali, subquadrato, postice latiore, ad latera paulo pallidiore late

et valde recurvo ; elytris sub-oblongis, linea basali in utroque paulo

arcuata, striatis, interstitio tertio punctis circa 8-10 et quinto

circa 4—6 distinctis notatis; antennis pedibusque elongatis, rufo-

testaceis.

Mas elytris subopacis, interstitiis subconvexis; tibiis posterioribus

intus densissime fimbriatis.

Fem. elytris opacis, interstitiis valde depressis ; tibiis simplicibus.

Long. corp. lin. 7-8.

Habitat in moutibus excelsis plus minus sylvaticis Teneriffe, hinc

inde sed rarus.

The large size of the present Calathus* and the following one

will easily separate them from the other species of my second

section. Inter se they are at first sight a good deal allied; and

before examining them closely, I had imagined that they were

but phases of one insect. A more accurate inspection, however,

of the sexes of both has convinced me that they are probably

distinct, since they preserve their characters, apparently, without

variation. The C. ciliatus is somewhat the more bulky of the

two, being always broader than its ally, and on the average a

little longer. It may, however, be additionally known by its

prothorax being more especially wider and less conical; by the

basal line of its elytra being much less deeply arcuate, causing

the shoulders to be less porrected ; by the punctures of its third

and fifth interstices being usually less numerous; by its elytra

(which are a trifle brighter and with their intervals less flattened

in the male sex) being more oblong; and by the four hinder tibize

in the male being fimbriated along a rather greater portion of their

inner edge. It appears to occur principally in the upper part of

the sylvan regions of Teneriffe ; and, indeed, I have not yet ob-

served it below an altitude of about 5000 feet. On the damp

ledges and rocks above the Agua Mansa, to within a short di-

stance of the Cumbre, I took it sparimgly during May of 1859.

* In the national collection at Paris I observed, a few months ago, spe-

cimens of this insect under the name of C. complanatus, Dej. That species,

however, is confined to Madeira, and is totally distinct from the present

one, which has more in common primd facie with the Madeiran C. vividus,

Fab. In real fact, however, both of the Madeiran species belong to a dif-

ferent type from these two Canarian ones,—having the hinder tibie of

their males simple.

of the Canary Islands. 349

11. Calathus auctus, un. sp.

C. fusco-piceus, angustulus, depressus ; capite prothoraceque sub-

nitidis, hoe inzequali, angustulo, subconico, ad latera paulo palli-

diore late et valde recurvo; elytris subellipticis, linea basali in

utroque profunde arcuata (ergo ad humeros valde acutis porrectis),

striatis, interstitiis (in utroque sexu) depressis, tertio punctis circa

10-14 et quinto circa 6—9 valde distinctis notatis; antennis pedi-

busque elongatis, rufo-testaceis.

Mas elytris opacis ; tibiis posterioribus intus versus.apicem densis-

sime fimbriatis.

Fem. elytris valde opacis ; tibiis simplicibus.

Long. corp. lin. 6-7.

Habitat Teneriffam humidam excelsam, in iisdem locis ac preecedens,

As already implied, the rather smaller size and less widened

outline of the present Calathus (the prothorax of which is espe-

cially narrower and more conical), in conjunction with its more

elliptic elytra (which have their basal line more curved, and their

shoulders consequently acuter or more porrect) and its more

numerous discal punctures, will at once separate it from the last

species. It differs also in its males having the elytra somewhat

more opake (with the interstices flatter), and the four hinder

tibie fimbriated along a rather shorter portion of their inner

edge. At the same time, I should add that I am by no means

perfectly satisfied that it may not be an extreme state of that

imsect. The C. auctus is found in precisely the same spots as

the ciatus, occurrmg in damp localities at a high elevation on

the mountains of Teneriffe. I took it, in company with that

species, during May of 1859; and it has been communicated by

Professor Heer of Zurich (captured by M. Hartung), as also by

the Barao do Castello de Paiva.

12. Calathus angustulus, n. sp.

C. pallide fusco-piceus, angustus, subdepressus ; capite prothoraceque

nitidis, hoc angustulo, subquadrato, postice vix angustiore, ad latera

paulo pallidiore anguste recurvo ; elytris ellipticis (antice et postice

subzequaliter rotundatis), opacis, linea basali in utroque profunde

arcuata, striatis, interstitio primo (ad basin) punctis 1-3, tertio

circa 12-16, quinto circa 8-12 et septimo circa 8-14 yalde di-

stinctis notatis ; antennis pedibusque rufo-testaceis.

Mas interstitiis subconvexis ; tibiis posterioribus intus dense sed

breviter fimbriatis.

Fem. interstitiis depressis ; tibiis simplicibus.

Long. corp. lin. 43-5.

Habitat Teneriffam excelsam humidam, sub lapidibus corticeque

arborum laxo putrido, rarior.

The comparatively narrow outline and pale reddish-brown hue

of the present Calathus, im conjunction with the shape of its

350 Mr. T. V. Wollaston on the Calathi

prothorax (which is a trifle narrower behind than before) and

the exceedingly numerous punctures on the alternate interstices

of its elliptic elytra, will at once characterize it. It is the only

Canarian species on which I have observed punctures on the

fist elytral interval, there being usually two or three at the ex-

treme base. Its smaller size and less-margined, differently

shaped prothorax, added to its more-rounded, less-flattened ely-

tra and more numerous impressions, will, apart from other dif-

ferences, readily separate it from the last species. Indeed, in

general contour it has perhaps more in common with the C. ca-

rinatus than with any other member of the genus here described;

but its paler colour, narrower and somewhat less depressed elytra

(with their more numerous punctures and less arcuated basal

line), in combination with its posteriorly narrower prothorax

and the fimbriated hinder tibiz of its male sex, will immediately

distinguish it from that insect. The C. angustulus occurs

sparingly throughout the sylvan regions of Teneriffe, especially

towards their upper limits, where it may be found under damp

stones and beneath the loose rotting bark of trees. In such

positions I have taken it on the ascent from Ycod el Alto to the

Cumbre, at the Agua Mansa, and in the laurel-woods above

Point Anaga and Taganana. It has also been communicated by

the Bardo do Castello de Paiva.

13. Calathus depressus.

C. nigro-piceus, latus, subdepressus ; capite prothoraceque nitidis,

hoe subquadrato, postice lato, ad latera vix pailidiore et paulo re-

curvo ; elytris basi latiusculis, linea basali in utroque leviter ar-

cuata, sat profunde striatis, interstitiis (in utroque sexu) sub-

depressis, tertio punctis circa 6-10, quinto circa 5-7 et septimo

circa 1—3 distinctis notatis ; antennis pedibusque piceo-testaceis.

Mas tibiis intermediis versus apicem vix fimbriatis (posticis fere,

forsan omnino simplicibus).

Fem. tibiis simplicibus.

Long. corp. lin. 4-5.

Calathus depressus?, Brullé, in Webb et Berth. (Col.) 55, pl. 2. f. 1 (1838).

Habitat in sylvaticis Teneriffee, sub lapidibus sat vulgaris.

The dark hue and broad outline of this Calathus (the pro-

thorax of which is considerably wider behind than in front, and

is but slightly recurved at the edges), added to its rather deeply

striated elytra (which are subopake in both sexes, and have their

discal punctures of the number indicated above), will sufficiently

characterize it. The hinder tibie of the male are almost (if not

indeed entirely) simple; and even the intermediate ones are but

very shortly and obscurely fimbriated towards their mner apex:

of the Canary Islands. 351

nevertheless the latter are, I think, quite sufficiently so to warrant

its admission into my second section. Although M. Brullé’s very

brief and meagre description applies almost equally to about

two-thirds of the Canarian Calathi, yet, with the assistance of

his figure and of the size there given of it (though, as already

mentioned, that length does not tally with what he states), I

believe that this is the insect to which he intended to apply the

name of C. depressus, and I have consequently quoted it as

such.

It is universal within the sylvan districts of Teneriffe, and is

perhaps the most common of the Canarian Calathi; neverthe-

less, although widely distributed over the island, I have never

met with it im actual profusion anywhere. I have taken it at

and above Yeod el Alto, at the Agua Mansa, and at the Agua

Garcia, as also at Las Mercedes and in the woods towards Ta-

ganana and Point Anaga. I have likewise received it from the

Barao do Castello de Paiva, and from Professor Heer of Zurich,

who obtained it from M. Hartung.

14. Calathus appendiculatus, n. sp.

C. fusco-piceus, depressus ; capite nitido; prothorace subzequali,

subquadrato, postice latiore, ad latera paulo pallidiore anguste et

leviter recurvo, ad basin ipsissimam fere immarginato; elytris

linea basali in utroque recta, striatis, interstitio tertio punctis circa

3-5 sat distinctis notato ; antennis pedibusque testaceis.

Mas omnino nitidus, interstitiis subconvexis; tibiis posterioribus

intus densissime fimbriatis.

Fem. prothorace elytrisque opacis, interstitiis valde depressis ; tibiis

simplicibus.

Long. corp. lin. 53.

Habitat Canariam Grandem: in montibus sylvaticis inter oppida

Galdar et Teror d, 21 Ap. a.p. 1858 pauca specimina collegi.

Apart from all other characters, the peculiar sexual differences

of this fine Calathus (the males of which are entirely bright,

whilst the females have their prothorax and elytra opake) will at

once separate it from all the others as yet detected at the Cana-

ries. In their elytral impressions, the present msect and the

two following ones are on the ordinary type, the number being

reduced to three or four on the third interstice, from which it

would appear that those species which have them more or less

increased are, according to the data hitherto accumulated, con-

fined to Teneriffe. The C. appendicu/atus seems to be peculiar

to the sylvan regions of Grand Canary, where, on the 21st of

April, 1858, I captur ed several specimens of it, beneath moist

rotting bark, in the remains of the ancient forest of E] Dor ames,

on the mountain road between Galdar and Teror.

352. Mr. T. V. Wollaston on the Calathi of the Canary Islands.

15. Calathus barbatus, n. sp.

C. fusco-piceus, subdepressus ; capite prothoraceque nitidis, hoe sub-

quadrato postice vix latiore, ad latera pallidiore et leviter recurvo;

elytris vix subconvexis et vix obscurioribus, linea basali in utroque

subrecta, leviter striatis, interstitio tertio punctis 3-4 distinctis

notato; antennis pedibusque testaceis.

Mas interstitiis subconvexis ; tibiis posterioribus intus apicem versus

dense fimbriatis ; posticis subcurvatis.

Fem. interstitiis depressis ; tibiis simplicibus.

Long. corp. lin. 32-43.

Habitat Canariam Grandem, in regionibus El Monte et Tarajana

tempore vernali a.p. 1558 deprehensus.

Like the last species, the C. barbatus would appear to be pe-

culiar to Grand Canary,—descending, however, into sub-sylvan

spots of a rather lower elevation than those tenanted by that

insect. It may be known from it by its very much smaller size

and by its sexes being almost equally shining, its prothorax

being in them Joth (as is the case with all the Canarian Calathi

except the appendiculatus) equally polished. In minor charac-

ters, its elytra are a trifle more convex than those of the appendi-

culatus, and have their basal line rather more curved; and the

four hinder tibize of its males are fimbriated along a rather shorter

portion of their inner edge. I took it, not uncommonly, in the

region of El Monte, as also on the mountains of Tarajana,

during the spring of 1858.

16. Calathus spretus, n. sp.

C. fusco-piceus, subconvexus ; capite prothoraceque nitidis, hoe sub-

quadrato, postice vix latiore, ad latera paulo pallidiore et leviter

recurvo; elytris subconvexis, ovatis, paulo (preesertim in sexu

fcemineo) obscurioribus, linea basali in utroque recta, leviter striatis,

interstitiis (in utroque sexu) subdepressis, tertio punctis 3-4 di-

stinctis notato; antennis pedibusque rufo-testaceis.

Mas tibiis posterioribus (sed preesertim intermediis) intus versus

apicem paulo densius ciliatis.

Fem. tibiis simplicibus.

Long. corp. lin. 4—43.

Habitat in ins. Hierro, mense Februario a. p. 1858 deprehensus.

In general aspect the present Calathus comes so near to the

C. barbatus, that, were it not for the essential differences displayed

by the tibize of the males of the two species, I should not have he-

sitated to consider them as identical ; but since the former has the

four hinder tibiz of its malesa/most simple internally, andthe poste-

rior pair straight, whilst the latter has them powerfully fimbriated,

with the posterior ones slightly curved, I cannot but regard

them as dissimilar, and so lay greater stress on the other minute

differences which they display inter se than I should ordinarily

On the Microscopic Life of the Island of St. Paul. 358

have done. Independently, therefore, of this primary distinc-

tion (which of itself would be sufficient to separate them), I may

just add that the C. spretus may be known from its ally by (on

the average) its slightly larger bulk and rather darker hue; by

its prothorax being perhaps a little less rounded at the sides,

and its elytra a little more so; and by the latter being just per-

ceptibly more convex and opake, with their basal line somewhat

straighter.

Whilst the C. barbatus is apparently confined to Grand Ca-

nary, the present species has been observed only in Hierro,

where several specimens of it were captured by Mr. Gray and

myself during our visit to that island in February 1858.

XXXIX.—On the Microscopic Life of the Island of St. Paul, in

the Southern Ocean. By Professor KHRENBERG*.

OaseEs in great deserts, and islands of difficult access in the di-

stant ocean, often fill the naturalist with a longing desire for a

knowledge of the forms of life existing on them. It seems as if

something of a virgin nature—something primeval, and not

yet profaned by man—might possibly be retained there, the

knowledge of which might enable us to see more deeply into the

original manifestations of life on our planet. On the other hand,

the expectation at least will be excited of finding, together and

connected in isolated spots, certain natural variations of a sim-

pler type of life, which elsewhere have been altered by innu-

merable opportunities of intermixture, until the original forms

have become unrecognizable. It is with a feeling of devotion,

with a beating heart, that the naturalist, whether young or old,

approaches such localities as are closed to common intercourse,

regarding them in the light of something sacred. Experience

and the quietude of advancing years cool many a warm hope ;

but the idea constantly awakens freshly that on some distant

island some treasure of this kind is to be found,—just as New

Holland has retained its Marsupial Mammals, and New Zealand

and Madagascar their gigantic birds—living in the one case,

in the others scarcely dead.

The small Island of St. Paul, situated in the midst of the

Southern Ocean, at nearly an equal distance (3000 nautical miles)

from the Cape of Good Hope and Adelaide in New Holland,

which was first discovered and named by Antonio Van Diemen,

in 1633, as the southernmost of the two islands of Amsterdam

* Translated from the ‘Monatsbericht der Berliner Akademie der Wis-

senschaften,’ December 1861, p. 1085.

354 Prof. Ehrenberg on the Microscopic Life

and St. Paul, has recently been examined with the most devoted

zeal and care, at the special desire of Alexander Von Humboldt,

by the Austrian circumnavigatory expedition of the frigate

‘Novara. The great distance of this island from the active

traffic of the world, and the already published review of the

larger forms of life accessible to the naked eye, induced me to

submit the cinders and samples of earth sent to me by Professor

Hochstetter, the geologist to the expedition, to a careful exami-

nation in respect of the microscopic forms of life; and I desire

now to append the results of this investigation, as an expression

of thanks to the unwearied and most meritorious efforts of that

observer.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND.

[From the journals of the ‘ Novara,’ by Dr. Scherzer. ]

The greatest length of the Island of St. Paul, which, according

to the recent observations, is situated in 38° 42! 55" S. lat. and

77° 31' 18" W. long., is three nautical miles ; its greatest breadth,

from S.E. to N.W., two nautical miles; and its total surface

1,600,000 square fathoms. Its form is that of a simple crater-

wall surrounding a nearly circular crater-lake, the latter being

3984 Viennese feet in greatest breadth, and 34 fathoms (=204

feet) in depth. The highest point of the crater-margin is 846

Viennese feet above the level of the sea.

The rocks are basaltic lavas, consisting of glassy oligoclase

and augite, with intermixed olivine and magnetic iron. From

a sharp profile on the eastern side, the petrographic structure of

the island may be clearly seen. Here four principal periods of

the geological development of the island make their appearance,

three submarine and one supramarine, of which more accurate

proof is desirable. At present the island is only in the state of

a quiescent fumarole. Pure aqueous vapours, without any trace

of vapours of sulphurous and muriatic acids, flow forth from the

clefts of the inner margin of the crater, and, on the summit of

the island, from the fissures of the newest bed of lava.

With regard to the period of the last great geological change,

it appears, from the journals of the ‘ Novara’ of the year 1857,

that 160 years previously (namely, in 1697, when the Dutch

captain Willem de Vlaming saw the island) the entrance to the

crater-basin was still closed by a dam 5 feet in height, and that

at the present day this entrance is open, for a width of 306 feet,

for the admission of boats at all times of the day, and has a

depth of 2-3 feet of water at ebb-tide, and of 9 feet at the flood.

Whether storms and the action of the waves during the last

160 years have broken down the dam, or whether au internal

voleanic movement has assisted in producing the effect, may re-

of the Island of St. Paul. 355

main doubtful; the alteration in that time is certainly attested.

The flames and masses of smoke observed by d’Entrecasteau for

two whole days in 1792, on the neighbouring island of Amsterdam,

were repeated before the eyes of the naturalists by the accidental

ignition of the dry grass, depriving the supposition that the

islands were active at that time of its probability.

THE LARGER FORMS OF LIFE.

Great was the anxious suspense of the body of scientific men

as they approached the island. As soon as the anchor was

dropped, a small boat was seen approaching, with three wild-

looking men in it. ‘These human inhabitants were neither ab-

origines nor shipwrecked seamen, but Frenchmen, voluntary

colonists from St. Denis in the Isle of Bourbon, who, for the

sake of the fishery, had established themselves near a spring, in

the same way as the two sea-bear-hunters who were found settled

there, in 1793, by the English man-of-war ‘ Lion,’ and who had

remained for more than a year. ‘Twice in the year a ship en-

ables the French colonists to communicate with the Mascarene

Islands.

The examination of the island, continued during two weeks

and a halt by the whole scientific body landed there on purpose,

has furnished us with an exhaustive view of all the larger forms

of life of this isolated extinct volcano.

Of vegetable forms St. Paul contains neither tree nor shrub ;

but poppies, parsley, potatoes, and oats, growing wild, gave

testimony to the previous settlement of Europeans. Of plants in

general, besidesthe introduced cultivated species and their constant

companions Sonchus arvensis, Digitaria, Plantago, Ceratium, and

Stellaria media, the whole island presented 56 species indepen-

dent of man,—namely, 11 probably aboriginal Phanerogamia

(6 Grasses, 1 Cyperacean), 2 Ferns, 1 Lycopodium, 3 Mosses,

2 Liverworts, 4 Lichens, and 33 Alge. The grasses form no

meadows but the plants are only closely approximated ; never-

theless they constitute the general coverig of the soil. Their

decay forms the mould, which is sometimes several feet thick.

Of peculiar Mammals there was no trace; but there were

pigs, goats, cats, and rabbits, which had become wild, and also

rats and mice. The sea-bears (Arctocephalus falclandicus), which

were formerly abundant, have disappeared, although as late as

1793 the colonists found there were completing a cargo of

25,000 skins, as many animals came daily to the shore.

Of Birds, a peculiar Tern (S¢erna), a Skua (Stercorarius an-

tarcticus), the Broad-billed Petrel (Prion vittatus), three species

of Albatross (Diomedea exulans, D. chlororhynchus, and Phebe-

tria fuliginosa) were observed and collected. A species of Pen-

356 Prof. Ehrenberg on the Microscopic Life

gun (Hudyptes chrysocoma) was remarkably abundant. With

these widely distributed oceanic birds, there was only a single

land-bird, a Swift (Cypselus) ; and the male appeared to be in

attendance upon a sitting female.

Of Fishes, a large Acanthopterygian (Cheilodactylus fasciatus),

allied to the Umbre, constituted the principal object of the sea-

fishery. With the hook, Thyrsites Aton and a few other forms

were taken in the ship; and there were also Sharks.

Of Amphibia the island showed no trace.

Of Insects, with the exception of the introduced Clothes-

Moth, there were no Lepidoptera; nor were there any Hymeno-

ptera, Neuroptera, or indigenous Orthoptera. There were only

one small ground-Beetle, two abundant Spiders, and one very

small Homopterous insect (Delphax hemiptera). There was also

a species of the Isopod Crustacea, and with it our common

Wood-louse (Porcellio) ; the Book-louse (Psocus), Earwig (For-

ficula), and Flea were also present, and appeared to have been

introduced. The Woodlouse was astonishingly abundant, cover-

ing the island in such dense masses that one of the naturalists

estimated its numbers at 6,000,000,000, assuming 100 speci-

mens as the minimum on one square foot of surface. About

the fumaroles they always lay in heaps, dead and scorched.

The similar absence of all Butterflies, Sphinges, and Bombyces

in Iceland was explained by my late friend, the learned traveller

and naturalist, Dr. Thienemann (Reise, 1827, p. 240), by their

being more easily destroyed by showers of ashes ; whilst Noctue

and Geometre exist in Iceland, and Butterflies live still further

to the north.

Of the higher Crustacea, a large Palinurus was very abundant

in the sea, and proved to be very good eating. The Mollusca,

which were not plentiful even in the dredge, were mostly very

small. The largest was a Tritonium, 3 inches in length, taken

in the sea. There were 3 small Brachiopods.

The sum-total of the species of animals enumerated in the

general account of the voyage scarcely amounts to 20, indepen-

dent of human agency.

However possible it might be to add a few fishes and some para-

sites of the widely distributed birds and of the fishes to the fauna

of the island, or to catalogue marine shells and worms in larger

numbers than were furnished by the dredge, still the terrestrial

fauna, which particularly interests us, has been in fact settled

at the above small number of forms by remarkably expert and

zealous observers. A few insects which had concealed themselves

during stormy and rainy days might probably come forth in the

quiet sunshine ; and at other seasons of the year a few more

species of animals and plants might be collected, which were in-

of the Island of St. Paul. 357

visible in November and December ; but the number of 76 indi-

genous forms of the larger plants and animals appears to be

very nearly the extreme limit of the palpable life of the island,

and may be adopted here only as a standard of comparison with

the microscopic impalpable life.

THE MICROSCOPIC FORMS OF LIFE.

Professor Hochstetter sent me first of all some specimens of

cinders and earths from the base and the elevated surface of the

voleano. The increasing interest of the investigation induced

me to make special requests, and called forth from Professor

Hochstetter further explanations and the transmission of other

materials. In this way I obtained fifteen different samples.

Review and Characteristics of the Materials.

a. From the shore and base of the crater.

1. Sand from the hot place close to the shore of the crater-

basin. No. 171.—The spot is covered by the sea at high water.

At a depth of 4-1 foot, the thermometer rose to 168°, 187°,

196°, 197°°6, and 201° F. The bare foot could not bear to rest

on the surface, and was scalded when slightly sunk. The spe-

cimen is dry, and consists of a moderately fine sharp sand of a

dark-grey colour, with numerous black, yellowish, and white

grains, mostly a little coarser than ordinary writing-sand. Acids

produce no perceptible effervescence. When heated to redness,

many of the dark particles become paler, and the brown ones

more yellowish. Ten analyses of the finest parts, suspended

in distilled water, gave only a slight intermixture of organic

particles in a greatly predominating mass of sand composed of

cindery fragments of different colours, many of which were

doubly refractive. Only two Polygastria and three Phytolitharia

could be particularly registered; they were all completely iso-

lated. From the scanty intermixture of the latter, this sand

evidently has no connexion with the humus of the island; and

although the two Polygastria establish beyond a doubt a con-

nexion with the neighbouring sea, all the intermixed calcareous

particles of sea-sand are wanting. The sand consequently con-

sists of fine cindery particles, and of a few accidentally intro-

duced terrestrial and marine organisms of the smallest size.

Each of the analyses here given relates, as in other cases,

to about one-third of a cubic line (a portion as large as a

pin’s head) of the mass, spread thinly with water upon mica,

dried, and coated with Canada balsam: every particle of this,

however small, was examined with a power of 300 diameters.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 26

358 Prof. Ehrenberg on the Microscopic Life

2. Stone from the hot spring, coated with calcareous incrusta-

tions and Oscillatorie. No.167.—I have received two breccia-

like, coarsely granular, but not porous specimens of stone,

nearly 2 inches in diameter, exhibiting, in a black fundamental

mass, white amorphous grains, often 1 line in diameter, and

sometimes separable, which are glassy at their margins, but

mostly opake in the middle. The spring has a temperature of

131° F., a somewhat alkaline reaction, and a strongly mineral

taste. At high water it is covered by the sea. The specimens

have formed the walls of a natural supply-pipe. Muriatic acid

dissolves a portion of the incrusting coat with effervescence ; a

considerable portion remains unaltered. Of the latter a portion

is felt-like, and composed of very delicate organic elements ; an-

other portion is earthy. The felty masses are partly of a green

colour (they were living), partly colourless or white (dead ?).

The green portions are entirely felted Osczllatorie, one of which

(a very fine one) closely resembles O. labyrinthiformis ; the other,

which is rather coarser, is of a more vivid green. The pale-

yellowish and white felted masses are made up of the same forms

bleached, but also frequently of dense colonies of hitherto un-

known forms (Phalarina Wiillerstorfii, Cymboplea Novare, Collo-

sigma Scherzeri, and Collorhaphis Sellenyi), amongst which various

other forms lie isolatedly. The total result of twenty analyses

enables us to register, besides the Oscillatorie, 14 Polygastria,

4 Phytolitharia (of which 3 are Spongolithes) and 1 Lepido-

pterous scale. The new genera are mostly amorphous jellies, in

which scattered and densely aggregated Naviculacea lie without

order.

3. Cinder from the coast, covered with Serpule. X.—The frag-

ment of cinder, rather more than 2 inches in diameter, is very

porous, with the principal mass dark brown; it resembles a

firmly cemented dark-brown sand, and has white enclosed grains,

glassy at the margin, and not acted upon by acids, like those in

No.2. The Serpule are mostly covered with a thin green coat

of Algze. The fragment, previously freed from all foreign dust

by strong blowing on all sides, was repeatedly shaken strongly,

in a suitable vessel, with distilled water, by which a shght tur-

bidity of the water was produced. In the deposit there were,

im twenty analyses, 42 organic forms :—viz. 12 Polygastria,

12 Phytolitharia, 14 Polythalamia, 2 Polycystina, 1 Bryozoon,

1 Zoolitharion.

4. Coarse black sand from the shore. No. 154.—The sand

resembles coarse gunpowder, and only contains a few whitish

silicious particles. Many of the black grains follow the magnet,

and appear to be a magnetic iron-sand. There were no organic

forms.

of the Island of St. Paul. 359

b. From the upper surface of the volcano.

5. Bog iron-ore from the upper margin of the crater. Y.—

The sample consists of some fragments, an inch or more in dia-

meter, of a deposit resembling bog iron-ore, coarsely granular,

full of holes, and of a reddish-brown colour. The weathered

surface is whitish; the fresh fractures exhibit many cavities,

several lines in diameter, filled with a red, ochrey, friable earth.

Here and there glassy streaks of greater solidity occur in the

mass. Acid is absorbed without effervescence ; calcination pro-

duces no change in the red colour. After the surface had been

well blown, the bright-red friable inner parts were crushed in

distilled water, and, after the clear water had been poured away,

boiled with muriatic acid. The fluid became greenish, and a

whitish silica, free from iron, remained behind. Ten analyses of

this mass furnished 16 striking organic forms :—6 Polygastria,

6 Phytolitharia, 3 Polycystina, 1 Geolithe. Decided marine

forms were mixed with very striking freshwater forms, otherwise

than in the other cases.

6. Bright-red earth from the highest points of the island, under

the turf. No. 164,—The entire upper margin of the crater pre-

sents red earth of this kind, apparently the upper beds of lava

and cinders decomposed into iron-ochre or brown ironstone.

The sample is a bright, rusty-red, fine earth, which does not

effervesce with acid, and, when calcined, becomes first blackish,

and afterwards only a very little darker, at last even resuming

-its original colour. In washing, the greater part is suspended

in the water, and only a few sand-grains remain; these, also,

form rough particles between the fingers, whilst the mass is of

impalpable fineness. When the red earth is boiled with muriatic

acid, iron is extracted, and a white earth, scarcely diminished in

volume, is left.

This earth is exceedingly remarkable when examined by the

microscope. It consists, with the exception of a very few quartzose

glassy sand-grains, entirely of well-preserved fine, and coarser

silicious particles from grasses, with a few shells of Polygastria

intermixed. That these particles, covered individually with a thin

coat of peroxide of iron, which ceases to be perceptible under a

magnifying power of 300 diameters, were produced, as might be

supposed from appearances, by the weathering and decomposition

of beds of lava and cinders, is impossible, from the sharpness and

good preservation of their forms; but a baking and hardening of

the decomposed grassy vegetation to form superficial cindery

rocks, and an action of the volcano upon such masses, colouring

them with peroxide of iron, is readily conceivable even at a high

temperature; the circumstance that the oxide of iron in them is

26%

360 Prof. Ehrenberg on the Microscopic Life

not a hydrate, but anhydrous oxide of iron, and therefore quite

distinct from the very similar iron-ochre, is favourable to this

view. (Compare No.5.) Ten analyses have enabled 25 Phy-

tolitharia, amongst which is 1 Spongolithe and 1 Polygastrian,

to be determined as constituent elements. The small quantity

of inorganic sand .is not glassy, but strongly doubly refractive ;

and the behaviour of its white particles resembles that of the

white portion of the cinders indicated as oligoclase. The Li-

thospheridia predominate, and are the smallest forms. Lithosty-

lidium rude is large, and often very numerous. Although the

Lithospheridia have their outlines always sharp and smooth, the

Lithostylidia usually appear spongy and, as it were, eaten away.

One of their chemical constituents appears to have been ex-

tracted from them. The stelligerous forms, described as Li-

thosemata, occur not unfrequently.

7. Dark-brown earth under the turf of the most elevated sur-

faces. No. 166.—The fine dark-brown earth, which becomes

black when wetted, does not effervesce with acids. When cal-

‘cined, it becomes first blackish, and then of a darker brown than

before. It contains many root-fibres of plants, which are visible

to the naked eye. When washed, there remains a fine variegated

sand in which many Phytolitharia are imbedded. Lithospheridia

are rare; but Amphidiscus truncatus, Lithostylidium clepsammi-

dium, and L. rude are abundant. No Lithosemata. In all, ten

analyses gave 4 Polygastria and 21 Phytolitharia, such as parti-

cles of grasses, but no Spongolithe.

8. Dark-brown earth under the turf of the highest region of the

island. No. 165.—Dull dark-brown earth, which does not effer-

vesce with acids, and, when calcined, becomes first black, and

then white. Impalpable when rubbed between the fingers. In

ten analyses, 24 organic forms were found; these were all sili-

cious particles of grasses, except 1 Spongolithe, most probably

blown in.

In the form, abundance, and intermixture of the forms, this

earth exactly resembles the red earths Nos. 5 and 6. Only a small

quantity, disappearing in the mass, of decomposed vegetable

cellular tissue (true humus) is intermixed with it ; but still this

is the part which gives the brown colour. Iron, on the con-

trary, is entirely wanting. This fact is important, because by it

the iron in Nos. 5 and 6 is shown to be a foreign intermixture, not

appertaining to those grass-particles, and either produced by vol-

canic action or by non-volcanic deposition from water. The

apparently black humus of the island, where quite free from

voleanic dust, is only formed by Phytolitharia with a little

soluble cellular matter, and without lime.

of the Island of St. Paul. 361

9. Red fumarole-clay on the plateau at the highest margin of

the crater. No. 197.—The specimen is a yellowish-brown, dry,

friable, clayey earth, dried into lumps, and plastic when moist,

which has a sharp sandy feel when rubbed between the fingers.

The colour is a rather duller red, and more like loam, than that

of No. 5. On the addition of acids, no effervescence or other

change is produced. When calcined, the mass becomes first

blackish, then reddish brown, darker than before, and not blood-

red. When boiled with muriatic acid, it becomes very pale and

whitish. Under a magnifying power of 300 diameters, the mass

appears like a very fine clay. Ten analyses gave only 3 recog-

nizable forms as organic elements. By the washing of the finest

clay, the sharply sandy residue in a watch-glass gave numerous

Lithostylidia, but only a few well preserved. Various half-

decomposed bacilliform fragments might belong to the same

forms. The most remarkable forms were numerous spherules,

often of very small size, which were unaltered by boiling in

muriatic acid, round or oval in shape, very smooth and finely

cellular in the interior. As I once found four of them adhering

together, the middle one being smaller and also of irregular

shape, I have indicated these structures as hyalithic Morpho-

lithes. They often resemble a Haliomma; they contain air in

their interior within numerous small cells, into which balsam

gradually penetrates from the surface. With polarized light,

they often, but not always, become opalescent. The latter

characteristic excludes them very distinctly from the organic

forms.

10. Moss-turf from a soil of moist blackish-brown humus.

No. 6.—The sample is a dense satiny moss-turf, without fructi-

fication ; it is probably a Bryum. After softening and squeezing

a portion in distilled water, there occurred, as a turbidity, in ten

analyses, 8 Polygastria (6 Diatoms) and 16 Phytolitharia,

amongst which are 2 Spongolithes ; together, 24 organic forms.

Brown irregular particles, amongst which were many small

fragments of Phytolitharia, predominate. Pinnularia borealis

and Lithostylidium rude are very abundant; the rest occur

singly.

11. Bright-green moss upon black humus. No. 7.—The sample

is a moss-turf with large bright-green stems, resembling a Hyp-

num, and adherent traces of Lichens (Cladonie). Such bright-

green moss showed itself on the declivities of the volcanic cone,

near the highest margin of the crater, on the hottest places.

When stirred in distilled water, the earth furnished, in ten ana-

lyses, 8 Polygastria and 15 Phytolitharia ; together, 23 forms.

Amongst much brown rotten cellular tissue, Lithostylidia, Ar-

362 Prof. Ehrenberg on the Microscopic Life

cella ylobulus, and Pinnularia borealis are particularly plentiful ;

Eunotia amphioxys is rare.

12. Bright-green moss-turf from a hot place. No. 12.—A frag-

ment of aloose moss-turf, with a slight coat of lichens (Cladonie)

and various mosses, from the upper margin of: the crater. In

ten analyses of the finest particles, in portions of the size of a

pin’s head, diffused under water and covered with Canada balsam,

6 Polygastria, 18 Phytolitharia, and 1 egg of a Tardigrade, al-

together 25 forms, were observed. The greatest part of the

layer of humus consists of rotten cellular tissue, appearing brown

by transmitted light. Lzthostylidia, and especially Pinnularia

borealis, are extremely plentiful, together with Difflugia seminu-

lum. Eunotia amphioxys is not rare; the rest occur singly.

13. Green coating on humus on moist declivities. No. 9.—The

sample consists of thin black parings of the layer of humus,

with the upper surface greenish. Softened and suspended in

distilled water, the fine deposit in the watch-glass showed 28

organic structures in ten portions of the size of a pin’s head,

namely, 11 Polygastria, 16 Phytolitharia, and 1 Tardigrade ;

amongst these there were cellular parts of grasses with fissures.

The greater part of the Polygastria are Arcellina, and the two

cosmopolite forms Pinnularia borealis and Eunotia amphioxys.

The Phytolitharia are only portions of grasses. The Tardigrade

is not rare, and cannot be distinguished from the very widely

distributed Macrobiotus Hufelandi.

14. Moss-turf of Sphagnum, without any earthy soil. No. 10.—

The sample consists of four clean stems, 3 inches long, without

fructification. When softened in distilled water, and repeatedly

squeezed, the half ‘of them produced a slight turbidity in the

water. Ten analyses of the deposit in the watch-glass furnished

6 Polygastria, 7 Phytolitharia, and 2 small seeds; together,

15 forms. D¢fflugie are very numerous, especially D. seminulum

and Frauenfeldii ; of the former there were sometimes from four

to six at once in the field.

15. Green Liverwort-turf upon moist black humus. No. 138.—

The specimen, which was about two inches across, contained

chiefly Jungermannie ; but amongst these there were many fern-

capsules and seeds. Ten analyses of the finest earthy particles

furnished 81 forms, namely, 10 Polygastria, 14 Phytolitharia,

3 Rotatoria, | Anguillula, 2 small seeds, and a portion of a plant

resembling the epidermis of a grass. The Arcellina predomi-

nated amongst decayed parts of plants, especially Difflugia areo-

lata. The Rotatoria are not rare, but never occur many toge-

ther. The Difflugie appear to reside with them in the axils of

the leaves of the plant.

of the Island of St. Paul. 363

Results.

The whole of the microscopic forms of the Island of St. Paul

thus brought to light are—

Organic silicious forms.

35 Bacillarie (Polygastria).

5 Polyeystina.

67 Phytolitharia.

2 Geolithes.

Calcareous forms.

14 Polythalamia.

1 Bryozoon.

1 Zoolitharion.

Soft forms.

3 Rotatoria.

2 Tardigrada.

1 Anguillula.

13 Arcellina (Polygastria).

1 Lepidopterous scale.

7 Portions of plants.

2 Oscillatoriz.

154

Inorganic forms.

7 kinds.

161

To these may be added isolated mouse-hairs and dyed blue

and red fibres of wool, originating from the clothes of men or

from filter-paper.

Of the whole 161 kinds, 76 are independent organisms; the

other organic forms are characteristic parts of larger organisms,

mostly grasses and sponges.

Of inorganic characteristic forms 7 are registered.

Besides these 154 organic and 7 inorganic forms, no traces of

any others could be detected with a power of 300 diameters and

even more.

The whole of the structures registered belong to the six classes

already indicated in the ‘ Mikrogeologie’ as widely distributed on

the earth, and to their well-known families. But among them

there are six forms which had to be described under new generic

names, and which therefore may be particularly characteristic of

this small island. These are the genera Collorhaphis, Collosigma,

364 Prof. Ehrenberg on the Microscopic Life

Cymboplea, and Phalarina amongst the Diatomez; Chetotrochus

amongst the Polythalamia; and Lzthosema amongst the Phyto-

litharia.

In all, there are 29 forms out of the 154 which have never

been observed elsewhere by me; namely, 15 Polygastria, 11

Phytolitharia, 1 Polythalamion and perhaps more, and 2 Rota-

toria. Of these 18 are independent organisms.

If they be divided into terrestrial and marine forms, 48 out of

the 154: organic forms belong to the sea, the remaining 106 being

land and freshwater organisms.

As Tardigrada and Rotatoria were to be detected in some of

the specimens, I immediately tried with great care whether they

would give any signs of life in water, or whether they could

be brought to full vital activity, which has usually been erro-

neously described as a resuscitation from death. The dry mate-

rials, which were collected in December 1857, and reached me

in 1861, and were consequently more than three years old, ex-

hibited no signs of vitality in any of the forms in which these

were expected, although in previous experiments with materials

from other localities I had been able to observe life still retained

even for four years. We can revive no dead organisms, even

the smallest !

There is, however, no doubt that the independent microscopic

life of the island cannot be regarded as completed by these

76 independent forms. By observations quietly and specially

directed to them, the stagnating snow and rain-water or the

muddy earth, however little it may strike the eye, may present

numerous other forms which disappear after death, as I found

to be the case in the deserts of Africa forty years ago.

Of the 76 independent minute forms, 8 are shelless animals

(Anguillule, Rotatoria, and Tardigrada), 13 Arcellina with mem-

branous carapaces, 40 silicious-shelled (Diatoms and Polycys-

tina), and 15 calcareous-shelled (Polythalamia and Bryozoa).

Several of the independent forms bearing silicious shells are

very numerous in their localities; but there exists no Kiesel-

guhr, tripoli or polishing-slate formed by them. On the con-

trary, the so-called humus-soil is formed principally of the 57

silicious particles of grasses, some, however, with Naviculacee.

As, according to the investigations of the botanists of the

expedition, there were only 11 indigenous Phanerogamic plants

and only 7 grasses upon the island, the whole of the 57 silicious

particles of grasses which form the upper soil under the turf

are undoubtedly derived from these 7 grasses. The few isolated

Spongolithes belong to the sea, and never contribute much to the

mass.

The grassy soil or humus, which in the upper parts of the

of the Island of St. Paul. 365

island resembles Kieselguhr, and consists chiefly of Phytolitharia,

is black when moist, brown when dry ; but in the vicinity of the

fumaroles it is often of a bright ochreous rusty red (Nos. 6,7,8).

By ignition, the black earths become not red, but white. The

iron is therefore no constituent of the Phytolitharia, but an ex-

traneous constituent introduced no doubt by the volcanic fuma-

roles. If the rusty-red earth, which, as reported, appears here

and there to be a product of the weathering of bog iron-ore

and brown ironstone, behaves everywhere like the samples, we

are compelled, on account of its organic composition, to reverse

the notion, and to regard the rocks standing in connexion with

such earths as consisting of the latter repeatedly baked, hardened

and metamorphosed.

The slight mixture of the Phytolitharian humus with in-

organic sand and volcanic ashes appears of importance. From

this we may undoubtedly draw many conclusions as to the acti-

vity of the volcano. If the average annual mass of the humus

can be ascertained, we shall be able to judge approximately, from

the thickness of the earthy mound, of the last period of repose

of the voleano. Showers of ashes must have immediately effected

a great change in such pure Phytolitharian humus. The sam-

ples, however, relate to considerable depths in the mass, and not

to the immediate surface.

Further, the earths and rocks investigated allow us to express

the opinion that the looser earthy coverings of the mound,

whether black or red, are freshwater formations. With the ex-

ception of No, 5, all the marine forms registered are from points

on the shore within high water. No considerable action of the

sea upon the soil produced by the grassy vegetation and the up-

permost rocks dependent upon this is anywhere indicated by the

intermixture of marme forms; consequently the union of the

crater-lake with the outer sea, produced since the year 1697,

cannot lead us to the conclusion that a rising and swell of the

sea touching the upper part of the land has formerly taken

lace.

The rock No. 5 from the upper margin of the crater (846 ft.)

appears to be particularly interesting. It resembles a bog

iron-ore, and has been so described by me. From its rich

marine organic admixture, it appears to me, in the midst of the

freshwater formations, as the ancient sea-bed, which the volcano

has forced up, with little change at the time of its elevation,

and impregnated with oxide of iron. Perhaps other materials

in the collections of the ‘ Novara’ may furnish further evidence,

especially as to the thickness of the mass.

It is eight years since I registered, from Kerguelen’s Land,

situated still further towards the south pole, 56 microscopic

366 H.von Meyer on the Archzopteryx lithographica,

forms, of which 22 species were figured. These investigations

were published, in 1854, in the ‘ Mikrogeologie.”? According to

this, St. Paul’s and Kerguelen’s Land have 23 forms in com-

mon, namely, 14 Polygastria, 8 Phytolitharia, and 1 Anguillula.

In Kerguelen’s Land there was one new genus, Disiphonia, of

which the same species has recently occurred again on Mont

Blane (1859, Monatsber. 779), and a second species in New

Zealand (1861, Monatsber. 887). In St. Paul’s 5 peculiar ge-

nera have been discovered ; and it may be worthy of notice that

the Difflugia seminulum, registered by me from Monte Rosa and

the Himalayas, has been brought from St. Paul’s in great abun-

dance, together with 9 or 10 other species, some of which are

new.

According to the existing indications of its substance as far as

they could be tested, the Island of St. Paul does not belong to

the lands which were above the water before the last great geo-

logical catastrophe ; it appears to be a volcanic elevation of a

more modern, although prehistoric period. All the new genera.

of microscopic independent beings belong to mineral waters and

salt water, and not to the land. The Lithosemata are silicious

particles of grasses, one of which has been formerly described

and figured by me as Lithostylidium comtum of the trade-wind

dust, and another as Lithustylidium ornatum. Traces of quite

unknown and peculiar types of organic life, such as are exhibited

by New Holland, New Zealand, and Madagascar, are wanting in

St. Paul’s, even amongst microscopic organisins.

From all the specimens examined, however, it appears that in

St. Paul’s an abundant, earth-forming, invisibly powerful organic

life is gomg on. Whoever is inclined to regard the invisible as

unimportant will leave it unnoticed. For my part, 1 cannot but

regard this newly opened isolated focus of powerfully active

minute life with deep interest, and wish much that many tra-

vellers may be incited to assist as much as lies in their power

in the further elucidation of the great invisible rock- and earth-

forming life of Nature. Perhaps the present communication

may serve to bring to light certain points of view which may be

capable of awakening interest In many ways.

XL.—On the Archeopteryx lithographica, from the Lithographic

Slate of Solenhofen. By Hermann von Meyer*,

Featuers, or indeed any remains of birds, have hitherto been

known in no rock older than the Tertiary period. Reports of

greater antiquity have not been confirmed. Either the speci-

* Translated from Palzontographia, vol. x. p. 53, by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S_

from the Lithographic Slate of Solenhofen. 367

mens upon which they are founded do not belong to birds, or

the formation, if it contained actual remains of birds, has been

represented as more ancient than it really was. This applies

even to the Glarus slates, which were regarded as Cretaceous at

the period when a bird occurred in them, whilst they are only

Tertiary. In my investigations of this bird (Palzontogr. iv.

p- 90), I have repeatedly indicated that the phenomenon known

under the name of Ornithichnites, attributed to the footprints,

traces, or tracks of birds, is but little fitted to decide so important

a matter as the antiquity of existence of an entire class of ani-

mals. It has been made use of to claim a high antiquity for

birds. But Ichnology, or the whole theory of fossil footprints,

reposes only upon phenomena of resemblance; and although

philosophers of the highest rank are to be found among its

defenders, and its literature has acquired great dimensions, it is

still destitute of a scientific foundation.

Remains of birds have frequently been supposed to occur in

the Lithographic Slate ; but it appeared, upon closer investiga-

tion, that these were derived from Pterodactyles, or from the

Rhamphorhynchi, which belong to the same group, from the

structure of which we cannot well conclude that the animals

were clothed with feathers ; and no traces of feathers were ever

discovered with the numerous Pterodactyles found, of some of

which the skeletons were perfect. (See my work ‘ Reptilien aus

dem lithographischen Schiefer,’ 1860, p. 21.)

From the circumstance that remains of birds were not to be

found im pre-Tertiary formations, and that birds only begin to

appear after the extinction of the Pterodactyles, which continued

to occur up to the Chalk, it has been concluded that the Ptero-

dactyle as it were represents the prototype of the bird.

This rendered it the more surprising that recently a feather

should be brought to light, and indeed precisely in the same

formation, and even at the same spot, which furnishes the

greatest number of Pterodactyles. This discovery is an event

of so much importance in paleontology that it calls for the most

thorough investigation. Although I had not the least reason to

doubt of the integrity of the source through which the fossil was

intrusted to me, still I must admit that it was not without some

mistrust that I set about the examination of the subject, which

had to be carried out in all directions, and in which the chief

object was to answer the following three questions :—

1. Is the rock the Lithographic Slate of the Upper Jurassic

series ?

2. Is the object upon it a feather such as birds possess ?

3. Is the object really petrified, 7. e. of the same age as the

fossils of the Lithographic Slate ?

368 H.von Meyer on the Archzopteryx lithographica,

As regards the first question, I can assert that the fossil be-

fore me, in its two corresponding slabs, is derived from the

quarries of Solenhofen, whence it came to me direct. The stone

agrees perfectly with the lithographic slate in fracture, weight,

and mass. The colour is that of the ash-grey variety; the

cleavage-surfaces are flat and spotted with brown, especially on

the slab im which the feather is most distinctly shown. This

slab is 0:022 metre, the opposite one 0-016 metre in thickness.

The notion that the stone has been artificially prepared is quite

inadmissible. On the outer surfaces small Echinoderms of the

genus Saccosoma are observed, and these may serve to place the

age of the stone beyond a doubt.

The second question may also be answered most satisfactorily.

The object occurring on the stone agrees in all its parts so per-

fectly with the feather of a bird, that it is impossible to distin-

guish it therefrom. The feather is admirably preserved; the

extremity of the stem alone is less distinctly exhibited, betraying

a softer consistence of this part, which will be due to the fact

that the feather was not completely developed, or that it belonged

to a young animal. The entire length of the feather is 0-069

metre, of which 0:054 belongs to the vane, which is truncated at

right angles and rounded-off at the extremity, and has a nearly

uniform breadth of.0°011 metre; the breadth only diminishes a

little towards the truncated extremity. The stem was pretty

strong, and measures fully 0-001 metre in thickness. The fibres

of which the vane is composed may be distinctly traced; even

the small barbules with which they are beset may be recognized.

Here and there the vane gapes a little, probably in consequence

of pressure upon the original curvature of the feather, which is

completely flattened. It is at the same time nearly straight, and

the vane on one side is twice as broad as that on the other, in

which it resembles a wing or tail quill-feather. The vane is

blackish brown, and becomes a little darker towards the ex-

tremity, which might be due to the original coloration. This

feather is only a little smaller and less rounded or more an-

gular at the extremity of the vane than that of the common

Partridge.

Lastly, as regards the third question, I have employed the

most careful investigation for its solution, but can only come to

the conclusion that the feather is truly fossilized, and of the

same age as the Lithographic Slate, to which, therefore, it truly

from the Lithographic Slate of Solenhofen. 369

belongs, like the other fossils occurring there. The employ-

ment of the two corresponding slabs was of great service in

these investigations. No notion of the feather being produced

by human hands is admissible. No draughtsman could produce

anything so real. Nor is there any more room to think that a

feather may have been pressed between two slabs of stone, and

converted, by some process or other, into an artificial fossil. By

careful examination it will be found that, notwithstanding its

delicacy, the feather has produced slight impressions in the

stone. The stone was therefore not fully hardened at the time

of its being deposited. The substance into which the feather

has been changed reminds one of the dendritic deposits; but

dendritic formations have nothing to do with it. The mode of

preservation resembles that of the birds’ feathers which I have

examined from Tertiary strata, and which I shall shortly

publish.

As evidence of the genuineness of the feather, I may also

state that upon the same cleavage-surface of the stone many

small, fine, blackish fibres, like short hairs, are scattered about ;

these will likewise be derived from the epidermic covering of the

animal. ‘The fibres of the vane acquire a more hairlike aspect

towards the quill, and in its immediate vicinity there are also

numerous little isolated hairs, or shorter and not plumose

filaments.

The genuineness of the feather found in the Lithographic

Slate of Solenhofen is consequently not to be doubted.

As early as the year 1834 I indicated the danger to which we

expose ourselves in paleontology by drawing logical conclusions

in accordance with Cuvier’s theory, from the similarity of parti-

cular parts as to the similarity of other parts or of the whole.

I at the same time showed that, in one and the same creature,

the most different types may occur together, purely developed.

The fossil feather of Solenhofen, therefore, even if agreeing per-

fectly with those of our birds, need not necessarily be derived

from a bird. And, indeed, a feathered animal, differing essen-

tially from our birds, has occurred in the Lithographic Slate*.

My first information about this was received by me, just after

the completion of my investigations, from M. Witte of Hanover.

This gentleman saw, in the possession of M. Haberlein of Pap-

penheim, upon a slab of Solenhofen slate, about 14 square foot

in size, an animal of which he remarked that it possessed feathers,

and that the feathers of the tail were attached, not, as in birds,

to the last vertebra, but on each side of the caudal vertebre.

The feathers were, moreover, quite distinctly furnished with stem

and vane. Soon afterwards, Professor Oppel of Munich wrote

* See ‘Annals,’ April 1862, p. 261.

370 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

me to the same effect, he having seen this fossil. The animal,

of which the head is wanting, is abundantly endowed with

feathers. It possesses a long tail, like Rhamphorhynchus, and a

small pelvis; like birds, it has a single bone forming the tarsus;

it is furnished with three toes ; on the anterior limbs there is a fan

of feathers, and also on the tail, on which the feathers radiate, not

from the last vertebra, but laterally along the vertebre. The

simple tarsus of itself shows that this animal does not belong to

the Pterodactyles, and the formation of the tail contradicts the

idea that we connect with our birds, yet the feathers are not

distinguishable from those of birds. The fossil feather from

Solenhofen described by me will be derived from a similar ani-

mal, for which I have selected the name of Archeopteryax litho-

graphica*,

XLI.—Descriptions of newly discovered Spiders from the Island of

Madeira. By Joun Buackwa tt, F.L.S.

A cottection of Spiders recently made in the Island of Ma-

deira, and presented to me by the Rev. Hamlet Clark, comprised

the following species, which appear to be new or imperfectly

known to arachnologists.

Tribe Octonoculina.

Family THomisip&.

Genus THomisus, Walck.

Thomisus spinifer.

Length of the male 4th of an inch; length of a cephalo-

thorax ;4;; breadth 75; breadth of the abdomen 203 length of

an anterior leg +; length of a leg of the third pair 3

The cephalothorax is broad, convex, glossy, slightly core

before, rounded in front and onthe sides, abruptly depressed at

the base, provided with a few strong black bristles, those on the

frontal margin being directed forwards, and is of a reddish-yel-

low colour, an obscure band in the middle, which tapers from

the eyes to its posterior extremity, being the palest. The eyes,

which are seated on whitish spots, are disposed on the anterior

part of the cephalothorax in two transverse curved rows, forming

a crescent whose convexity is directed forwards ; the eyes of each

lateral pair are placed on tubercles, those of the anterior row

being the largest of the eight. The falces are short, cuneiform,

and vertical; the maxille are obliquely truncated at the extre-

mity on the outer side, and inclined towards the lip, which is

triangular; the sternum is heart-shaped; the legs are very un-

* Jahrb. fiir Mineral. 1861, p. 679.

from the Island of Madeira. 371

equal in length, and are provided with hairs and spines; the

first and second pairs are much the longest, the first pair rather

surpassing the second, and the third pair is the shortest ; each

tarsus is terminated by two curved pectinated claws. The colour

of these parts is pale dull yellow, the hp being the darkest, and

the joints of the first and second pairs of legs having a brownish-

red hue at the extremity. The palpi are short, and of a pale

dull-yellow colour ; the radial is rather shorter than the cubital

joint, and projects a pointed apophysis from its extremity on the

outer side ; the digital joint, which is slightly tinged with brown,

is convex and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the

palpal organs, which are neither highly developed nor compli-

cated in structure; they have a short, curved, black spine at their

extremity, on the outer side, and are of a pale brownish-red

colour. The abdomen is oviform, somewhat depressed, projects

over the base of the cephalothorax, and is supplied on the upper

part with fine black spines, more or less erect ; a yellowish-

brown band, that is palest in the medial line, extends along the

upper part from its anterior extremity to the spinners, and is

bounded on each side by a yellowish-white band; and a black

band passes along each side, whose superior margin is bordered

with red ; the under part has a whitish-yellow hue, that of the

branchial opercula is pale dull yellow, and the colour of the

spinners is reddish brown.

Family Cin1rFLONID&.

Genus Cinir1to, Blackw.

Ciniflo affinis.

Length of the female ;1,th of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax z',; breadth ,4,; breadth of the abdomen ,j,; length of

an anterior leg 3; length of a leg of the third pair +.

The eyes are unequal in size, and are disposed on the anterior

part of the cephalothorax in two transverse rows ; the four inter-

mediate ones form a trapezoid whose anterior side is the shortest,

and those of each lateral pair are seated obliquely on a tubercle,

and are near to each other, but not in contact; the lateral eyes

of the anterior row, which is situated immediately above the

frontal margin, are rather the largest, and the intermediate ones

of the same row are the darkest and much the smallest of the

eight. The cephalothorax is compressed before, rounded in

front and on the sides, which are marked with furrows converging

towards the middle; it is convex in the cephalic region, depressed

at the base, glossy, and of a yellowish-brown colour, the anterior

part and narrow lateral margins being the darkest. The falces

are powerful, conical, and vertical; the maxille are somewhat

372 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

enlarged at the extremity, and slightly inclined towards the lip,

which has a short-oval form; the sternum is heart-shaped; the

legs are moderately long, provided with hairs and fine spines,

and each posterior one has a calamistrum on the superior surface

of its metatarsus; the first pair is the longest, the second and

fourth pairs are about equal in length, and the third pair is the

shortest. These parts, with the palpi, are of a brownish-yellow

colour, the annuli with which the legs are marked and the base

of the lip kaving a brown-black hue. The abdomen is oviform,

sparingly clothed with hairs, convex above, and projects over the

base of the cephalothorax ; the upper part is of a dull yellowish-

brown hue, spotted with white; at the anterior part there is a

brownish-black oblong mark, tinged with dull yellow in the

medial line, which is followed by four black spots, disposed in

pairs, and inclined towards each other ; to these succeed several

angular lines of the same hue, whose vertices are directed for-

wards; the sides have a dull-brown hue, the superior margin

being the darkest, and the colour of the under part is pale yel-

lowish brown ; the sexual organs are moderately developed, and

of a red-brown colour; the spinners are eight in number, and

those of the inferior pair, which are the shortest, consist of a

single joint each, and are united throughout their entire length.

This minute species is very closely allied to Cinaflo humilis.

Genus VELEDA, Blackw.

Veleda pallens.

Length of the male 4th of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax ;1,; breadth ; breadth of the abdomen j,; length of

an anterior leg 4; length of a leg of the third pair +4.

The legs are very unequal in length; the first pair is much

the longest, then the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest ;

each metatarsus of the posterior pair is provided with a cala-

mistrum situated on its superior surface, and on the inferior

surface of its extremity and that of the tarsus there are some

short spines; the colour of these limbs, which are hairy, is

brownish yellow, a dark-brown line extending along the upper

part of the femora, genua, and tibiz of the second, third, and

fourth pairs ; the femora, genua, tibize, and base of the metatarsus

of the first pair have a dark-brown hue, that of their sides being °

yellow-brown. The palpi resemble the third pair of legs in co-

lour, but the specimen from which the description was made had

to undergo its final ecdysis; for though the digital joints were

very tumid, yet the palpal organs were not developed. The

cephalothorax is long, somewhat compressed before, depressed

and rounded on the sides, clothed with white hairs, and has an

From the Island of Madeira. 373

indentation in the medial line; it is of a brownish-black colour,

with three longitudinal yellowish-white bands, one in the middle,

another on each side, and with lateral margins of the same hue.

The eyes are small, nearly equal in size, and disposed on the

anterior part of the cephalothorax in two transverse curved rows,

whose convexity is directed forwards; the anterior row, which is

the less curved, is situated near the frontal margin, and the in-

termediate eyes, which are seated on a tubercle, are the largest,

and the lateral ones rather the smaliest of the eight; the lateral

eyes of both rows are widely apart, and are placed on minute

tubercles, and the intermediate ones form a trapezoid whose an-

terior side is the shortest. The falces are short, conical, vertical,

and of a yellowish-brown colour. The maxille are straight,

powerful, and greatly enlarged and rounded at the extremity,

which is rather prominent on the inner surface; and the lip is

short and triangular. These organs are of a reddish-brown

colour. The sternum is of an oblong-oval form; it is thinly

clothed with white hairs, and has a brownish-black hue. The

abdomen is of an oblong-oviform figure, somewhat convex above,

and projects over the base of the cephalothorax ; the upper part

is of a yellowish-white colour, finely reticulated with brown; a

narrow dark-brown band extends along the middle, which is

broadest towards its anterior extremity, and is crossed by several

very short lines of the same hue near the spinners, and from

these organs two short, dark-brown, lateral streaks are directed

forwards; the sides are minutely spotted with brown, and a

broad brownish-black band, bordered by dull white, extends

along the middle of the under part; the spinners are eight in

number, those of the inferior pair, which are the shortest, con-

sist of a single joint each, and are united throughout their entire

length.

That the Velede evidently possess many well-marked charac-

ters in common with the spiders of the genus Uloborus is asserted

in the ‘ History of the Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland,’

part 1. p.151; but as MM. Dufour, Hahn, and Koch affirm

that the snare of Uloborus Walckenaerius is constructed on the

same plan as those of the Hpetride, it may be inferred that it

has not the additional pair of spinners and calamistra, as the

snares of all spiders provided with this apparatus, whose economy

is known, exhibit unmistakeable evidence of its having been

employed in their fabrication.

Genus Miruras, Koch.

Mithras flavidus.

Length of the male 45th of an inch; length of the eephalo-

Ann. & May. N. Hist. Ser, 3. Vol, ix. 27

874 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

q 3 ;

an anterior leg 1; length of a leg of the third pair 54.

The cephalothorax has a short, broad, somewhat oval form ;

it is convex, prominent and rather pointed in front, depressed at

the base, and has two furrows on each side directed obliquely

upwards ; it is clothed with short yellowish-white hairs, and its

colour is yellowish brown, the medial line and anterior margin

being the palest. The eyes, which are very unequal in size, and

seated on brown spots, are disposed on the sides and anterior

part of the cephalothorax in two transverse curved rows ; those

of the posterior row, which is much the longer, and has its con-

vexity directed forwards, are much larger than those of the

anterior row, the lateral eyes, seated:on bold conical tubercles,

being rather the largest; the eyes of the anterior row, whose

convexity is directed upwards, are situated high above the frontal

margin, the two intermediate ones are placed very near to each

other on a minute tubercle, and the lateral ones are not very

conspicuous, being the smallest and lightest-coloured of the

eight ; the lateral eyes of both rows are separated by a very wide

interval. The falces are short, subconical, and vertical; the

maxillze are powerful, and greatly enlarged at the extremity,

which is protuberant on the inner surface ; the lip is triangular,

and the sternum is oblong heart-shaped, with small emimences

on the sides opposite to the legs. ‘These parts are of a dull

brownish-yellow colour, the sternum, which is the darkest,

having its extremity and lateral margins of a dark-brown hue.

The legs are very unequal in length, the first pair bemg much

the longest and most robust ; the second pair is longer than the

fourth, and the third pair is the shortest; they are provided

with hairs and sessile spines, the latter bemg the longest and

most numerous near the base of the tibia of the anterior pair on

the inner side, and a calamistrum occurs on the upper surface of

the metatarsus of each posterior leg; these limbs have a dull

brownish-yellow hue, and, with the exception of the tarsi, are

more or less marked with dark brown on the inner surface.

The palpi resemble the legs in colour, but are not marked with

dark brown ; the humeral joint is slightly curved upwards ; and

the radial, which is longer than the cubital joint, is oval, and

supplied with some long bristles at its pointed extremity; the

digital joint is large, of an oblong-oval form, convex and clothed

with coarse hairs externally, and concave within ; connected with

this concavity are the very highly developed and complex palpal

organs, whose broad prominent base, though curved abruptly

downwards, extends to the articulation of the humeral with the

cubital jomt; a remarkably long, black, filiform spine passes

‘under their margin along the inner side, and curves round the

thorax ;1,; breadth 1,; breadth of the abdomen 1,; length of

from the Island of Madeira. 375°

extremity, outer side, and base; they are terminated by several

curved pointed processes, and have a yellowish-red hue, that of

the margins being brown, The abdomen is oviform, convex

above, with a conical protuberance on the upper part of each

side, which is nearly equidistant from both extremities; it is

densely clothed with coarse hairs, and projects over the base of

the cephalothorax ; its colour is dull yellow, with a brown band

extending along the middle of the upper part, which tapers to

the spinners, and is somewhat ramified ; the lateral protuberances

have a faint tinge of orange, and the sides are marked with

oblique, slightly curved, dark-brown lines; the under part has

a dark-brown hue mingled with dull yellow, and is broadly

bordered laterally with yellowish white: the spinners are eight

in number; those constituting the inferior pair, which are the

shortest, consist of a single joint each, and are united through-

out their entire length.

Arachnologists have experienced much difficulty in assigning

to Mithras paradoxus, the type of the genus, a satisfactory posi-

tion in the systematic arrangement of the Aranezdea ; nor is this

at all surprising, as its appearance is very anomalous, and long

after its discovery it was generally supposed to have only six

eyes. It is now known to possess eight organs of vision; and

if, as is in the highest degree probable, it and the Mithras un-

dulatus of M. Koch should be found to have four pairs of spin-

ners and calamistra, every difficulty with ‘regard to their classifi-

cation will be removed; for in that case they, together with

Mithras flavidus and Mithras dubius, must undoubtedly be placed

in the family Ciniflonzde, immediately after the genus Veleda.

Mithras dubwus.

Length of the female 55th of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax z1;; breadth ;,; breadth of the abdomen 4; length of

an anterior leg +; length of a leg of the third pair +4.

The cephalothorax is short, broad, somewhat oval, convex, but

depressed at the base, prominent and rounded in front, and has

two furrows on each side directed obliquely upwards ; it is thinly

clothed with short yellowish hairs, and of a dark-brown colour,

being palest in the medial line and immediately above the lateral

margins. In the disposition and relative size of its eyes it re-

sembles Mithras flavidus. The falces are short, subconical, and

vertical ; the maxillz are powerful and greatly enlarged at the

extremity, which is protuberant on the inner surface ; the lip is

triangular, and the sternum is oblong heart-shaped, with small

eminences on the sides opposite to the legs. These parts are of

a dull brownish-yellow colour, the sternum, which is the darkest,

having its extremity and lateral margins of a dark-brown hue,

27%

376 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

The legs are robust, provided with hairs and a few fine spines,

and there is a calamistrum on the upper surface of the meta-

tarsus of each postcrior leg, they are very unequal in length,

the first pair being much the longest, the second pair surpasses

the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest; they have a dull

brownish-yellow hue, and, with the exception of the tarsi, are

marked with very dark brown on the inner surface. The palpi

are short, and resemble the legs in colour. The abdomen is

somewhat oviform, convex above, projecting over the base of the

cephalothorax, and has a prominent conical protuberance on the

upper part of each side, which is nearly equidistant from both

extremities ; the upper part is of a brown colour, bordered by a

pale-yellow band, whose continuity is interrupted in front; the

medial region has a dull brownish-yellow hue, and comprises in

its anterior part a brown streak, which extends about one-third

of its length ; the brown upper part is intersected by brownish-

black transverse lines; those on the anterior half have their ex-

tremities enlarged, more especially that which connects the two

conical protuberances, and those on the posterior half form very

obtuse angles whose vertices are directed forwards ; the sides are

marked with oblique, confluent, dark-brown lines, and the under

part has a dark-brown hue slightly mixed with dull brownish

yellow, and is broadly bordered laterally with yellowish white ;

the eight spinners have a brownish-ycllow hue; those of the in-

ferior pair, which are tlie shortest, consist of a single joint each,

and are united throughout their entire length.

The specific name dubius is conferred provisionally upon this

spider, as it possibly may be the female of Mithras jlavidus,

though it differs from it greatly in colour.

Family THERIDIIDz.

Genus TuEeripion, Walck.

Theridion elegans.

Length of the fernale 3,ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax ;!,; breadth ,1,; breadth of the abdomen 5; length of

an anterior leg }; length of a leg of the third pair ¢.

The legs are moderately long, provided with hairs, and of a

reddish-yellow hue, with dark-brown annuli at the extremity of

the joints, those of the femora being the broadest ; the first pair

is the longest, the second and fourth pairs are about equal in

length, and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is termi-

nated by three claws; the two superior ones are curved, and the

inferior one is inflected near its base. The palpi resemble the

legs in colour, but are rather paler, and have a curved claw at

their extreniity. The cephalothorax is convex, glossy, somewhat

from the Island of Madeira. 377

compressed before, rounded on the sides, which are marked with

slight furrows converging towards an indentation in the medial

line, and is of a dark-reddish-brown colour, the medial line and

lateral margins being much the darkest. The eyes are nearly

equal in size, and are disposed on the anterior part of the cephalo-

thorax in two transverse rows; the four intermediate ones form

a square, the anterior ones, which are seated on a slight promi-

nence, being the darkest of the eight; and those of each lateral

pair are placed obliquely on a tubercle, and are contiguous.

The falces are conical, vertical, and armed with a few small teeth

near their extremity on the imner surface; the maxille are

obliquely truncated at the extremity, on the outer side, and are

inclined towards the lip, which is triangular. These organs are

of a red-brown colour, the base of the lip, a longitudinal streak

on the outer side of the falces, and a spot near their base, in

front, having a dark-brown hue. The sternum is heart-shaped,

with eminences on the sides opposite to the legs, and is of a

dark-brown colour, tinged red in the medial line. The abdomen

is somewhat oviform, sparingly supplied with hairs, very convex

above, and projects over the base of the cephalothorax; the

upper part is of a yellowish-white colour, obscurely reticulated

with fine pale-brown lines, and a dark-brown, dentated, medial

band tapers to the spinners, whose continuity is interrupted near

its anterior extremity, which is the darkest; the sides have a

brown hue, being darkest at their superior margin, and are

marked with oblique lines formed by confluent dull yellowish-

white spots; a dark-brown band, which is broadest at its poste-

rior extremity, extends along the middle of the under part, and

two short streaks of the same hue pass outwards from each side

of the spinners; the medial band is bordered laterally with

yellowish white, and the colour of the sexual organs is reddish

brown.

The sexes resemble each other in the design formed by the

distribution of their colours; but the male is smaller than the

female, and the relative length of its legs is different, the second

pair being very decidedly longer than the fourth. Its palpi are

short, and of a palc-yellowish colour, the digital joint having a

tinge of brown; several long bristles project from the cubital

joint in front, and the radial joint has two apophyses at its ex-

tremity, one on the inner and the other on the outer side, the

superior margin of the latter, which is the larger, being fringed

with long hairs extending over the palpal organs; the digital

joint has a short, broad, somewhat oval form, its superior margin

being much the most curved; it is convex and hairy externally,

coneave within, comprising the palpal organs, which are highly

developed, encircled by two contiguous, filiform, black spines,

378 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

and are of a pale-brownish-yellow colour. The convex sides of

the digital joints are directed towards each other.

Family Linypaiip2.

Genus Nertene, Blackw.

Neriéne pigra.

_ Length of the female ith of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax ;4,; breadth ,; breadth of the abdomen ;,; length of

an anterior leg 4; length of a leg of the third pair }.

The eyes are disposed in two transverse rows on the anterior

part of the cephalothorax; the four intermediate ones form a

trapezoid, the two anterior ones, which constitute its shortest

side, being the smallest of the eight ; the eyes of each lateral

pair are seated obliquely on a tubercle, and are near to each

other, but not in contact. The cephalothorax is convex in the

cephalic region, glossy, somewhat compressed before, rounded

in front and on the sides, which are marked with slight furrows

converging towards an indentation in the medial Ime; the lip is

semicircular and prominent at the apex; and the sternum is

heart-shaped. These parts are of a brown colour, the sternum

and base of the lip being much the darkest. The falces are

powerful, conical, rather divergent at the extremity, inclined

towards the sternum, armed with teeth on the inner surface,

and have a longitudinal row of short strong spines in front, to-

wards the outer side; the maxillz are somewhat enlarged at the

extremity, and inclined towards the lip; the legs are moderately

long, and provided with hairs; the first pair is the longest, then

the fourth, and the third pair is the shortest; each tarsus is

terminated by three slender claws; the two superior ones are

curved, and the inferior one is inflected at its base; the palpi

are slender and without a claw at their extremity. These organs

have a yellow-brown hue, the legs and palpi being much the

palest. The abdomen is subglobular, thinly clothed with short

hairs, glossy, and projects over the base of the cephalothorax ;

it is of a brownish-black colour, and that of the sexual organs,

which have, in connexion with their anterior margin, an oval

process directed backwards, is dark brown faintly tinged with

red.

Family Epriripz.

Genus Eprira, Walck.

Epeira lentiginosa.

Length of the female ,4,ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax 4; breadth ;,; breadth of the abdomen 4; length of an

anterior leg ; ; length of a leg of the third pair }.

from the Island of Madewa, 379.

The abdomen is short, broad, somewhat triangular, having its

vertex at the spimners, convex above, thinly clothed with pale

hairs, and projects greatly over the base of the cephalothorax ;

the upper part is of a dark soot-colour, thickly freckled with

yellowish white, particularly at the anterior extremity ; the sides

and under part have a yellow-brown hue ; the former are marked

with oblique, dark, soot-coloured lines, and the latter has a

broad longitudinal band of the same hue in the middle, on each

side of which there is a curved yellow line, whose posterior ex-

tremity is the broadest ; and the colour of the spinners is dark-

brown. ‘The sexual organs of the specimen from which the de-

scription was made were not fully developed ; consequently it had

not arrived at maturity. The cephalothorax is convex, glossy,

compressed before, rounded on the sides, which are marked with

slight furrows converging towards an indentation in the medial

line; it has a dull-yellow hue, and from the anterior margin,

which is soot-coloured, a short broad streak of the same hue

passes upwards between each lateral pair of eyes and the inter-

mediate ones. The eyes are seated on black spots on the ante-

rior part of the cephalothorax ; the four intermediate ones, which

are placed on a prominence, form a square nearly, those of the

anterior pair being rather wider apart than those of the posterior

pair, and the eyes of each lateral.pair are seated obliquely on a

tubercle, and are the smallest of the eight. The falces are coni-

cal, vertical, and armed with teeth on the inner surface; the

maxillz are short, straight, powerful, and enlarged and rounded

at the extremity; the lip is semicircular, but somewhat pointed

at the apex, and the legs are long, robust, and provided with

hairs and spines ; the first pair is the longest, then the second,

and the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by

claws of the usual number and structure. These parts have a

dull-yellow hue, but the base of the lip is soot-coloured, and

annuli of the same hue occur on the legs, those at the extremity

of the femora of the posterior pair being the broadest. The

palpi resemble the legs in colour, and have a curved minutely

pectinated claw at their extremity. The sternum is heart-shaped,

with eminences on the sides opposite to the legs; it is of a dark

brown colour, strongly tinged with yellow in the medial line.

Genus Terracnatua, Latr.

Tetragnatha lineata.

Length of the male +th of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax ;;; breadth .+,; breadth of the abdomen ;4,; Jength of

an anterior leg 74; length of a leg of the third pair 1.

The eyes, which are unequal in size,.and seated on black

380 Mr. J. Blackwall on newly discovered Spiders

spots, are disposed on the anterior part of the cephaiothorax in

two transverse rows; the four intermediate ones form a trape-

zoid whose anterior side is the shortest, those of the anterior

pair are placed on a small tubercle, and those of the posterior

pair, which are much the largest of the eight, are placed on se-

parate tubercles ; the eyes of each lateral pair are the smallest,

- and are seated near to each other, but not in contact, on a mi-

nute tubercle. The cephalothorax is moderately convex, glossy,

compressed before, rounded in front and on the sides, which are

marked with slight furrows converging towards an indentation

in the medial line; it is of a dull-yellow colour, with a brownish-

black Jongitudinal band in the middle, and a less distinetly de-

fined one of the same hue above each lateral margin. The falces

are long, conical, rather divergent at the extremity, armed with °

teeth on the inner surface, and inclined towards the sternum ;

and the maxille are straight and enlarged and somewhat rounded

at the extremity. These organs have a dull-yellow colour, faintly

tinged with brown. The lip is nearly semicircular, but pointed

and prominent at the apex; and the sternum is heart-shaped.

These parts have a reddish-brown hue, the lip beg much the

darkest. The legs are long, very slender, provided with hairs

and a few spines, and are of a dull-yellow hue, with brown-black

annuli at the extremity of the foints; the first pair is the longest,

then the second, and the third pair is the shortest ; the tarsi are

terminated by claws of the usual number and structure. The

palpi are short, paler than the legs, and without brown-black an-

nuli; the radial is larger than the cubital joint, and has a long

bristle at its extremity, in front; the digital joint is oval, convex

and hairy externally, concave within, comprising the palpal or-

gans, which are moderately developed, rather complex in struc-

ture, with a long, prominent, dark-brown, filiform spine, that

originates near their extremity on the inner side, and curves

obliquely upwards to the outer side; these organs have a brown-

ish-red hue. The convex sides of the digital joints are directed

towards each other. The abdomen is long, subcylindrical, or

somewhat depressed, and projects a little over the base of the

eephalothorax ; it is glossy, of a pale dull-yellowish colour, and

has a black band extending along the middle of the, upper part

about two-thirds of its length; this band, which has numcrous

white spots on each side of it, 1s bifid at its posterior extremity,

and is succeeded by several angular lines of the same hue, whose

vertices are directed forwards; and a black line, slightly varying

in breadth, passes along the upper part of each side, the two

meeting above the spinners; a broad, dark-brown, longitudinal

band occurs in the middle of the under part, and the colour of

the branchial opercula is pale yellow.

from the Island of Madeira. 381

’ Tribe Senoculina.

Family DyspErip&.

Genus Dysprra, Latr,

Dysdera diversa.

Length of the male =3,ths of an inch; length of the cephalo-

thorax +; breadth 1; breadth of the abdomen 3; length of an

anterior leg 3; length of a leg of the third pair ,5,.

The cephalothorax is convex, slightly compressed before,

rounded on the sides and in front, without an indentation in

the medial line, and is of a very dark-brown colour, faintly

tinged with red. The eyes, which are nearly equal in size and

diaphanous, are closely grouped in the form of a small oval open

in front, on a prominence of the cephalothorax, situated imme-

diately above the frontal margin, the two anterior ones being

rather the largest of the six. The falees are subconical, promi-

nent, armed with a few small teeth, and fringed with long hairs

on the inner surface; the maxille are straight, enlarged and

convex at the base, and somewhat pointed at the extremity,

which is rather protuberant on the inner side; the lip has an

oblong-oval form, decreasing in breadth to the apex, which is

notched, and has a transverse furrow at its base; and the ster-

num is oval. These parts are of a red-brown colour, the sternum

being the darkest, and the maxille and apex of the lip the

palest. The legs are moderately long, provided with short hairs,

and have a red hue; the third and fourth pairs are rather the

palest, and have a few sessile spines on the tibia, metatarsus,

and tarsus ; the first pair is the longest, then the second, and

the third pair is the shortest ; each tarsus is terminated by two

curved, minutely pectinated claws, and below them there is a

small scopula. The palpi resemble the legs in colour; the

digital joint is small, oval, convex and hairy externally, slightly

concave underneath, and with this concavity the palpal organs

are connected by a short pedicle; they are prominent, directed

upwards, not very complex in structure, oviform at the base,

from which a long, curved, somewhat depressed process extends,

whose extremity appears to be bifid, but its dark-brown divergent

branches are connected by pale delicate membrane ; these organs,

which have a small, slightly curved, dark-brown process near

their middle, on the under side, are of a pale-yellowish-red hue,

with two transverse brownish-red bands at their oviform base,

formed apparently by the convolutions of an internal vessel.

The abdomen is oviform, thinly clothed with short hairs, convex

above, and projects a little over the base of the cephalothorax ;

it is of a very pale-yellow colour, reticulated with brown on the

upper part, a short longitudinal line of the latter hue occurring

382, Mr. J. Blackwall on new Spiders from. Madeira.

in the middle, and near the anterior extremity there is a minute

circular depression on each side of the medial line; the under

part is rather the palest, and has a branchial and tracheal stigma

on each side of its anterior extremity.

Family Gcopirpz.

Genus (Ecosius, Lucas.

CEcobius navus.

Ccobius navus, Blackw. Aun. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 3. vol. iv. p. 266.8

Several specimens of Cicobius navus were comprised in the

collection of Madeiran Spiders presented to me by the Rev.

Hamlet Clark, and among them an adult female, a careful ex-

amination of which has led to the establishment of important

characters either previously unrecorded or regarded as doubtful.

The dimensions of this species, as given in the ‘ Annals and

Mag. of Nat. Hist.,’ do not require any correction. Its legs are

equal in length, and the posterior pair have a calamistrum on

the superior surface of each metatarsus. The spinners are eight

in number ; those constituting the inferior pair, which are the

shortest, consist of a single joint each, and are united through-

out their entire length. The sexual organs are moderately de-

veloped, of a red-brown hue, and have, in connexion with their

anterior margin, a brownish-yellow process which is directed

backwards.

This is the only Spider provided with eight spinners and

calamistra, belonging to the tribe Senoculina, that has come

under my observation; and as its superior spinners are long

and triarticulate, with the spinning-tubes disposed on the infe-

rior surface of their terminal joint, it may reasonably be inferred

that its economy must be influenced by its very remarkable ex-

ternal structure.

From the above considerations, it is evident that for the re-

ception of this species, and also of the Gicobius domesticus and

Cicobius annulatus of M. Lucas, should a close relation of affinity

be hereafter established among them by similarity of organiza-

tion, of which scarcely a doubt can be entertained, a new family

must be founded, which may be thus characterized :—

Family Gicosrp2z.

Spinners eight; those of the inferior pair, which are the

shortest, consist of a single joint each, and are united through-

out their entire length.

Legs of variable relative length in different species, each

metatarsus of the posterior pair being provided with a calamis-

trum on its superior surface.

Dr. Strahl on new Thalassinze from the Philippines. 383

XLIL—On some new Thalassine sent from the Philippines by

M. Jagor, and on the Systematic Position of that Family. By

Dr. Strau*,

Scytoleptus serripes, Gerstacker.

Tus genus and the single species known to belong to it were

established by Gersticker from a single mature female specimen.

‘This specimen is from South Africa. M. Jagor has sent a male

specimen of this species from Luzon, together with other Tha-

lassine and Alphei. The Zoological Museum of Berlin possesses

four more Scytolepti brought from Mozambique by Prof. Peters;

‘these also belong to the same species, and two of them are male

and two female. From these materials it becomes possible to

obtain a more accurate notion of the organization of this genus.

The male individuals are smaller than the females. The

cephalothorax of the male from Luzon measures 5 lines (Parist)

in length, the abdomen 10°5 lines, and the tail-fin 2 lines; this

gives a total length of 17:5 lines. . One of the males from

Mozambique has the cephalothorax 8 lines, the abdomen 7, and

the tail-fin 3 lines in length, giving a total length of 18 lines ;

whilst the largest mature females measure more than 2 inches

up to nearly 24 inches in length. The tail-fin is always very

long ; in one female from Mozambique it is 5 lines in length,

whilst the abdomen measures 11 lines. The chele of the first

pair are unequal in this genus, the right one being usually the

stronger; in a male from Mozambique this character is, how-

ever, reversed. The fifth pair of feet has no branchie; the

branchiz on the others are leaflike.

Callianassa mucronata, n. sp.

Of this species I have unfortunately only one specimen at my

disposal ; and this is a female, of the maturity of which I am not

sure, as there were no eggs under its abdomen. From the ex-

treme projecting point of the forehead to the apex of the tail it

measures 13 lines. Although it may be a young state, still it

shows such differences that it is certainly a new species. Above

all things, the forehead is furnished with a small point project-

ing between the eye-peduncles to about half the length of the

latter. This frontal point is smooth above, and not compressed

at the sides. On account of this frontal point, which does not

occur in any other known Callianassa, I have named the species

mucronata.

The eye-peduncles are, as usual in the Callianassa, vertically

* From the Monatsbericht der Berl. Akad. December 1861, p. 1055.

Translated by W. 8. Dallas, F.L.S.

+ Throughout this paper the measurements are in Paris lines.

384 Dr. Strahl on new Thalassine from the Philippines.

compressed; they run out into a point in front, and bear on the

outside the convex and pigmented cornea. The eye-peduncles

are of the same length as the first jot of the mner antenna, of

which the third joint is as large as the first and second together.

The two flagella of these antennz are nearly of equal length:

the external one is obliquely truncated in front, and somewhat

bent outwards ; on its inside it is furnished with a row of long

hairs. The inner flagellum is, as usual, about half as long as the

thorax of the animal, and internally fringed with long hairs.

The external antenna bears only a single flagellum; this is

nearly twice the length of the thorax. The tuberculum occurs

quite on the outer side of its jot, as usual in the genus Callia-

nassa. The question whether Callianassa does or does not pos-

sess anything of the nature of an antennal scale is a peculiar

and difficult one. <A scale covering a larger or smaller portion

of the peduncle of the antenna from above certainly does not

occur; and yet the peduncle of the antenna is not three-jointed,

but contains more joints. In order to understand this matter,

it is necessary to examine more closely than has hitherto been

usual into the structure of the antenne, and especially of the

outer pair.

I have already shown that the entire group of the Decapoda

are divided into two great sections, according as there is at the

base of the external antenna an operculum or a half-ring with

the tuberculum. In the tubercular Decapods this half-ring is

attached to the cephalothorax by means of a hinge-joit, and is

slightly moveable. The articulation is effected externally to the

carapace, and internally to the outer side of the frontal process

of the epistomium. This half-ring, which we will call the zéer-

calare, is interpolated into the attachment of the antenna to the

cephalothorax : it is immediately followed by a joint, whith is the

common supporter of the antenna and of the scale, and which I

call the armiger; this bears the scale externally and the antenna

internally, and often possesses a spine, as, for example, in the

Lobster and the Cray-fish. In the Lobster, just after its escape

from the egg, according to the careful observations of Kroyer,

the scale-apparatus and antenna are suspended from a single

common ring, but are separate* ; the latter 1s certaimly the inter-

calare, although Kroyer does not mention that it bears the tu-

berculum on its ventral surface. In the Cray-fish, at the same

period, the scale-jomts and the antennal joints are, as I have

noticed, more clesely approximated ; but it has the znéercalare,

and, even several days before exclusion, a distinct tuberculum.

Kroyer calls this piece pars basilaris, evidently followmg Milne-

Edwards, who, however, uses the term article basilaire, without

* Hippolyte’s Nordiske Acta, p. 43, taf. 6. fig. 134.

Dr. Strahl on new Thalassine from the Philippines. 385

distinction, sometimes for this piece, sometimes for the first

joint of the antenna, and sometimes for parts anchylosed to the

latter. For this reason I thought it better not to employ this

otherwise suitable word. The structures referable to the scale,

or the external branch, according to Kréyer’s terminology, con-

sist, according to him, in the embryo Lobster, of two joints, of

which that placed nearest to the body is, in my opinion, the

armiger, whilst the extreme one becomes the scale. At a sub-

sequent period the armiger must approach nearer to the antenna

and receive the articulation of the first two antennal joints. In

the mature Lobster, at Icast, the armiger is not a complete ring,

but is obliquely cut off on the inside, and open there for the

purpose of receiving the articulation of the first two antennal

joints; the articulation with the intercalare lies in a direction

from above downwards, that is, from the dorsal surface towards

the ventral surface; the upper articulation is effected upon the

carapace, the lower or ventral one on the anterior margin of the

intercalare. The articulating axes of the intercalare and armiger

therefore cut each other at a right angle, whilst the articulating

axis of the scale lies in the same direction as that of the armiger.

The first antennal joint is, then, articulated partly on the inter-

calare and partly on the armiger. The articulating axis in ques-

tion is directed from within outwards, and therefore at a right

angle to the axis of the articulation between the intercalare and

armiger, but in an oblique direction from behind forwards, in

such a manner that the inner and posterior condyle articulates

with the intercalare, and the outer and anterior one at a con-

siderable distance forwards upon the ventral face of the armiger,

near the articulation of the scale. The second antennal joint

is articulated both to the first joint and to the armiger; the

articulating axis is directed from within outwards; the inner

condyle is articulated to the anterior inner angle of the first

joint, the outer one to the ventral anterior margin of the armiger,

where it is received by a pit, which is situated quite close to the

ventral articulation of the scale. This inner condyle is often so

peculiarly marked, forming as it were a particular dilatation

of the second antennal joint, that it frequently appears to be a

separate articulated portion of the skeleton. One is led to this

erroneous supposition especially when a true scale is wanting ;

this piece is then easily mistaken for an aborted scale, This is

the case in Callianassa (with Leach’s C. subterranea and the

species here described), in Thalassina scorpionotdes, and in Bell’s

genus Calocaris. In the latter the armiger bears externally an

acute spine, whilst in the two Callianasse and in the Thalassine

it is unarmed.

The scale-apparatus in the Thalassine may therefore be so far

886 Dr. Strahl on new Thalassine from the Philippines.

aborted that the scale becomes small and inconspicuous (Glauco-

thoé, Axius) (?), but it may also entirely lose the scale, when

the armiger alone makes its appearance. In Lithodes arctica,

also, which, however, does not belong to this group, it may be

mentioned in passing, only the armiger exists.

- To complete the account of the relations of the individual:

antennal joints, I will add here that the articulating axis of the

third joint is again directed from above downwards, and there-

fore cuts that of the second antennal jot at a right angle.

This relation of the articulating axes also occurs elsewhere : for

example, in the chele of Lupa, Platycarcinus, &c., the arti-

culatmg axes between the brachium, carpus, and manus each

form a right angle with that of the next jot. But a peculiarity

of the articulations of the antenneze is, that on the bent side, in

the soft chitinous tissue of the joint close to the sinew of the

flexor muscles, there is a sac, into which it is probable that a

portion of the articular skin folds itself during flexure. This

character is important in determining whether a joint belongs

to the antenna or the flagellum. My investigations in this

direction show that both the outer and inner antennz always

consist of three joints, as has already been asserted by Kroyer

as a result of the embryology. Accordingly the outer antennz

of the Scyllaride is by no means four-joimted, as is generally

supposed; it is only three-jointed, as in the allied Palinuride.

The joint supposed to be the fourth joint does not exhibit the

peculiar articulation of an antennal jomt, and is therefore a

flagellar joint. The Palnuride, consequently, have a many-

jointed flagellum on the outer antenna; the Scyllaride a one-

jointed flagellum only.

The joints of the antennz of Callianassa mucronata are not all

of equal length; the first joint is the shortest ; the second and

third are each nearly twice as long.

The external maxillipeds are opercular, without palpi. The

first pair of feet is torn away; the second is didactyle. The last

joints of the posterior ambulatory feet are beset with strong

stiff hairs more abundantly than in C. uncinata. The abdomen

exhibits no peculiarities; the central tail-fin is rectangular,

broader than long; the lateral appendages, on the contrary, are

longer, and form a wide-spread fan. The abdominal feet resem-

ble those of C. uncinata.

In company with the specimens just described there is a

smaller one, about 5 lines in length, the characteristic frontal

point of which shows that it belongs to the same species. It

possesses the first pair of feet; and from this we may fill up the

gap. This pair of feet bears chelz, and is the strongest of all ;

the left foot is stronger than the right one. The hand is hairy,

Dr. Strahl on new Thalassine from the Philippines. 387"

but the brachium is smooth, slender, and destitute of hooks at

its inferior sharp margin. The fingers are acute, about as long

as the hand, which is nowhere granular or tubercular. The

margin of the fingers is finely denticulated at the base.

Axius plectrorhynchus, un. sp.

The only species of this genus hitherto known, Azius sti-

rhynchus, is Kuropean: the species now to be described has been

sent from Luzon by M. Jagor: it is represented, unfortunately,

only by a single female specimen ; but this is sexually mature.

It measures about 9 lines in length.

The cephalothorax is laterally compressed and quite unarmed;

it has posteriorly an emargination for the reception of the abdo-

men; on each side of this emargination there is a small process

for the reception of the articulation of the first abdominal seg-

ment ; the frontal rostrum, which is not laterally compressed, is

not acute, but terminates in two small pots, which lie close

together side by side, and are a little turned up in front; the

two lateral margins of this process, which gradually approach an-

teriorly, are each armed with four similar, small, slightly turned-

up points (the apical points being included). On each side, near

the frontal process, there is a similar spine, which projects in the

middle above the eye-peduncle. In the middle of the base of

the frontal process, at the commencement of the stomachal re-

gion, there stands another equally small and similarly formed

spine; so that the forehead bears eleven spines in all.

The eye-peduncles are cylindrical and but small, not reaching

quite to the apex of the frontal rostrum; a little before the

commencement of the cornea they are somewhat constricted,

and then swell out again into a globular form, as in Gebia

httoralis.

The inner antenne are cylindrical, and have two flagella ;

the junction of the second and third joints reaches to the apex

of the rostrum; the first jomt is the longest, as long as the

second and third together. The anterior extremities of the jomts

are beset with a few hairs. The two flagella are nearly of equal

length, about half as long as the carapace. The external antenna

has only one flagellum, which is about as long as the carapace.

The tuberculum is placed about in the middle of its proper

piece. ‘The first antennal joint is the shortest of the three; it

bears a spine on the inside in front, and reaches as far forwards

as the piece which lies on the outside of it, the armiger, which

emits forwards and outwards, near the second joint of the an-

tenna, two horizontal approximated points, of which the inner

may perhaps be the scale: from the smallness of the object, and

the necessity of handling the unique specimen with care, I found

388 Dr. Strahl on new Thalassine from the Philippines.

it impossible to decide whether this inner point is moveable. It

is probable that the inner point is moveable, but the outer one

is not; consequently the outer point belongs to the armiger,

but the inner may be the true scale. Both points, however, are

of equal length; the inner one retains the same width for about

two-thirds of its length, then narrows, gradually becoming round,

and runs on in its last third into a fine point; the outer one, on

the contrary, runs gradually and uniformly to a pot. The

second antennal joint is the longest, and projects a little beyond

the two points just mentioned. The outer maxillipeds are foot-

like; close to them externally is a palpus with a long flagellum.

The branchi are in tufts, but the fifth pair of feet bears no

branchie.

Of the two pairs of cheiz the first is the strongest, and the

two legs are of equal length and strength. The hands are late-

rally compressed, with the upper and lower margins rounded off;

the fingers are acute, half as long as the hand; the carpus is

triangular, that is to say, the anterior and posterior (articular)

margins meet below in an obtuse angle; the upper margin, or

third side, however, is not straight, but convex superiorly.

The second pair of chelz is of about the strength of the posterior

ambulatory feet ; the hand, including the fingers, is of the same

length as the carpus ; the latter is broader in front than behind.

The fifth pair of feet is thinner than the third and fourth. The

claw-joint is of the same strength as the rest.

The abdomen, like all the rest of the body and its members,

is quite smooth and naked; the tufts of hair on the sides of the

abdominal segments, which distinguish Awius stirhynchus, are

wanting. The lateral appendages of the abdominal segments

are but short. The first segment is narrow; the segments gra-

dually increase in length up to the sixth: the caudal scale,

again, is smaller, broadly truncated behind; the lateral appen-

dages belonging to it, especially the outer ones, are long. When

these parts of the tail-fin are spread out like a fan, their outline

is the same as that of the caudal scale. The abdominal appen-

dages on the first segment are simple; the following ones con-

sist of a basal joint, from which two broad, feathered, pointed

laminz, equal in length and breadth, are suspended; the inner

one has also a stalk-like process on its inner margin.

Gebia barbata, n. sp.

This new species is likewise a native of Luzon. Sexually

mature examples are about 1 Paris inch in length.

The forehead is perpendicularly truncated m front, asim G.

major, De Haan, so that it does not terminate in a point, as in

G. littoralis, Risso; it is densely clothed with short hairs, and

Dr. Strahl on new Thalassine from the Philippines. 389

projects but little beyond the eye-peduncles. The latter present

nothing remarkable; they le upon the first, dilated, slightly

convex joint of the inner antennz, and extend as far as the

second joint. The forehead, the second jomt of the inner

antenne, and the first joint of the outer ones all project the

same distance forward. The three joints of the inner antenne

are all nearly of the same length; the flagellum is double,

the outer one is somewhat stronger and a little shorter than the

inner one—at the utmost, of the length of the thorax. The

latter is straightly truncated behind; its lateral parts extend

further backwards.

As regards the clothing of many parts with hair, our species

resembles G. mayor, but it is smaller (G. major attains a length

of 3 inches 7 lines) and still more abundantly clothed with hair,

whence the specific name. The second joint of the outer an-

tenna is the longest of the three, and exhibits a densely bearded

line on its outer side, running obliquely, from above and behind,

downwards and forwards, which gives this joint a most deceptive

appearance of consisting of two joints. The first joint is armed

with a spine at its inner anterior angle. This antenna only bears

one flagellum, and this is of half the length of the animal.

There is no trace of a scale-apparatus. The tuberculum is

situated, not as in G. littoralis, in the middle of the ventral sur-

face of the intercalare, but more outwardly.

The external maxillipeds are foot-like; their palpus is of the

length of the second joint, and its flagellum scarcely reaches

beyond the third jomt. In G. hittoralis, Risso, the palpus bears

no flagellum.

The first pair of feet is subcheliform, in accordance with the

generic character ; the hand is furnished on the outside with a

row of dense long hairs, running obliquely, from above and be-

hind, downwards and forwards. The first three pairs of feet are

strongly beset with long hairs on their lower and inner sides.

The fifth pair of feet is different from the rest, and nearly sub-

cheliform ; the immoveable finger is but small and weak. This

pair of feet bears no branchie ; the branchie on the others are

tufted. The femoral joints present a spine on the upper edge

at the distal extremity. /

The abdomen is at first slender, but gradually becomes broader

and thicker. There are no abdominal feet on the first segment

in the male. From the second segment onwards two oval fringed

appendages are suspended from a short peduncle; of these, the

inner one is smaller than the outer; neither of them bears a

filamentous appendage. The caudal fan consists of a nearly

square central piece, of which the posterior margin has a fine

and short fringe. Upon this piece there is no central ridge, but

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 28

390 = Dr. Strahl on new Thalassine from the Philippines.

there are two lateral ridges running near and parallel to the

margins, and united by a transverse ridge which runs near the

articular margin. The lateral appendages are fringed all round;

the inner one exhibits a central ridge, and the outer one two

slightly bent faint lines on the outer half.

The subcheliform fifth pair of feet connects this species with

Audouin’s Gebia stellata in the text to Savigny’s ‘ Description

de Egypte.’ Judging from the forehead, indeed (with regard

to its projection and denticulation), the latter might be either a

Gebia or an Azius; but the scale is wanting on its external an-

tenne, and therefore it can be approximated only to Gebia. The

admirable figure on the tenth plate, however, shows us that

this Gebia stellata cannot be a Gebia at all, but that it must

form a new genus. Audouin has not given a description of the

Crustacean in question ; I will therefore give one here from the

figure, under the name of

CALLIADNE, nov. gen.

To the species figured I give the name of C. Savignit. The

cephalothorax exhibits in front only a small rounded frontal

process, which is finely pointed in the median line, but is sepa-

rated laterally by gentle sinuosities from the projecting lateral

ridges, which bound the epigastral region on the sides. These

ridges are beset with a row of fine teeth directed forwards, and

run in the furrow which bounds the epigastral region. This

region is smooth posteriorly ; the larger anterior part, as far as

it is bounded laterally by the denticulated ridges, and including

the frontal process, is densely covered with fine teeth obliquely

directed forwards. These teeth, however, are symmetrically dis-

tributed in five series, in such a way that one series exactly oc-

cupies the median line, and on each side of this two rows are

placed at an equal distance between it and the lateral ridges.

This structure of the forehead removes this genus more from

Gebia than De Haan’s Laomedia, with which our genus is pro-

bably most nearly allied on account of the cheliform first pair of

feet. I must remark here that Dana’s diagnosis of the genus

Laomedia, in as far as it represents the pedes quinti as obsoleti, is

founded upon a misapprehension of De Haan’s statements. De

Haan says, pedes quinti desunt; that is to say, in the example

before him they had been destroyed, as may be seen distinctly

from the figure of it given by him. If we had any knowledge

of the fifth pair of feet in Laomedia, we should know with more

certainty whether Calliadne and Laomedia should remain sepa-

rate or be brought together in one genus.

The antennz and the first two pairs of feet of Calliadne are

richly clothed with long hairs on their lower surface. The joints

Dr. Strahl on the Systematic Position of the Thalassinz. 391

of the imner antenna are very unequal in length: the first joint ~

is the longest, and the second the shortest ; the first joint is as

long as the second and third together, and the third twice as

long as the second. This antenna bears two flagella, of which

the shorter inner one is as long as the antennal peduncle, and

thicker than the other, and terminates in a rounded and almost

clublike form. The outer flagellum is longer, more slender and

acute.

The outer antenna possesses no scale. Gebia, Laomedia, and

Calhadne therefore group themselves closely together. The

flagellum is simple and of the length of the thorax.

The total length of the animal is 7 lines; but unfortunately

we have no information as to whether it was perfectly developed.

The outer maxillipeds are foot-lke; the outer palpus has a

peduncle which is not quite so long as the second joint of the

maxilliped, and it terminates in a multiarticulate flagellum.

The first pair of feet is cheliferous. The hand, which is thinly

clothed with hairs all over, is laterally compressed, yet the upper

margin is not sharp or keeled, but rounded ; the carpus is longer

than the fingers, and the fingers are acute. The first pair of

feet is the longest, measuring about two-thirds of the total length

of the animal. The following feet are monodactyle, slender,

thinner than the first pair; they become shorter the further

back they are situated, but the fifth pair becomes again not only

longer, but also subcheliform.

The abdomen is at first slender, but becomes broader towards

the middle, and then again diminishes somewhat in breadth.

The abdominal feet of the first segment are simple, thin, and

rudimentary ; those of the following segments bear two appen-

dages, of which the outer is large, long, and ciliated all round,

but bears no filiform process ; the inner one, on the contrary, is

small, only a fourth or fifth of the size of the outer one, but also

eiliated all round.

The caudal fan consists of a broad, rounded, central piece,

which is of the same length with the lateral appendages; the

latter are broad ; and all are ciliated on the margins.

With regard to the characters of the sternum and of the

tubercle on the intercalare, the figures give us no information.

The other affinities to the Thalassine, however, allow us to sup-

pose that there are no differences in these parts.

Even Latreille united the genera known to him of the families

Astacine and Thalassine subsequently established by Milne-

Edwards, and De Haan contributed evidence in support of this

union from their organization. The numerous Asfaci which

were afterwards made known induced Erichson to separate three

28%

392 Dr. Strahl on the Systematic Position of the Thalassinze.

distinct genera from Astacus : these in various ways constituted

a transition from the genus Astacus to the Thalassine. The

union of the Astacine and Thalassine has been approved of by

some naturalists, for example by Gersticker in his Carcinological

Contributions in Wiegmann’s ‘Archiv’ for 1856 ; but it has been

rejected by Dana in his great work on the Crustacea. Dana

has united the Astacide with the Scyllaride and Palinuride,

whilst Milne-Edwards has placed the Thalassine between them.

In fact, however, the Astacide have much less affinity to the

Scyllaride and Palinuride than to the Thalassine. The want of

the antennal scale does not sharply divide the Astacide from the

Thalassine, inasmuch as there are Thalassine which exhibit traces

of this organ, although but insignificant ones. Of Thalassine

which possess a more or less perfect antennal scale, there are,

besides Glaucothoé (Milne-Edwards) and Awius (Leach), also

Calocaris (Bell) and even, notwithstanding the express denial

of Milne-Edwards, probably the genus Callianassa—at least

Callianassa subterranea (Leach) and C. mucronata (mihi) and

Thalassina scorpionoides. In the atlas to Cuvier’s ‘Régne Animal,’

pl. 48, Milne-Edwards has given a figure of Callianassa, and in

the further details of the organization has even perfectly and

accurately represented the external antenne ; but as he had not

recognized the more delicate details, the figure is deficient in

this respect. The Scyllaride and Palinuride never have an

antennal scale, and this alone would separate them more sharply

than the Thalassine from the Astacide sensu stricto. But,

im respect to the outer antenne, the Scyllaride and Palinuride

exhibit a character which is perfectly foreign not only to the

Astacide, but also to the Caride, Peneide, &c. In them,

namely, the elsewhere moveably articulated piece, which bears

the tubercle and the perforated tympanic membrane contained

in it, is mtimately anchylosed to the epistomium: on account

of this anatomical character, they must form a separate sec-

tion of the Tubercular Decapods, repeating in a certain de-

gree the Oxyrhynchid type of the Opercular Decapods. This

anchylosis appears to occur very early; for, from the numerous

observations of Coste and Couch, it is now scarcely doubtful

that the Phyllosomata, still retamed by Milne-Edwards as a

peculiar genus, are the early stages of the Palinuri. The Zoo-

logical Museum of Berlin possesses a series of Phyllosomata,

about sixteen in number, taken by M. Jagor in one sweep of the

towing-net, in the open sea near Trinidad; these show such

gradual changes in course of growth that thirteen of them may

be arranged in such a manner as to demonstrate the increasing

size and simultaneous alteration of the characters most evidently.

As, however, these are remarkable in other respects likewise, I

Dr. Strahl on the Systematic Position of the Thalassine. 393

must put off more detailed statements for the present, and will

only mention here that even these phenomena of growth are

greatly in favour of the Phyllosomata being the young state of

some Podophthalmatous Crustacean. In all the above-mentioned

Phyllosomata, and in the other specimens contained in the Berlin

collection, I have succeeded in confirming Krdéyer’s observation

as to the presence and position of the auditory vesicle. What

Gegenbaur and Leuckart have sought in vain in fresh examples

may be easily seen in spirit-specimens: the coagulation effected

by the alcohol probably facilitates the detection of contours

which, under other circumstances, are too delicate. Moreover,

the Phyllosomata already possess the tuberculum ; at least, this

was what I considered to be the nature of a tubercle, situated close

to the outer antenna. The outer antenna here is destitute of

any indication of an antennal scale; and this would also be in

favour of its belonging to Palinurus. I could not make out that

the elevation considered by me as the tuberculum was situated on

a separately articulated piece; and it would likewise constitute an

agreement with the Padinuri that the tubercle was placed in front

of the mouth upon the anterior segment, which is undivided

and bears the eyes and the two antenne*.

The position of the auditory vesicles is surprising: they are

situated within the brain, and occur elsewhere in the first joint

of the inner antenne. During further growth, the auditory

vesicles must push forward, and, changing their form, get into

the first joint of the inner antenne, and open themselves; whilst,

on the contrary, the tubercula move nearer to the mouth and

more towards the median line. But this must be cleared up by

further observations.

In the vicinity of the elevation regarded by me as the tuber-

culum, and not far behind it, there is, in the interior, in front of

the fan-like liver, a peculiar mass, the external-contours of which,

resembling convolutions of tubes, lead to the conclusion that it

is a glandular organ. To this mass some filaments run from the

brain; it is paler in front, darker behind. This is probably

Suckow’s gland, which always consists of two differently tinted

portions. .

From the above it appears distinctly that the Scyllaride and

Palinuride are not more nearly allied to the Thalassine and As-

tacine than to the Palemones, Penai, &c. We have now to

ascertain wherein consists the near affinity of the Astacine and

Thalassine. In the first place, the scale of the external antenne,

which is wanting in some genera, rudimentary in others, and in

others, again, more highly developed, but never attaining to the

* Perhaps the Phyllosomata of which Milne-Edwards says that their

antennez are “ Jamelleuses”’ may belong to some Scyllaride.

394 Dr. Strahl on the Systematic Position of the Thalassine.,

development found in the Carides, must be left quite out of the

question as a variable character. But there are other agreements

in the outer antenna. Thus, in the Astacine and Thalassine the

tuberculum is never turned inwards towards the median line of

the body, as in the Carides, &c., but is always either in the midst

of the ventral surface of the intercalare, or even turned quite

outwards (Callianassa). The same character is presented by the

Paguride, which also agree with the Thalassine and Astacine

in the fact that their thoracic segments are not firmly anchy-

losed together. Homarus forms an exception to this: it proba-

bly constitutes the transition to the Carides, &c., or the separation

of its last thoracic segment is an embryonic character. Whilst

the other Astacine group their thoracic segments 4:: 1, the Pa-

guride group them 3:1:1. The Paguride have antennal

scales ; in the Thalassine these disappear. We have therefore

in these families a group which is sharply differentiated from

all other Tubercular Decapods, and, by virtue of the separation

of their thoracic segments, form the most decided transition to

the Squillide. Taking into consideration certain appendages of

the abdominal segments of Callianidea and Callisea, which are

usually identified with the respiratory organs of the Squilhde,

the transition is much more evident.

I place the above-mentioned families as an order amongst the

Tubercular Decapods, and name them Evterna, on account of the

more external position of the tuberculum, which is their general

character; opposite to them I place the rest as Interna, but

would arrange the latter first and the former second, with the

Squillide following them.

The Ezterna are cylindrical, or at the utmost somewhat late-

rally compressed ; either they have the thoracic segments (anchy-

losed) 3: 1:1, an antennal scale, the abdomen chiefly membra-

nous without lateral appendages, and the inner antennz distin-

guished by two flagella very different both in size and in their

general nature (Paguride) ; or the thoracic segments are (anchy-

losed) 4:1 (5 only in Homarus), the antenne present either a

distinct or rudimentary scale, or none at all, the abdomen con-

sists of calcified segments with lateral appendages, and the inner

antenne bear two not remarkably dissimilar flagella (Astacine

and Thalassine). -

The Galatheide and Afgleide certainly approach most closely

as regards the characters of their thoracic segments (4: 1) ; but

they are Interna, have no antennal scale, possess a vertically

compressed body, and form with the Porcellane a well-marked

roup.

: The objection that the Paguride have quite a different develop-

mental history—the Paguri, according to Rathke and Philippi,

Dr. Strahl on the Systematic Position of the Thalassine. 395

escaping from the egg in the form of Zoéa—is not very difficult

to answer; for the above-mentioned observers state particularly

that the Zoée observed by them had something very peculiar

about them, namely, the scale on the outer antenna. Philippi

even figures this; and the peculiarity of the Paguride is

that the thoracic legs are only subsequently developed, just

like the appendages of the abdomen. In the subsequent deve-

lopment, the legs appear no longer to occur with two rami; at

least, Rathke says nothing decisive upon this point, although he

particularly states, with regard to the maxillipeds, that these are

biramose.

Upon Galatea rugosa Rathke says but little. Its mature

embryos agree in structure with those of Pagurus. But here

our first question would be, whether these embryos have a scale

on the outer antenna, this being absent in the perfectly deve-

loped animal. From the materials available to us, which indeed

are but scanty, it appears as if the mature embryos did not

differ essentially from the fully developed animals in respect of

the organization of the eyes and of the outer and inner antenne.

That during development definite lower forms must be passed

through does not appear to be the rule among the Crustacea.

I am only acquainted with one instance which is in favour of it.

Milne-Edwards states that he has observed that, in mature em-

bryos of Naxia serpulifera, the first jot of the outer antenna

is not anchylosed with the surrounding parts, but still exists

separately (Annales des Sciences Nat. 2 sér. i. p. 331). From

this we should expect to find something similar in the Palinuride

and Scyllaride. But if the Phyllosomata be their larve, we

must again hesitate, from what is stated above, before setting up

Milne-Edwards’s observation as a rule.

As above mentioned, the Thalassine and Astacine are not

much compressed laterally, at least not in the same degree as

many Palemones, and especially the Peneide; by this means it

is of course possible that the sternum may become developed to

a greater breadth. Many of the forms belonging here want the

appendages of the first abdominal segment which act as externai

male sexual organs. According to Thomson, the copulation of

these also takes place in a peculiar manner. Perhaps, in con-

nexion with this, the sternum of the female is constructed dif-

ferently from that of the male. Not only are the sternal plates

of the fourth thoracic segment considerably larger, as is likewise

the case even in the male, but also those of the third segment,

and consequently a peculiar way is established from the female

sexual orifices towards the abdomen.

I have seen this in Cambarus, Engeus, Axius, Gebia, Calo-

caris, Callianassa, and Thalassina ; and it occurs, no doubt, in all

396 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

Thalassine. I have not yet examined the Paguride in this

direction. Nowhere else am I acquainted with a similar struc-

ture of the sternum, except in a Peneus from Manilla, the female

of which presents a peculiar soft structure on the fifth segment

of the thorax. This is a round, chitinous, but uncalcified disk,

which bears an elevated ridge in the middle, running from be-

fore backwards, the whole length of which is deeply slit, but in

such a way that its lips close tightly. The function of this organ

is quite enigmatical, and nothing analogous to it is known in

other Penai.

XLILI.— Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley.

CoLrorTeRA : Lonercornes. By H. W. Barss, Esq.

[Continued from p. 124.]

Genus STErRAsToMA, Serv.

Serville, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. iv. 24.

This is a well-defined genus, not very closely allied to any of

the preceding. Its nearest relationship seems to be with those

species of Acanthoderes which have slender fore tibie, rounded

anterior acetabula, and closed acetabular sutures, tricarinate

thorax, and prominent centro-basal ridges continuing as smooth

carne to the apex of the elytra. It differs, however, from

Acanthoderes in the complex tuberculation of the sides of the

thorax. Instead of a simple lateral conical tubercle or spine, as

is usual in the Longicorn family, the thorax presents, on each

side, an irregular prominence furnished with three tubercles.

In some species this prominence is very strongly developed, and

then two of the tubercles are carried to the apex, giving it a

bifid appearance, the third remaining at the base beneath. All

the species have, besides this tricuspid prominence, an acute

tubercle on each side near the fore margin of the thorax ; and

some present, in addition to this, a similar pomted wart on the

side, some distance above it. The muzzle, although similar in

shape to that of A. dzvitta, is considerably longer and more

broadened anteriorly than in any species of Acanthoderes, and

the fore angles are more strongly pronounced. The mandibles

are long, very slightly bowed, and much flattened. The centro-

basal ridges of the elytra are curved outwards and prolonged

behind as more or less flexuous smooth keels to the apex. In

the males of some species the basal joint of the antennz forms

an irregular many-angled club, and is longer in proportion to

the third than is the rule in the section to which the genus

belongs.

of the Amazon Valley. 397

1. Steirastoma depressum, Fabr.

Cerambyx depressus, Fabr. Ent. Syst. i. ii. 260, 32.

St. breve, depressum, postice valde attenuatum, nigrum, tenuiter

griseo tomentosum : thoracis lateribus quinquetuberculatis, dorso

depresso tricarinato: elytris subtrigonis, carinis centro-basalibus

valde curvatis ramulum suturam versus emittentibus, apice spi-

nosis: pedibus nigris, cinereo obscure variegatis: corpore subtus

nigro, nitido, lateribus ochraceo tomentosis. Long. 7—! 1 ln. dQ.

Head black, scantily clothed with grey tomentum, sparingly

punctured with three raised longitudinal lines, the lateral ones.

flexuous, the central one straight and running from the vertex

to the edge of the epistome. Antennz half as long again as the

body in the g, a little longer than the body in the ?, black, the

bases of the joints ashy; the first joint in the dof an irregular

clavate shape, rugose, tuberculated at the apex. Thorax punc-

tured near the fore and hind margins; the sides have each five

tubercles, two anteriorly and three on the moderately produced

lateral prominence ; the dorsal carine are smooth, and shining

black, the lateral ones being flexuous, interrupted, and tubercu-

late. The elytra are clothed with thin ashy tomentum, streaked

and spotted with black; the centro-basal ridges are granulated

and strongly curved, the posterior end of the curve emitting a

short branch towards the suture; afterwards each is continued

as a flexuous and smooth keel to the apex: the apex itself is

produced into a strong tooth or spine, which varies in length in

different individuals. The fore legs of the gare much elon-

gated.

This is a common Guiana species, and is generally distri-

buted throughout the Amazon region, being found everywhere

in new clearings, sometimes under the loose bark of trees. Like

all the other species of the genus, it is sluggish in its motions,

and feigns death when touched, bending its legs in a rigid posi-

tion, and falling to the ground. As the Fabrician description is

insufficient, and his name has been referred to a nearly allied

but distinct South Brazilian species, I have thought it necessary

to give a lengthened diagnosis. According to the British Museum

collection, the C. depressus of Fabricius is the same as the C.

brevis of Sulzer, an earlier author, and applies to the larger spe-

cies of South Brazil above mentioned. I think, however, the

description of Fabricius quoted above cannot apply to any other

than the one I have described. It is probable, also, that

Sulzer and the other old authors had the Guiana species

in view in their C. brevis; for the productions of Brazil were

not known in Europe at the time they wrote. I do not adopt

Sulzer’s name, however, because it is likely that the C. depressus

398 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

of Linnzus, since Mr. White applies it to the Guiana in-

sect, is the same species as the Fabrician; and therefore the

name depressus, again having the priority, would stand. I

have no means of deciding this point. Linneus gives Coro-

mandel as the locality of his C. depressus; and Fabricius does

not quote his name in the synonymy. I have received a pair of

Steirastoma depressum from M. Deyrolle of Paris, as coming from

Venezuela, under the name of “St. difformis” of Dejean. It is

considerably modified from the Guiano-Amazonian type, being

more closely tomentose, and ochreous rather than grey in

colour.

2. Steirastoma melanogenys, White.

Steirastoma melanogenys, White, Cat. Long. Col. in Brit. Mus. ii. p. 355.

The male in this species has a strong tooth or spine on the

inner edge of the fore tibie near the middle. This was over-

looked by Mr. White ; otherwise his description, as cited above,

leaves nothing to desire. This insect is the “ St. aculeata” of

Dejean’s catalogue, according to specimens I have received from

Paris. Cayenne examples do not differ at all from those found

in the Amazon region. I met with the species only in the

central parts of the Lower Amazons, at Obydos and Santarem.

3. Steirastoma cenosum, 0. sp.

St. modice elongatum, postice attenuatum, depressum, tomento

cervino-fusco vestitum: capitis thoracisque lateribus et plagis

magnis duabus elytrorum fuscis: elytris apice valde spinosis.

Long. 10 lin. 9.

Head and labrum densely clothed with ashy-brown pile, the

former punctured in front and marked with three fine longitu-

dinal raised lines on the epistome, the central one extending to

the vertex; the sides black. Antenne brown ; the third joint

beneath with three very fine spines placed widely apart, Thorax

quadrituberculate on each side, the lateral prominence very large,

trituberculate, and the tubercle near the fore angle prominent ;

the dorsal surface depressed, punctured, tricarinate ; the central

keel very faint, the lateral ones prominent, flexuous; densely

clothed with light-brown pile, the sides with a stripe of a coffee-

brown colour between the lateral keel and the tubercles. Elytra

depressed, elongate, subtrigonal; the centro-basal ridges pro-

longed behind to the apex, gently curved outwards and granu-

lated from the base to two-thirds the length, then flexuous and

smooth to their termination: the surface faintly and sparingly

granulate-punctate, with a few large granulations, besides, on

the shoulders; light or tawny-brown in colour, with a silky

gloss; the sides have each two large irregular patches of a coffee-

of the Amazon Valley. 399

brown colour, one covering the shoulder and extending in a

short streak to the disk, the other placed obliquely a little be-

hind the middle; the apex of each elytron is produced into a

spine. Body beneath thickly clothed with ashy-brown pile;

the middle of the abdomen shining black. Legs thinly covered

with ashy-brown pubescence.

One example, taken at Oyayd, banks of the Curud, below

Santarem.

The species is nearly allied to St. melanogenys, but differs in

the shape and position of the spines beneath the third antennal

joint, in its clothing and markings, and in the apex of the elytra

not being squarely truncated with a spine at the external angles,

but produced on each elytron into a stout spine.

4. Steirastoma aethiops, nu. sp.

St. modice elongatum, depressum, supra tomento atro-griseo vesti-

tum: capitis thoracisque lateribus et plagis magnis duabus ely-

trorum nigris: elytris apice valde spinosis. Long. 8-10 lin. ¢ @.

Head and labrum clothed with very dark-grey pile, the former

with three longitudinal raised lines on the front, the central one

extending to the nuchus, the lateral ones short and very promi-

nent ; sides black. Antenne black; bases of the joints greyish,

the third with a few very fine spines or bristles beneath, placed

wide apart ; the basal joimt in the d pyriform-clavate, smooth.

Thorax quadrituberculate on each side, the lateral prominence

very large, trituberculate, the tubercle near the fore angle pro-

minent; the dorsal surface depressed, punctured, tricarinate ;

the central keel very faint, the lateral ones strongly pronounced;

thickly clothed with very dark-grey pile, the sides each with a

black stripe between the lateral keel and the tubercles. Elytra

depressed, elongate, subtrigonal; the centro-basal ridges pro-

longed behind to the apex, strongly curved outwards, and granu-

lated to two-thirds the length, then flexuous and smooth to their

termination ; the surface faintly and sparigly granulate-punc-

tate, with a few large granulations, besides, on the shoulders ;

very dark grey, the sides having each two large, irregular, black

patches—one, which is sometimes broken ito smaller spots,

covering the shoulder and extending in a slender streak to the

disk, the other placed obliquely a little behind the middle; the

tips of the elytra are briefly sinuate-truncate, the external

angles produced into stout spines. Body beneath and legs

clothed with very dark-grey pile; the middle of the abdomen

naked, shining black. ‘The fore tibize of the ¢ are untoothed.

This species occurred only at Ega and St. Paulo, on the Upper

Amazons. It differs very httle, except in colour, from St. ce@no-

sum, and may be considered a geographical variety or race of

400 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

that species. Ihave not seen either form in collections from

other parts of South America.

Genus PiatysterNus (Dej.), Blanch.

Blanchard, Histoire des Insectes, ii. 156.

The few words given by Blanchard as generic characters, in

the place above quoted, have little or no meaning; the genus,

however, is well known to entomologists from the figure given

by Olivier of the only described species. It is a singular form

of Lamiaire, partaking of the characters of Steirastoma and the

Anisocerinse—two widely different groups. The shape of the

thorax, the closed acetabular sutures, and the direction of the

centro-basal ridges of the elytra show a near affinity with the

Steirastomata; whilst the form and smoothness of the muzzle,

the broadly rounded apices of the elytra, and the depression of

the fore edge of the metasternum are so many points of resem-

blance to the Anisocerine. The lateral prominences of the

thorax are not simple, but bicuspid, the anterior cusp, however,

being very much smaller than the posterior one. The antennz

are slender, one-fourth shorter than the body, and the eleventh

joint, as in most of the Anisocerine, is much shorter than the

tenth.

Platysternus hebreus, Fabricius.

Cerambyz hebreus, Fabr. Mant. Ins. 1. 131.

» Oliv. Ent. iv. p. 62, t. 15. f. 106.

I met with this rare and magnificent insect only at Caripi,

near Paré. It was there found in some numbers, gnawing the

bark of living Guariiba trees—a lofty tree of the order Legu-

minosz, whose bark is thick, smooth, and friable, and much fre-

quented by bark-feeding insects, especially Curculionides of the

group Cryptorhynchini. Cicindelidze of the rare genus Jresia

are sometimes seen on the same tree, coursing over the trunk

and preying upon the vegetable feeders; in fact, I never met

with Jresie except on Guaritba trees. The large Cratosomi

sometimes abound, and gnaw large holes in the bark. These

insects do not seem to breed in the wood of the standing trees,

but merely to resort to them for the purpose of gnawing the

bark.

I have seen a second and undescribed species of Platysternus

in the collection of Count Mniszech, at Paris.

Genus PotyrHaAPuis, Serv.

Serville, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. iv. 26.

From the seemingly capricious way in which the various parts

of structure that, in other Coleoptera, furnish signs of affinity

of the Amazon Valley. 401

are modified from genus to genus in the Longicorn family, it is

difficult to decide on the true position and relationship of the

present group. In the general shape of the body, as well as in

the form of the muzzle, thorax, and apex of the elytra, it seems

to approach the genus Acrocinus. The antenne, however, are

quite glabrous beneath, instead of being ciliated partially or

wholly as in Acrocinus; and the fore tarsi of the ¢ are dilated

and ciliated, instead of being simple. In the proportions of the

apical joints of the antennz there is a great similarity between

Polyrhaphis and the Anisocerine, the terminal joint in both

sexes being extremely short compared with the penultimate.

This seems to be a significant character. The form of the

muzzle, too, is not greatly different from that of the Anisocerine;

but the general form, the shape of the elytra and of the sterna,

reveal no affinity with that group. The genus seems to have no

close relationship with any other group of Lamiaires: it shows

some resemblance to Acrocinus and the Anisocerine ; but many

intermediate links are wanting to prove a genealogical relation-

ship. The prosternum is extremely narrow in this genus, and

the mesosternum is contracted in the middle between the

haunches. The anterior acetabula gape widely on the sides, the

sutures being opened along their whole length. The genus is

a very natural or well-defined one, comprising a cluster of spe-

cies which agree with each other in facies as well as in structural

characters. They are all of large size, have greatly elongated,

filiform, rather stout antenne, long and acute lateral thoracic

spines, sometimes directed forwards, and ample oblong elytra,

whose apices are broadly truncated and spined.

1. Polyrhaphis spinosa, Drury.

Lamia spinosa, Drury, Ilustr. ii. p. 60, pl. 31. f. 3 (1773).

Cerambyzx horridus, Oliv. Ent. iv. 66, pl. 4. f. 29 (1789-1808).

Lamia horrida, Faby. Ent. Syst. i. 1. 273. 25 (1792).

The figures given by Drury and Olivier agree well in shape

and form of the spines with the insect I have before me, taken

at Villa Nova, on the Lower Amazons. My example, however,

appears to be of a lighter colour. The general hue of the to-

mentum is hoary or ashy, the elytra, with the exception of the

basal and apical parts, being of a violet-brown colour. The

shape of the elytra in this species is elongate-quadrate, beg

only shghtly narrowed posteriorly, with the base and apex rect-

angular, and the sides nearly straight. The spines on the elytra

are as follows :—a row of small ones placed close to the suture,

but deficient near the base and the apex; three large ones on

the centro-basal ridges, two on the shoulders, and five or six

very long ones on the disk. It occurs in Guiana as well as the

402 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

Amazon region, and appears to be a rare insect. I met with

only one example, which was found closely adhering to a dead

branch, and scarcely distinguishable from it on account of the

colours resembling those of the lichens with which the wood was

covered,

2. Polyrhaphis hystricina.

P. brevis, subconvexa, spinosa, tomentosa, cervino-fusca, postice

cinereo variegata: thoracis spinis antrorsum valde curvatis : elytris

truncatis, angulis internis acutis, externis valde productis. Long.

12 ln. ¢.

Head scantily punctured, dull black, clothed with tawny-

brown pile. Antenne dark brown. Thorax punctured near the

fore and hind margins, clothed with tawny-brown pile clouded

with dusky ; dorsal tubercles very large, obtuse ; lateral spines

strong, elongated, and more strongly curved forwards than in

P. spinosa. Elytra rather short, subquadrate, slightly but gra-

dually narrowed from the base, the sides nearly straight to three-

fourths the length, and then gradually rounded to the apex,

which is broadly truncated ; the sutural angle very slightly pro-

duced, and the external one armed with a stout spine: the sur-

face is studded with stout but not long or acute spines; there

are five or six in a row on the strongly-raised centro-basal ridge,

three or four along the suture near the middle, several smaller

ones on the shoulders, and a short series of three or four between

the shoulders and the centro-basal ridge, and, lastly, five on the

disk, namely, two in the middle and three on the posterior part ;

the interspaces are studded with large, deep, and shinmg pune-

tures, the apical portion of the elytra behind the spines alone

being entirely smooth. Under surface of the body and legs

black, thinly clothed with brownish pile; tarsi and a ring at the

tips of the femora bright fulvous.

There is a specimen of this species in the British Museum,

ticketed “ P. hystricina, White,” which name I have adopted ; it

is larger and paler in colour than my example, but agrees with

it in all other respects. It appears to be a rare species. My

specimen was taken near Para.

3. Polyrhaphis angustata, Buquet.

i ae angustatus, Buquet, Ann. de la Soc. Ent. de France, 1853,

p- 445.

This species has been described at length by M. Buquet in

the place quoted. It is an elongated parallel-sided species,

14 lines long ; the elytra are free from spines or tubercles, bemg

simply granulate and punctate partly in rows, but smooth to-

wards the apex. The spines of the thorax are long and straight.

The general colour is dull-reddish brown, varied with small

of the Amazon Valley. 403

specks and clouds of a dark-brown hue. The fore tarsi in the 3

are feebly dilated and fringed, and the antennz in the same sex

are nearly twice the length of the body.

I met with the species on the banks of the Tapajos and at

Ega. The examples found do not differ from the Cayenne spe-

cimen which I saw in M. Buquet’s collection. The insect is

found on the trunks of fallen trees in the virgin forest. Like

many other large species of Longicornes, it comes abroad at

night, and flies over broad rivers. I once found an individual

along with many other dead or half-dead insects on a sand-bank

in the middle of the Tapajos, which had been cast ashore after

falling into the water during a squall in the night.

4. Polyrhaphas gracilis, n. sp.

P. elongata, angustata, subconvexa, tomentosa, violaceo-fusca :

thoracis lateribus elytrisque postice flavo variegatis: elytrorum

apicibus rotundato-truncatis, angulis externis spinosis. Long.

8 lin. @.

Head clothed with reddish pile, sides black ; front coarsely

punctured ; muzzle short. Antenne the length of the body,

dull brown. Thorax punctured, reddish in colour, the sides be-

hind varied with yellowish ; the two dorsal tubercles small; the

lateral spines long, slender, and slightly bent forwards. Scu-

tellum yellowish. LElytra narrow, much elongated, and some-

what convex, gradually increasing in breadth from one-third to

two-thirds ther length, then slightly narrowed to the apex,

which is obliquely and obtusely truncated, the external angle of

the truncation produced into a spine ; the basal half of the sur-

face is thickly granulate-punctate, the apical portion entirely

smooth ; the colour is a dull-reddish or violet brown, the smooth

posterior portion being varied with ashy yellow. The body be-

neath and legs are black, thinly clothed with ashy pile.

I only obtained one example of this small and elegantly shaped

species, which was taken at Ega, on a dead branch.

5. Polyrhaphis papulosa, Olivier.

Cerambyx papulosus, Oliv. Ent. iv. 72, pl. 20. f. 156.

This fine species is found at Cayenne and, according to Erich-

son (Consp. Ins. Peruana) in the forest region of Eastern Peru.

My only example, a 2, 15 lines in length, was taken on a slender

dead branch in the forest at Ega—a locality midway between the

two regions.

6. Polyrhaphis Jansoni, Pascoe.

Polyrhaphis Jansoni, Pascoe, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. v. n. s. pt. 1.

Mr. Pascoe, in the description referred to above, likens this

404 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorns of the Amazon Valley.

species to the common P. spinipennis of Laporte, a native of

South-east Brazil. It does not seem very closely allied, how-

ever, to that species. The elytra are less depressed, more thickly

and deeply punctured on the base and disk, and less parallel-

_ sided, being broad at the base and more tapering to the apex.

In general outline it more nearly resembles P. papulosa. The

colour above is fulvescent or tawny brown, the apical third of

the elytra variegated with fine longitudinal streaks of a darker-

brown hue. The bright-fulvous tarsi and the fulvous apical

ring of the femora, contrasted with the deep-black legs, are fea-

tures it possesses in common with P. hystricina and the follow-

ing form, P. Paraensis. The surface of the elytra, except the

apical portion, is studded with short obtuse spines, or, rather,

conical tubercles; these vary in number in different examples,

as they do in most species of Polyrhaphis; but, as is usual in ~

the genus, they are constant in position. There is a row along

the prominent centro-basal ridge, a series of three or four along

the suture near the middle, and two oblique rows along the

middle of the disk, the inner one of which extends in a flexuous

direction to the base of the elytra. Besides these spines, the

elytra on the sides and shoulders are thickly studded with tuber-

cles arranged in rows, each accompanied, as the spines also are,

by a large and deep puncture. The disk of the elytra towards

the suture is much depressed, and, with the interspaces of the

base, is thickly punctured ; the apical third of the surface is smooth

and impunctate. The apex of the elytra is truncated, the su-

tural angle has a very small projecting point, the external one

being produced into a spine. The length varies from 9 to

15 lines. -

This species is rather common at Ega, on the trunks of fallen

trees in the forest. It is also found on the banks of the Cupari,

an affluent of the Tapajos.

7. Polyrhaphis Paraensis, n. sp.

P. oblonga, tomentosa: capite fuliginoso: thorace fulvescente :

elytris fuliginosis, basi et pone medium cervino variegatis : elytro-

rum tuberculis ut in P. Jansoni dispositis. Long. 10 lim. 9.

Head and antennz sooty black, the former punctured in front.

Thorax fulvous, the disk clouded with dusky ; the lateral spines

straight, the dorsal tubercles acute. lytra broad at the base,

then gradually narrowed to three-fourths their length, whence

they are more abruptly narrowed and rounded to the apex, which

is truncated; the sutural angles simply pointed, the external

ones produced into spines; the tubercles and punctures on the

surface are arranged precisely as in P. Jansoni, but the colour is

different ; the base is of a tawny-brown hue, the central parts

Dr. B. Seemann on a new Species of Upas-Tree. 405

and the apical third sooty brown, the interval between these

darker patches being of a paler tawny colour. Legs black, a

ring at the apex of the femora and the tarsi bright fulvous.

This species, which is no doubt a local modification of P. Jan-

soni, is found at Para.

[To be continued. ]

XLIV.—On Antiaris Bennettil, a new Species of Upas-Tree from

Polynesia. By Burtuoip Srrmann, Pu.D., F.LS.

Antiaris Bennettii ; arbor mediocris ; ramulis petiolisque pubescenti-

bus, demum glabris; foliis brevipetiolatis ovato-oblongis acumi-

natis integerrimis, basi ineequali-cordatis, utrinque subglabris, supra

lucidis ; floribus masculis fasciculatis (2-4), pedunculis velutino

pubescentibus, involucro laciniis ovato-acuminatis perigoniorum

longitudinem reflexis, foemineis solitariis ; drupa ovato-acuta, dense

velutina (v. v. sp.).

Antiaris Bennettii, Seem. in Bonplandia, vol. ix. (1861), p. 259,

et ibid. vol. x. p. 3, t. 7 (1862).—Bennett’s Gatherings of a Na-

turalist in Australasia (London, 1860), p. 403.

Nomen yernaculum Tucopiense ‘Mami,’ teste G. Bennett; Vi-

tiense ‘ Mavu ni Toga,’ teste Seemann.

Geogr. Distribution; Viti Levu, about Namara, and Moturiki

(Seemann! n. 449, Harvey !).—Tucopia, lat. 12° S., long. 169° E.

(G. Bennett! im Herb. Hook.), and Wallis Island, lat. 16° 30! S.,

long. 176° W. (Sir E. Home! in Mus. Brit.)

Hitherto only three species of Antiaris were known, viz.,

A. toxicaria, Lesch. (the genuine Upas-tree of Java), A. innoxia,

BL, and A. macrophylla, RK. Br. A fourth species (ramis foliisque

utrinque velutinis) is cultivated in the Royal Botanic Gardens

at Kew. A fifth species was found by Thwaites in Ceylon, and

has been described by me as A. Zeylanica (Bonpl. x. p. 4, in

adnot.) ; it is called by the Cingalese “ Ritti-gass,” and supplies,

like Q. saccidora, Dalz. materials for sacks. In his ‘ Enumera-

tion Pl. Zeyl” p. 268, Thwaites classes it with A. innozia, BL,

and A. saccidora, Dalz.; but I am by no means certain that

even A. innoxia and A. saccidora are identical, and feel con-

vinced that A. Zeylanica, Seem., is a very distinct species, at

once distinguished from A. saccidora, Dalz., of which Wight

gives a figure, by its scabrous leaves and pear-shaped fruits*. A

* Antiaris Zeylanica; arbor excelsa; ramulis, petiolis, pedunculis dru-

pisque velutinis ; foliis obovato-oblongis, acuminatis, integerrimis, supra

seabris, subtus hirtellis; involucri masculi laciniis perigoniorum longi-

tudinem reflexis ; drupa obovato-obtusa (v. s. sp.).—A. Zeylanica, Seem.

in Bonpl. vol. x. p. 4, in adnot. A. innovia, Thwait. Enum. Pl. Zeyl.

p- 263, non BI., excl. syn. omn.—In Zeylania, ubi, teste cl. Thwaites,

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 29

406 Dr. B. Seemann on a new Species of Upas-Tree.

sixth species of Antiaris, if not a seventh, is the one which, in

honour ofits original discoverer, I have named A: Bennettii. It

is closely allied to A. macrophylla, R. Br., from the northern

parts of New Holland, but at once distinguished in having fruits

covered with a thick coating of velvety hair. It had been

found in Fiji, first by Prof. Harvey, afterwards by me. About

thirty years earlier, however, viz. in May 1830, the plant had

been discovered by Dr. George Bennett, of Sydney, New South

Wales, on a small island situated N.W. of Fiji, in lat. 12 S.,

long. 169 E., and was thus alluded to in his ‘ Gatherings of a

Naturalist in Australasia’ (8vo. London, 1860, p. 403) :—

“When visiting the Island of Tucopia in May, I observed

the Antiaris, or Upas-tree, planted in rows near the native buts ;

but I am not aware that it is indigenous. It is named ‘ Mami’

by the natives; it is allied to the celebrated Upas-tree of Java,

and accords with A. macrophylla, described and figured by the

late Dr. Brown in the Appendix to ‘ Flinders’s Voyage.’ The

tree at Tucopia is of slender growth, with pendulous branches ;

it was growing to the height of 8 to 12 feet. The leaves are

oblong, large, pointed, distinctly veined, and of a lght-green

colour. The fruit is oval, rather larger than a pigeon’s egg,

rough externally, and of a beautiful crimson colour. Between

the husk and kernel there is a quantity of white viscid juice.

The kernel, of white colour and intensely bitter taste, is

enclosed in a thin shell of a grey colour. It is planted by the

natives either for dyeing or manufacturing the bark into native

cloth. Specimens in fruit and flower are in the Botanical Col-

lection of the British Museum.” Thus far Dr. Bennett.

“A species of Upas” (Antiaris Bennettii, Seem.), I wrote in

my Official Report on the Vitian or Fijian Islands, “‘ commonly

termed Mavu ni Toga (=Tonga), probably because it has

been introduced from the Tongan Islands, was formerly planted

about heathen temples, and is even now to be found in towns

and villages. It is a middle-sized tree, with a thick crown of

foliage, oblong glossy leaves, and a fleshy fruit of the size of an

apricot, covered with a velvety skin of a most beautiful crimson

colour. A gum exuding from the stem and branches is used

for arrows. ‘The exact nature of its poisonous qualities has not

yet been ascertained. That they are not equal to those ascribed

to the true Upas-tree of Java (4. towicaria, Lesch.) is proved

by the manner in which the natives handle it; but it is impos-

sible to say whether one of the reasons for its cultivation near

temples, and its probable introduction from Tonga, may not be

‘ Ritti-gass’ vocatur.—The fruits of A. saccidora, Dalz., are elliptical in

shape, as may be seen in the figure of it given by Wight, who distinctly

states that his plate represents the Indian, not the Cingalese plant.

Bibliographical Notice. 407

found in its yielding a poison, of which the heathen priests may

have occasionally made use.”

“ Mavu ni Toga” literally means, the Mavu from the Tongan

Islands ; and it is not improbable that the tree may have been

introduced from there. [ have not met with any specimens

from Tonga in our herbaria; but that would not prove that

Antiaris Bennettii has originally not been derived from Tonga, as

that group has been explored only very superficially, and Sir E.

Home found it east of Fiji, viz. at Wallis Island, in long. 176° W.

For the present, Viti must be regarded as the extreme southern

limit of this species (and also of the genus Antiaris), and

Tucopia as the northern. It is note-worthy that neither Ben-

nett nor I found this species in a truly wild state; for in Viti it

looks as if originally planted. The beauty of the foliage and

the rich colour of the fruit fully entitle it to a place in our

European conservatories ; and we were so much struck with these

qualities, that Mrs. Smythe made a coloured drawing of the plant

on the spot, which, together with the dried specimens, served as

the basis of the plate (tab. 7) published in the ‘ Bonplandia.’

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE.

Anahuac ; or, Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and Modern.

By Epwarp B. Tytor. 8vo, 1861.

Tuis interesting book is a narrative of excursions in Mexico, during

the spring and summer of 1856, by the author and a friend, both of

whom were well prepared by previous study and pursuits to observe

carefully, and accurately note, the many points of interest afforded by

the country, the people, and the antiquities of Mexico. Making

their visit during a lull in the civil turmoil of that lamentably dis-

turbed republic, they were fortunate in being able to avail themselves

of that peaceable season in making excursions to remarkable places

and ruins, and examining the national collection of antiquities and

other objects of interest,—an opportunity that cannot have occurred

since, owing to the recommencement of civil war in its worst form.

The evidences of an immense ancient population, shown by the

abundance of remains of works of art, are especially treated of in the

course of the narrative. The Mexican numerals, Mexican eclipses,

Mexican art, and its connexion with that of Central America, are

also well treated of. The ethnological relations of the Mexicans or

Aztecs, their religion, civilization, and language, are largely treated

of, as well as the present condition of their still numerous descend-

ants.

With respect to subjects more closely related to natural history,

we find numerous topics of interest brought forward by Mr. Tylor.

From the beginning of the volume to the end, the author continually

29%

408 Bibliographical Notice.

draws our attention to natural phenomena, striking, interesting, or

picturesque. Before starting for Mexico the author and his friend,

Mr. Christy, were at Havana for a time. A journey by railway

across Cuba took them through the thick tropical jungle of Indian

fig-trees, acacias, mimosas, the seiba, the mahagua*, and other trees,

with epiphytes and binding creepers, bamboos in the swamps, and

tufted palms on the higher grounds.

The Isle of Pines, with its densely wooded creeks, once the resort

of pirates, is now the fashionable watering-place of the Cubans, and

is a settlement for the free blacks of Florida, who chose to leave that

country when it was given up to the United States. In the middle

of the island are marble-quarries, not much worked now. Leaving

the quarries, our tourists, riding over the wide savannahs, were able

to recognize the sudden transitions from the tropical jungles of the

streams to the palms of the slopes and the pine-trees of the hill-tops,

for which this island is remarkable (pp. 6 and 7).

The characteristic natural features of the tierra caliente, tierra

templada, and tierra fria, on the road from Vera Cruz to Mexico,

are vividly sketched, and the geographical and geological conditions

on which they are dependent are succinctly described (pp. 27 and

28).

; visit to the silver-mines at Real del Monte affords much inter-

esting matter, in Chapter IV., both as to the country and the people.

“The plateau of Atotonilco el Grande, called for shortness ‘ Grande,’

is, like most of the high plains of Mexico, composed mostly of por-

phyry and obsidian—a valley filled up with débris from the surround-

ing mountains, which are all volcanic, embedded in reddish earth.

The mountain torrents, in which the water, so to speak, comes down

all at once—not flowing in a steady stream all the year round as in

England—have left evidences of their immense power in the ravines

with which the sides of the hills, from their very tops downward,

are fluted. These fluted mountain-ridges resemble the ‘ Kamms’

(combs) of the Swiss Alps, called so from their toothed appearance ”’

(pp. 84 and 85).

The market at Grande (page 88) gave the author a good opportu-

nity of studying people and things. Amongst other observations, he

says, “I never so thoroughly realized before how climate is altered

by altitude above the sea, as in noticing the fruits and vegetables that

were being sold at this little market, within fifteen or twenty miles of

which they were all grown. There were wheat, and barley, and the

pifiouls (the fruit of the stone-pine, which grows in Italy, and is

largely used instead of almonds) ; and from these representatives of

temperate climates the list extended to bananas and zapotes, grown at

the bottom of the great barrancas, 3000 or 4000 feet lower in level

* “ The mahagua tree,” says the author, “furnishes that curious fivrous net-

work which is known as ‘ bast,’ and used to wrap bundles of cigars in. The ma-

hogany-tree is called ‘ caobo’ in Spanish—apparently the original Indian name, as

the Spaniards probably first became acquainted with it in Cuba. Is our ‘ maho-

gany’ the result of a confusion of words, and corrupted from ‘ mahagua ?’ ”—

Page 2.

Bibliographical Notice. 409

than the plateau, though in distance but a few miles off. Three or

four thousand miles of latitude would not give a greater difference.”

The great barranca of Regla is next described (p. 89). The

oaks at the top of the barranca, with their branches fringed with the

long, grey “Spanish moss” and a profusion of brightly blossoming

epiphytes clinging to their bark, claimed attention, as well as the cac-

tuses, of many species. The great valley itself—a mile or two in width,

with sides almost perpendicular, and capped with basaltic pillars, and

atthe bottom a strip of lend where the vegetation is of the deepest

green of the tropics, with a river winding along among palm-trees and

bananas—is between two and three thousand feet deep ; and the view

is wonderful.

The author makes the following among other notices of the mining

establishment at Real :—‘ The original English company spent nearly

one million sterling on it, without getting any dividend. They sold

it to two or three Mexicans for about twenty-seven thousand pounds ;

and the Mexicans spent eighty thousand more on it, and then began

to make profits. The annual profit is now some £200,000”

(p. 107).

The Dae cascade of Regla, near the silver-mines, is illustrated

by a lithograph (frontispiece), copied from a good photograph, and

is described, with its precipitous walls of columnar basalt and gigan-

tic yuecas. Joints of these columns are used as crushers in the ore-

crushing mill, being dragged round and round, by mule-power, on a

floor made also of basalt.

Near Regla occur the quarries of obsidian, at the Cerro de Nava-

jas (“‘ Hill of Knives”), where the Aztecs worked that stone into

knives and other implements in immense quantities. At Teotihuacan,

also, was a similar knife-manufactory. Valuable information on this

subject is given at pages 96, 137, &c., and in the Appendix. Not

far from this are the Pefas Cargadas (‘‘ the Loaded Rocks ”’)—

‘several sugar-loaf peaks, some three hundred feet high, tapering -

almost to a point at the top, and each one crowned with a mass of

rocks, which seem to have been balanced in unstable equilibrium on

its point, looking as though the first puff of wind would bring them

down. The pillars were of porphyritic conglomerate, which had been

disintegrated and worn away by wind and rain ; while the great masses

resting on them, probably of solid porphyry, had been less affected

by these influences”’ (pp. 94 and 95).

Among other geological phenomena, the accumulation of alluvium

at Tezcuco is described ; and the value of the evidence that alluvial

deposits bear respecting chronology in Mexico, Egypt, and Sicily is

briefly discussed. '

The great stalactitic cave of Cacahuamilpan, vast and beautiful

(pp. 203, &c.), and the great cone and crater of Popocatepetl (pp.

236, &c.) were visited, and are carefully described ; and amongst the

more or less common objects of natural history, the aloes (and the

making of pulque), ants, cactuses, cypress-trees, edible insect-eges of

the Tezcuco Lake, hill of magnetic iron-ore of Huetamo, saline condi-

tion of the soil, and sand-pillars are described in some detail, and may

410 Zoological Society :—

be found by reference to the index of the volume. Four lithographs,

numerous good woodcuts, and a well-compiled map (by Lowry)

illustrate this really amusing and instructive volume of Mexican

travel.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

December 10, 1861.—Professor Busk, F.R.S., in the Chair.

On a New SpreEcies OF PLECTROPOMA FROM AUSTRALIA.

By Dr. ALBERT GUNTHER.

PLECTROPOMA RICHARDSONII.

10 3

D. = A. = L. lat. 105.

The height of the body is contained four times and a half in the

total length, the length of the head three times and a quarter. Inter-

orbital space concave, half as wide as the orbit. Snout conical, with

the lower jaw produced. Cleft of the mouth wide, the maxillary

extending behind the orbit. Dentition very strong ; the upper jaw

with a patch of cardiform teeth in front, and a narrow villiform band

on the side; there is a very long curved canine tooth on the outer

side of the cardiform teeth, followed by a series of five or six teeth

of moderate size. Lower jaw with a pair of very strong canines

anteriorly, and with four or five strong, canine-like teeth on the

side. The upper canines are received in a notch behind those of the

lower jaw. Vomerine and palatine teeth in a narrow band, the

former angularly bent.

Lower jaw more than half as long as the head. Preeopercular

margin rounded, finely serrated posteriorly, and with a small spine

on the middle of its inferior margin, pointing forwards. Pectoral

rounded, scaly at the base, as long as the mandible; ventral not

quite half as long as the head. The spinous dorsal is separated from

the soft by a very deep notch: the spines are rather slender; the

fifth and sixth are the longest, one-fourth of the length of the head.

The soft portion higher than the spinous, with the upper margin

nearly even; base scaly. The second anal spine as long as, but

stronger than, the third. Caudal truncated.

Upper part of the head, cheeks, back of the trunk, and the spinous

dorsal bright red ; the remainder of the fish yellow, with a very

broad, irregular, brown band from the axil to the lower half of the

caudal. Head and upper parts of the body with scattered irregular

small blue spots, most of which are edged with brown; the brown

band with large dark-brown spots. Fins immaculate, except the

spinous dorsal, which has a few small blue spots.

Freemantle (Australia).

Length 153 inches.

The nearest ally of this species is Plectropoma dentex, Cuy. & Val.;

Dr. J. E. Gray on the Japanese Pig. Al]

but the coloration, as represented in the ‘ Voyage de l’Astrolabe’

(Poiss. pl. 4. fig. 2), is so entirely different that we cannot refer our

Specimen to that species. Pl. dentex has been figured for the

second time in the ‘ Voyage of the Erebus and Terror,’ pl. 57, from

a stuffed specimen in the British Museum. This specimen agrees

well with Pl. Richardsonii in general form, but its original colours

have nearly entirely gone ; large round light blotches are still visible

on the side of the body, but there is no trace left of the white spots

on the back. Whether this specimen belongs to Pl. dentex or to

Pl. Richardsonii is impossible to say ; probably it is referable to the

former.

January 28, 1862.—Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair.

On THE SKULL OF THE JAPANESE Pic (Sus PLICICEps).

By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., &e.

I have lately had the opportunity of examining the skull of this

animal, and now lay before the Society the reasons which induce me

to believe that it is a distinct species—and a hitherto undescribed

species—of the genus Sus, which has as yet only been observed in

its domesticated state.

Some time ago, when Mr. Bartlett showed me the Japanese Pig

which he had purchased, I was convinced of its belonging to a di-

stinct species, and urged him to send an account of the animal,

illustrated with a portrait of its very curious and characteristic face,

to the ‘ Proceedings’ of the Society.

The skulls of the domestic varieties of the common Pig, which

are bred in Europe, differ but little from the skull of the European

Wild Boar.

The skulls of the common domestic Pig, which we have in the

British Museum, for example, chiefly differ from the skull of a Wild

Boar from Germany in the same collection in being smaller and

considerably shorter, and in the angle of the forehead being much

more acute and sudden, caused by the back of the two skulls being

nearly of the same height, while that of the domestic one is generally

much the shortest in length. The position and size of the holes for

the blood-vessels and nerves are nearly the same in all these skulls.

The underside of these two skulls and the forms of the palates are also

very similar. The lower jaws are equally similar. Cuvier, in his

‘Ossements Fossiles’ (vol. i. Cochon, pl. 1. f. 1, 2, figure of the skull),

well represents the skull of our domestic Pig. Blainville, in his

‘Ostéographie des Mammiféres’ (Genus Sus, pl. 14), figures the

skulls of three male Wild Boars, and of a male and female domestic

Pig, and on pl. 5. two skulls of Sus indicus, one from Malabar and

the other from Siam, and one of the Sus vittatus from Java. These

skulls all have very much the same appearance, and bear no relation

to the skull of the Japanese Pig under consideration.

The skull of the Japanese Pig chiefly differs from the skull of the

Wild Pigs of Europe, India, and Java, above referred to, and from

412 Zoological Society :—

that of the common domestic Pig, in being shorter, and much higher

in front, especially from the greater height of the front of the lower

jaw at the gonyx; in the forehead of the skull being rather concave

before the orbits, flattened, and furnished with a sharp-keeled edge

on each side, producing a deep concavity on each cheek in front of

the orbit ; in the palate being much broader for its length, and the

series of the teeth wider apart and rather arched.

In the height of the front of the skull, in the flatness of the

nose in front of the orbit, in the concavity of the cheek, and in the

Dr. J. E. Gray on the Japanese Pig. — 413

broadness of the palate, the skull of the Japanese Pig bears some

relation to the skull of the Potamocherus penicillatus ; but the late-

ral ridges of the nose are not so dilated, while the skull is higher in

front, and the palate is wider in the Japanese Pig than in the same

parts of Potamocherus.

In the wild Pigs of Europe, India, and Java, and in the European

domestic varieties, the nose of the skull is always narrow and rounded

on the sides, and the palate is narrow.

Fig. 1. Skull of Sus serofa ferus. Fig. 4. Palate of Sus pliciceps.

2. Palate of Sus scrofa ferus. 5. Lower jaw of Sus pliciceps.

3. Lower jaw of Sus scrofa ferus.

Under these circumstances, I am induced to regard the Japanese

Pig as a distinct type, and propose to call it Sus pliciceps until we

receive further information respecting it.

414 Zoological Society.

We have in the Museum a very large and a moderate-sized skull

of the domestic Pig, slightly differmg from the others, and from

those figured by Cuvier and De Blainville, in the frontal bone being

rather depressed and concave in front of the eyes; but we do not

know the particular variety to which these skulls belong. Though

they agree with the Japanese Pig in these two circumstances, they

differ from it and resemble the skulls of the common Pigs and the

Wild Boars of Europe and Asia in all other particulars, and show no

other character in common with the Japanese Pig, which is also

characterized by its peculiarly wrinkled face, well represented in the

figures of these animals published in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoolo-

gical Society ’ 1861, p. 263, and the ‘ Illustrated News’ January 11,

1862, p. 49.

The species at present is only known in its domesticated state.

It may perhaps be the descendant of a species found wild in the

valleys of the islands.

In both these skulls of the domestic Pigs the lower jaws are rather

higher than usual, particularly at the gonyx; and this is especially

the case with the largest skull, which is said to be that of an old

Boar. Can the size of the lower jaw be a peculiarity of the male sex ?

We have not sufficient materials to determine this question, either in

the Museum or in the plates that have been published of the skull

of the genus Sus.

I may further observe, there is considerable difference in the occi-

put between the European and the Japanese Pig; the processes of

the back of the palate are much more erect in the Japanese Pig

than in the European and Asiatic Pigs, wild and domesticated.

Though I have only described this animal as a species, it evidently

forms a section in the genus by itself. The restricted genus Sus

may be divided thus :—

1. Face smooth, or nearly so; skull conical; the upper part of

the nose rounded ; palate narrow. Svs.

Sus scrofa, Sus indicus, Sus vittatus.

2. Face deeply and symmetrically furrowed; the skull flattened

on the forehead ; the upper part of the nose flattened, keeled on the

sides; palate broad. CrNTURIOSUS.

Sus pliciceps.

I regard these facts as very interesting, first, as adding a new

kind of domestic animal to our list (and I do not think that any

has been added since the introduction of the turkey from Mexico) ;

and secondly, as showing, from a domestic animal, that there must

be a wild species which has not yet been brought into our cata-

logues.

I may observe that, like many other very distinct species of cer-

tain genera of domesticated or semi-domesticated Mammalia, as the

Horse, Ass, and Zebra, the Ox, the Dog, &c., the fact of inter-

breeding is no proof that a kind is not a species; for no one would

Miscellaneous. 415

argue that an Ass and a Horse are the same species, or a Zebra

and Quagga, or vice versa.

The Japanese Pig breeds with facility with the common domestic

Pig. We have not had time to observe whether the offspring is

prolific. The half-breed of the Japanese Boar with a common Sow

retains almost all the external characters of the male parent well de-

veloped. I have not yet had the opportunity of observing what

effect the crossing has on the osteological characters of the species.

I think that no one who will take the trouble to compare the

skulls of the different varieties of domestic Pigs which are usually

found in England, with the skull of the European Wild Boars and

the Wild Pigs of Asia and the Island, can doubt for a moment the

derivation of the domestic breeds from the wild type*. Indeed, the

change in form is so slight as to be scarcely perceptible, and the

gradation between the most abnormal form to the wild animal so gra-

dual as to be sufficient to show that even the most abnormal state is

due only to a gradual change of form.

Mr. Eyton, in a paper printed in the ‘ Proceedings,’ has shown that

a Chinese Pig which he examined had a different number of vertebrae

from another domestic Pig; but the skull of a Chinese Pig I have

examined shows no characters to separate it from the Common Pig.

Its head is a little shorter than usual, but not so short as that of a

Berkshire Pig.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On the Arrangement of Natural-History Collections.

By L. Agassrz.

[Tue following extract from the Report of Prof. Agassiz to the

Senate and House of Representatives of the United States will prove

interesting as giving the views of a distinguished naturalist upon a

subject which has lately given rise to much discussion in connexion

with our National Museum. Besides this, it will be found that the

questions raised have led Prof. Agassiz to express certain opinions

upon palzontological matters which cannot but be regarded as of

high importance. |

Having given an account of the general plan of the Museum in a

former Report, I propose now to lay before you the plan of the arrange-

ment of that part of the collection which is nearly completed. I

deem it the more important to explain it fully, as my experience with

other museums has satisfied me that collections of natural history

are less useful for study in proportion as they are more extensive. —

This may seem paradoxical, yet it is undoubtedly true; for while

the most extensive collections answer admirably the purposes of pro-

fessional naturalists for special researches and original investigations,

they are generally beyond the grasp of less advanced students, and

* See Bartlett, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1861, pp. 263, 264; Ann. and Mag. N. H.

1861, 501; 1862, 162.

416 Miscellaneous.

cease to be instructive at all for the largest number of visitors of such

establishments. In arranging our collections. which are intended at

the same time to be instructive for the million and to afford the

amplest material for any kind of scientific investigations, it has been

my aim to combine these two objects ; and as nothing of the kind

has yet been attempted in any large museum, as far as I know, a

detailed account of the plan, as adopted in our Museum, may be

welcome to others. But as each class of animals requires a

special treatment in a well-appointed museum, I propose, this

year, to speak only of the arrangement of the Radiata, as these are

the most advanced in our exhibition-rooms.

With the view of fostering the systematic study of these animals

and laying before the students in the smallest possible space the best

ascertained results respecting their affinities, in the present state of

our science, I have arranged special systematic collections, intended

solely to exhibit the natural affinities of the members of the several

classes. These systematic collections embrace carefully chosen re-

presentatives of all the genera; but, with the view of making such

collections as compact as possible, only one species of each genus has

been introduced from each well-characterized zoological province, fre-

quently to the exclusion of a large number of species which would

only bewilder the student in his first attempt to master the natural

affinities of the representatives of any given class. With this syste-

matic collection are combined all the preparations intended to illus-

trate the structural characters of the genera, the peculiarities of form

which distinguish the different families, the complication of structure

characteristic of the orders, as well as the mode of execution of the

structure of the class as a whole.

Next to the systematic collections, I have begun to make special

faunal collections, chiefly intended to facilitate the study of the species

and their geographical distribution. Thus removing from the syste-

matic collection everything which relates to the study of species, I

hope to impress upon our students more forcibly than is generally the

case the real importance of a proper investigation of the various de-

grees and different kinds of affinities which bind all animals into a

great systematic whole. These faunal collections have another ad-

vantage ; they bring distinctly before the eye the character of the

inhabitants of different parts of the world in their natural combina-

tions, and that in a far more impressive manner than can possibly be

attained by a mere nominative enumeration of species. To add to

the interest of these faunal collections, I have placed here everything

that may illustrate the peculiarities of the species, and have therefore

taken care that they should embrace large numbers of specimens in

every possible state of growth. The attempt at arranging these col-

lections has already convinced me of their great importance. Our

knowledge of the range of the natural faunze is very imperfect ; and I

have found it impossible to adopt, without modifications, any of the

proposed divisions of the earth’s surface into zoological provinces.

The divisions thus far proposed show plainly that they were circum-

scribed by physical considerations, and not by the special study of

Miscellaneous. 417

the range and distribution of the animals themselves. However, by

the very attempt to place side by side, in a methodical order, all the

representatives of adjoining faune, I have gradually been led to de-

fine more accurately the natural limits of the faune themselves. It

is surprising to me that the principle by which faunze may be defined

has not yet been stated, although it is very simple. It may thus be

expressed: the geographical range of representative species occupy-

ing adjoining regions marks the natural boundaries of their respective

fauna.

Since in our days it is no longer possible to study the animal king-

dom without including in the investigation the remains of past geolo-

gical ages, the question has naturally arisen, what disposition to make

of the fossils. After mature consideration, I have come to the con-

clusion, that for their most suitable arrangement it was indispensable

to make also two kinds of collections of the fossil remains. In one

of them, which corresponds to the systematic collection of the living

animals, they are arranged systematically, according to the natural

affinities of the different representatives of each geological period, in

such a manner that the zoological character of these epochs is shown

as distinctly to the eye of the student as the character of the present

creation, by the study of the systematic collection of the living ani-

mals. With the aid of these collections, special zoological treatises

of each period may be compiled without difficulty ; and I have

already satisfied myself that a comparison of those collections fur-

nishes much information respecting the true affinities of animals.

The second kind of collections of fossils is arranged in a way which

corresponds to the faunal collections of living animals,—that is to say,

according to their geographical distribution during each successive

geological epoch. This arrangement has enabled me to display by

themselves the more extensive collections of fossils, obtained from

particular localities, in their characteristic mode of association, with-

out crowding them upon the attention of the beginner, or giving them,

by their larger number, an undue preponderance in the collection of

the epoch to which they belong. But there is another advantage in

making special faunal collections of fossils: they suggest comparisons

with the faunze of the present time, which could not otherwise be

made so effectively. Thus far geologists, in identifying the horizons

of the successive deposits forming the stratified crust of our globe,

have started from the universally accepted assumption that animals

of the same geological age are either identical or closely allied over

the most extensive areas. Nothing can be further from the truth

than such a view ; and we need only to compare the faune of the pre-

sent period in remote continents, to see how widely these differ. If

the remains of past ages, belonging to the same geological periods,

have generally appeared to be identical or closely allied, it is chiefly

owing to the fact that they have been collected in the same geogra-

phical zones ; and at present we find a similar agreement between the

living animals of the temperate zone of Europe, Asia, and North

America. But when we pass to other zones, the scene is entirely

changed ; and so it was in former ages, as we already know from the

418 Miscellaneous.

tertiary mammalia of South America and of Australia; and this, I

have no doubt, will be found to be also the case for the older forma-

tions, within certain limits, not yet ascertained. The specific differ-

ences between the remains of the same age, found in deposits remote

from each other, are daily brought out more distinctly ; and since I-

have begun to compare the fossils of America with those of Europe,

I am gradually led to infer that no specific identity is likely to be

established, finally, between animals which have lived at great di-

stances from one another, even though they were contemporaries.

The doctrine of the identity of fossils of the same age will therefore

require great modifications. I am already certain that species of the

same family, belonging to different epochs, but found in corresponding

zones of latitude, are frequently much more closely allied than species

of the same age belonging to different zones. The time is therefore

fast approaching when zoological affinity alone will no longer be a

trustworthy criterion of contemporaneity, nor zoological difference,

however striking, be taken as evidence of a difference in geological

age. This unexpected and probably to many most unwelcome result

I have obtained by a careful comparison of many faunze of past ages,

arranged in the manner above indicated. If this should render the

identification of rocks, by the aid of the fossils they contain, more

difficult for those not very familiar with zoology, it will, on the other

hand, afford most instructive evidences of the successive changes the

animal creation has undergone upon different parts of the earth’s sur-

face, at different periods, and show how, in earlier ages, combinations

of living beings existed in certain parts of the globe, quite distinct

from those now occupying the same localities, and yet quite similar

to those existing at the present time in other regions. I need only

allude to the similarity of some of the extinct faunze of the jurassic

period to the living fauna of Australia, to make this statement clear ;

and similar resemblances may be traced between the extinct faunze

of other periods and the living faunz of other parts of the world.

As one instance already pointed out, on another occasion, I may

allude to the resemblance of the extinct fauna and flora of Oeningen

with that of the temperate zone of the Atlantic States of North

America.

A third kind of collections embraces everything that may illustrate

the mode of reproduction, and the embryonic growth of each class.

Here are placed together eggs and embryos in various stages of de-

velopment, and young animals which have not yet completed their

growth and assumed their specific characteristics. But these col-

lections do not include the preparations intended to illustrate the

organs of reproduction themselves, as characteristic of the different

families in the adult state ; these are referred to the general systema-

tic collection.

An objection may perhaps be made to such an arrangement of a

museum, as requiring a larger number of specimens than are generally

exhibited in a systematic collection, embracing in one series the whole

animal kingdom. It would certainly be a great mistake to neglect

these multiplied modes of instruction, even were it true that they en-

Miscellaneous. 419

tail the necessity of preserving a larger number of specimens, and

may lead to some waste of room. I am satisfied, however, that with

a proper attention in the selection of the specimens intended as repre-

sentatives of the genera in the systematic collection, no unnecessary

repetitions need be made. I have been careful everywhere to avoid

the introduction of large specimens in the systematic collection, in

order to render them more comprehensive, and to bring, at a glance,

a whole class under the eye ; while the bulk of specimens illustrating

the species are referred to the faunal collections. And I need not

repeat here what I have stated again and again on other occasions,

that the great deficiency of other museums, and especially of the

large public collections, consists in the scanty representation of the

species and the monotony with which a single male and female, or

sometimes even a single specimen, are allowed to be the only provi-

sion made for the study of an animal which, to be well known, ought

to be examined in an ample series of specimens of all ages, of both

sexes, and in every possible state of preservation. What are fre-

quently called characteristic specimens, and paraded singly as types,

are but too often thus set aside by unscientific keepers of museums,

in order that they may have an opportunity of disposing of other

specimens for exchanges, and thus increasing the nominal number of

the species in their collections.

On a New Genus of Lizards from Ceylon.

By W. Peters.

CopruHotis, nov. gen.*

By its compressed form, the equal number of its fingers and toes,

and its concealed tympanum, this genus of [guanoide approaches

the Ceylonese genera Otocryptis, Lyriocephalus, and Cerato-

phora. It is readily distinguished from them by the extremely

fine granulation and keelless texture of the soles of all the feet, by

the nearly equal length of the third and fourth toes, by the comb of

scales, which extends along the whole length of the back, by the

large scales of the tail, and the more produced form of the muzzle.

It agrees most closely with Ceratophora by the larger scales on the

sides of the throat, the neck, and the body, and with Lyriocephalus

in its occipital spine and small postocular spine.

Cophotis ceylanica, n. sp.

The head is pyramidal, twice as long as its breadth and height ;

the muzzle is equal in length to the distance between the eyes. The

round nostrils open laterally in simple shields, which stand in imme-

diate connexion with the supralabial shields, and are separated from

the rostral shield by one or two, and from each other by three series

of convex scales. Regular, keeled scales, pretty nearly equal in size

to those occurring on the muzzle, form a supraorbital arch on each

side; this consists of seven scales, and applies itself to the post-

orbital spine. The supraorbital arches are separated from each

* From xkadds, weak; ovs, ards, ear.

420 Miscellaneous.

other only by a single row of scales; and the arch is filled up to the

supraorbital margin by three or four rows of scales, which decrease

in size from within outwards. There are on each side nine supra-

labial shields, followed immediately by a second row of scarcely

smaller shields. The scales of the temporal region are of the same

size as those of the fore part of the head; and a few somewhat larger

ones show, like the latter, a short point in the middle. The occipital

region terminates in two short spines converging as in Lyriocephalus.

The eyelids are entirely covered with small granular scales; it is

only on the margins of the eyelids that they appear to be smooth ;

and on the upper eyelid there is a row of from three to five rather

larger flat scales. The region of the chin and throat is covered with

slightly keeled scales, lying in rews parallel to the infralabial shields,

and gradually diminishing in size towards the median line. In the

upper jaw there is a short one-pointed median tooth, followed upon

each side by two equally short ones, then a longer one, and then

thirteen three-pointed molars ; in the lower jaw the median tooth is

wanting, and on each side there are two one-pointed and fourteen

three-pointed teeth. The neck, body, and tail are compressed, and

the latter, in the two specimens described, is bent downwards (pre-

hensile?). The back and the sides of the neck, trunk, and tail are

covered with large imbricated scales, which are particularly large in

the middle of the sides of the body; the scales are smallest on the

under side of the neck, where there is an inconspicuous gular sac in

the smaller of the two specimens, and on the breast; but these are

keeled like the ventral scales, which are about one-half larger, On

the back of the neck three or four long pointed scales form a crest,

which is continued by similar but isolated scales down to the sacral

region. ‘The tail has no trace of a dorsal crest, but presents two in-

ferior keels as in Ceratophora. The extremities, which appear to be

shorter than in the allied genera, are covered, both on their upper and

under sides, with large scales, but are strikingly distinguished from

those of the allied genera by having the scales of all the foot-soles

extremely small, and the soles of the fingers and toes very slightly,

if at all, keeled, in accordance with the small size of the scales.

The colour is brown (blue on the spots deprived of scales) ; from

the point of the muzzle a yellowish band runs along the upper lip

to the shoulder, where it suddenly becomes broader ; an elongated

spot behind each eye, a large spot on the nape of the neck, in front

of the crest, a large triangular spot with its point towards the back

close behind the anterior extremities, and some broad, somewhat in-

distinct, transverse bands on the tail are yellow. The throat also is

yellow, but marked on each side with irregular bands running

obliquely from the margin of the lower lip.

Total length 0°136, head 0°018, tail 0:075, anterior limb 0:023,

posterior limb 0°027; width of the head 0°008 metre. The two

specimens were collected in Ceylon by M. Nietner.—Monatshericht

der Akad. der Wiss. zu Berlin, December 1861.

THE ANNALS

AND

MAGAZINE OF NATURAL. HISTORY.

[THIRD SERIES. ]

No. 54. JUNE 1862.

XLV.—On Ephedra.

By Joun Miers, F.R.S., F.L.S. &e.

Berore I publish my observations on the Anacardiacee, I wish

to offer some remarks on Ephedra, for this reason, that the mode

in which the ovule is fecundated in the Gnetacee affords a pro-

bable clue to the solution of an enigma in the former family

which is otherwise difficult of explanation. My memoranda and

drawings from living plants of Hphedra were made more than

thirty-five years ago, at which period I found several species

growing in Chile, in the Cordillera of the Andes and in the

neighbourhood of Mendoza, the structure of which excited my

particular attention; but, being then a mere tyro im botanical

investigations, it never occurred to me to notice the development

and growth of its ovary. I have lately repeated my analyses of

these plants (now in a dried state), guided by a better knowledge

of their organization ; but, before I detail the results obtained,

I will first quote the opinions of botanists in regard to the struc-

ture and affinities of the family, and will then give the reasons

upon which my own views are founded.

The family of the Gnetacee, first established by Blume in

1834, until very recently consisted only of the genera Gnetum

and Ephedra, which are so extremely different in habit that pre-

_ vious botanists had no idea of their close proximity.

Jussieu (in 1789)* arranged Hphedra in Conifere, where, to-

gether with Casuarina and Taxus, it entered into his first section

of that family, while Gnetwm was considered to be more allied to

Urticacee, near Misodendron, Piper, and some others.

Poiret (in 1808) + looked upon Ephedra as allied to Casuarina

and Taxus, but seemed to have had no idea of its relation to

* Genera Plantarum, pp. 411 and 406. + Dict. vii. p. 276.

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 30

4.22 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

Gnetum, in regard to the affinity of which genus he offered no

opinion.

Richard (in 1810) * placed Ephedra in Conifere, followmg

Salisburia in his tribe Taxinee; but he made no mention of

Gnetum.

Mirbel (in the same year) + gave Ephedra a similar position :

he, too, seemed to ignore the relationship of Gnetum.

Robert Brown (in 1814), speaking of Conifere, and referring

to the view of Mirbel that the female fructification is a pistillum

with a perforated style, observed that this argument “is derived

from the genus Ephedra, in which both the stigma and a con-

siderable part of the style project beyond this cupula (peri-

carpium), without cohering with its aperture; and in confirma-

tion of this opinion it may be observed that I have found a pro-

jection of the stigma, though certainly in a much less obvious

degree, both in Agathis and Podocarpus.” It is evident that

this great botanist at that time had a very imperfect knowledge

of the real structure of Hphedra; for he then considered the

pericarp to be a modified disk, and the integuments of the seed

to be the pistillum. At a later period, however (in 1825) §, in

his celebrated memoir on Kingia, remarking upon Cycadacee

and Conifere, he corrected his former opinion, having noticed

that its supposed style is in reality the elongated tubular apex

of the seminal integument.

Blume (in 1834) ||, in establishing the family of the Gnetacee,

where he first associated Gnetum with Ephedra, gave a novel

and, to my mind, the truest interpretation of the ordinal struc-

ture and affinities of this small group: to his opinions I will

presently refer. It is to be regretted that his views in regard to

the nature of its several structural parts have not been adopted

by subsequent botanists, who have greatly mystified the subject

by employing different sorts of nomenclature for the several

floral and seminal parts, in order to accommodate these expres-

sions to their notion of the close affinity of the Gnetacee with

Conifere and Cycadacee, and to the doctrine of naked seeds, as

applied to those families.

Dr. Lindley (in 1836)4 placed the Gnetacee among Gymno-

sperms, next to Cycadacee and Conifere, but at the same time

confessed that, having examined dried seeds of Gnetum, he felt

inclined to favour the view of Blume, whose opinion he quoted

at length, showing that the Gnetacee possess a far higher degree

of organization, tending to a much nearer approach to Casuarina

than to either Conifere or Cycadacee.

* Ann. Mus. xvi. p. 297. t Ib. p. 458.

t Gen. Rem. p. 572. § Append. King’s Voy. p. 64.

|| Ann. Se. Nat. 2 sér. ii. p. 101. { Introd. Bot. p. 311.

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 423

Endlicher (in 1837)* arranged the Gnetacee in his class

Conifera, after Taxinee, and, although preferring this position,

he admitted their approach to Casuarina through Ephedra, on the

one hand, on account of its aphyllous habit and the structure of

its female flowers, and to Chloranthacee, on the other, through

Gnetum, because of its fully-developed leaves.

Meyer (in 1846)+ published a monograph of Ephedra, which

he prefaced by an inquiry into the nature of the flowering parts

and seminal integuments in Gnetacee: he there confirmed

Brown’s later view of the origin of the tubillus, which he showed

to be a mere elongation of the micropyle of the inner integument ;

but he adopted the view of Richard in calling the pericarpial

covering of the fruit an “ involucellum,” although he considered

it rather in the nature of a perigonium: he there called the

entire fruit a ‘‘ pseudo-nucula.”

Dr. Lindley (in 1846) followed his previous view of the posi-

tion of the Gnetacee among Gymnosperms ; but he adopted the

notion of Griffiths in respect to the pericarpial covering of the

seed, which he regarded as one of its proper seminal integu-

ments, adding, “there can be no doubt that in reality Gnetum

is as truly naked-seeded as conifers themselves.”

A very interesting posthumous memoir of the late Mr. Griffiths

on the structure and development of the ovule of Gnetum was

read before the Linnean Society in 1859 §, although a portion

of the same appeared (in 1846) in the first edition of Lindley’s

‘ Vegetable Kingdom’ (the original memoir bearing the date of

August 1835)||.. This memoir endeavoured to prove that the

ovule of Gnetum is naked, that is to say, not contained in a

carpel, but enveloped in three or four distinct proper imtegu-

ments, which, being open at the summit, allow the direct action

of the pollen upon the nucleus. ‘That ingenious botanist con-

cluded, from the facts he adduced, that the Gnetacee are truly

gymnospermous, and more nearly allied to Cycadacee than to

Conifere.

Lastly, Agardh (in 1858), following the opinion of Richard,

that the ovule is quite naked, that the mner integument with

its tubillus is the true pistillum with its exserted style, and that

the outer seminal integument and the pericarp are its persistent

floral envelopes, inferred that its naked ovule is a mere em-

bryo-sac, analogous to that of the Santalacee, and that the

Gnetacee are closely allied to the Viscacee and the Loranthacea,

* Gen. Plant. p. 262.

+ Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. v. pp. 35-108. 8 tab.

t Veg. Kingdom, p. 232.

§ Linn. Trans, xxi. p. 299. || Veg. Kingd. p. 233.

"| Theor. Syst. p. 113.

30*

424, Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

although analogous to the Conifere, to which Ephedra more

especially osculates.

We may perceive, from this history, how confused are the

opinions of botanists in regard to the structure and to the posi-

tion and affinities of this small order. This confusion has arisen

from the assumption that the ovule in the Gnetacee is naked ;

but I can perceive nothing in the structure of Ephedra to sup-

port this assumption, as the organization of its carpel seems to

me quite in accordance with the usual structure of perfect dico-

tyledonous plants, under some peculiar modifications which are

likewise found in families of a very high degree of development.

Blume correctly considered the pistillum as an ‘ ovarium,” con-

taining a nucleus surrounded by the two usual mteguments

(“ spermoderms”), and the fruit as a ‘ baccate drupe,” consisting

of a coriaceous “ pericarp,” contaiming an albuminous seed in-

vested by two regular integuments. This same female organ

was, however, regarded by Richard as an entire flower, the

ovarium and pericarp of Blume being, in his estimation, an

“involucellum,” the outer integument its « calyx,” and the inner

integument its “ pistil” with an “ exserted style,” the enclosed

nucleus and subsequent albuminous mass being considered to

be naked, and deficient of any proper integument. Meyer like-

wise denominated the ovary and pericarp an “ involucellum,”

forgetting that this supposed involucel is at first contamed within

a petaloid perigonium in Gnetum as well as in Ephedra; and

though he admitted the existence of the two integuments within

his “ Saraitee tinea, he still considered the nucleus and its sub-

sequent albuminous mass as being “naked.” Griffiths, on the

other hand, regarded the pistillum as a naked ovule, covered

by three integuments, thus considering the real carpel as the

primine and testa, the outer proper integument of the seed as

the secundine, and the inner coating with its tubillus as an

accessory intezument of adventitious growth. Such are the

various self-evident contradictions to which botanists have been

obliged to have recourse in order to support their favourite

doctrine of the existence of a naked ovule in Gnetacee.

Ephedra is distinguished from Gnetum by the absence of

properly developed leaves and by a different form of inflorescence.

They are both sparsely spread over both hemispheres, the former

generally in temperate latitudes, or withim the tropics only at

great elevations ; the latter genus is only found in torrid regions.

Ephedra consists of shrubs of small height, ramifying from the

root into numerous divided branchlets resembling those of Ca-

suarina or Equisetum; these are woody, terete, striated, and

divided by articulated nodes, each node being surrounded by a

short vaginant sheath cleft more or less deeply into two opposite

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 425

(more rarely into three equidistant) segments, which form the

rudiments of leaves, and it is from the axils of these segments

that other branchlets originate. These branchlets are somewhat

erect or spreading, and again subdivide in like manner; but the

last of them are generally entire, often virgate, though still

marked by the usual sheath-bearing nodes, and it is from the

latter that the flowers make their appearance. The inflorescence

in Ephedra is in the form of a short amentiform and often pedi-

cellated spikelet arising out of the nodes just mentioned or at

the termination of short axillary branchlets. The flowers are

described by authors as either moneecious or dicecious ; but in

the male spikelets I have generally found, in the terminal invo-

lucel between the last two male florets, a single female floret

consisting of its own involucel and a small bifid perigonium

which encloses two very minute collateral carpels equal to it in

length: whether these are the same that produce the fruit, or

are sterile ovaries, I have not the means of determining; in

either case the spikelets may be said to be polygamo-moncecious.

The male spikelet is composed of about six or eight involucels,

each of these consisting of two opposite leaflets united at their

base into a short vaginant sheath that surrounds the axis; and

these involucels, separated by short intervals, are placed decus-

sately over one another, so that the whole assumes the appear-

ance of an amentum of four lines of closely imbricated bracts.

Each involucel contains two opposite male florets seated in the

axils within these bracteiform leaflets, which are erect, ovate,

concave, and of thin texture, but which afterwards grow to a

much larger size, and become either scarious or fleshy: each

male floret consists of a petaloid perigonium, which is nearly of

the length of the involucel, transversely compressed, tubular in

its lower moiety, and cleft above into two semiorbicular, erect,

concave segments with inflected margins, the posterior lobe

overlapping the anterior lobe imbricatively in estivation; this

perigonium is thin in texture, of a pale-yellow or whitish colour,

the lower pair of florets becoming caducous before the upper

pair open, the persistent leaflets of the involucels increasing

gradually at the same time. The stamens are monadelphous,

the filaments being united into an erect, flattened, narrow, hollow

tube, with nervures corresponding in number to the anthers; it

is about half as long again as the perigonium, to the bottom of

which it is attached; its exserted summit is flattened, fan-

shaped, and of a greenish colour, and bears on the teeth of its

margin about six or eight erect crowded anthers, which are ses-

sile or borne upon very short threads; these anthers are sub-

globular, of a bright-yellow colour, formed of two connate cells

separated by a partition without any connective, and opening

426 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

by two small pores in the apex, which sometimes run into a

transverse fissure. The pollen is spindle-shaped, and longitudi-

nally 8-grooved. I know nothing of the structure of the ovary,

not having seen a unisexual female spikelet in the flowering state ;

no one has yet described it, nor do we meet with it in herbarium

specimens until the fruit has attained its full size; the spikelet

has then the same number of decussating leaflets as the male

flowers, all the lower series being empty. At the time I saw the

living plants, I was impressed with the idea that the inflorescence

in Ephedra is moncecious, that the fruit-bearing spikelets are

the same as those bearing male flowers, where the persistent

involucels have increased in size and many of them grown thicker,

and from which the male florets have fallen away, leaving the soli-

tary terminal male flower finally developed into two ripe carpels.

I cannot now be certain of this fact, nor will I attempt to con-

tradict the statement of botanists who consider the flowers to be

dicecious ; but appearances seem to favour my earlier conviction

that the flowers are moneecious in the same spikelets, the terminal

flower being developed at a much later period, as often occurs

in Euphorbiacee. In support of this idea, it may be remarked

that the flowers in the male involucels are developed successively

upwards at different periods; so that before the zstivation of the

upper florets the lower ones have fallen away, and their bracts

have grown to two or three times their former size, thus resem-

bling the empty imbricated involucels always found supporting

the terminal pair of achenia in what are considered female spike-

lets: this fact may be seen in all herbarium specimens. The

male flowers are constantly laterally attached, while the solitary

female flower always forms the termination of the axis of the

spike. The achenia are ellipsoid, sometimes much acuminated

at the summit, flat on their contiguous sides, convex externally;

each is terminated by a slender tubular style-like process, of

about half its length, which has protruded through a small

aperture in the summit of the pericarp, left by the permeable

sessile stigma of the ovary. The pericarp is somewhat thick,

coriaceous, and of a dark-brown colour, the mesocarpal portion

consisting of numerous longitudinal hgneous fibres, closely com-

pacted by scalariform tissue and fleshy matter; it is indehiscent,

and contains an erect seed, similar in form to, but considerably

shorter than its cell. The seed is covered by two integuments,

both of which are thin and-membranaceous ; the outer one (the

testa) is of a darker colour, but paler and diaphanous in its

upper free moiety, while its lower half is agglutinated to the

inner integument and attached by a thickened and almost stipi-

tate chalaza, which is here confounded with the hilum: it is

reticulated and devoid of vessels, is shorter than the inner in-

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 427

tegument (tegmen), which it closely embraces, its mouth being

quite unclosed. The tegmen, though free in its upper moiety

and partly covered by the free portion of the testa, is conical

and much thickened in that part, very opake and white, and

often corrugated, being closed in its somewhat attenuated apex

by a globular reddish gland (“tuberculus stigmaticus,” Rich.),

from the concave centre of which rises the tubular style-like

process before mentioned, which, after traversing the vacant

portion of the cell. passes through the foramen of the pericarp,

and generally extends beyond it to a distance of nearly half its

length: this process, called a “ tubillus,” is of the same texture

and colour as the upper portion of the tegmen, and 1s similarly

reticulated ; so that no doubt can exist that it is an extension of

the mouth of that integument, but closed by the formation of a

gland at the usual place of the micropyle: the tubillus beyond

this is hollow for its whole length, its apex bemg open and more

or less unequally two-lipped. The albumen fills the tegmen, is

fleshy, compressed, plano-convex, rounded at its base, but gra-

dually attenuated towards its apex, where it is slender, and

sometimes extends beyond the radicle. The enclosed embryo is

nearly the length of the albumen, its lower moiety consisting of

two compressed cotyledons with nearly straight sides, their faces

being parallel to the flat side of the pericarp and to the lobes of

the involucel: the radicle, which points to the summit of the

carpel, is nearly as long as the cotyledons, but only a quarter of

their breadth, being terete, its outer or epirhizal portion being

white and opake, while its internal or neorhizal part is fleshy,

more pointed, apparently of the same colour and texture as the

cotyledons, with which it seems continuous; the epirhizal por-

tion is more cellular, like a distinct envelope, often extending

beyond the apex of the neorhiza, which is the growing-point of

the future root. In the seed of some species of Ephedra, where

the summit of the inner integument below the micropylar gland

is greatly attenuated, and often so much corrugated that it can

be further lengthened by force, the upper portion of the albumen

becomes also attenuated, and as it extends beyond the point of

the radicle, and contracts an adherence with the gland, it looks

almost like a short suspensor; but its, texture shows that it is

only a continuation of the albuminous mass, there being no

trace of anything analogous to the suspensor described by Gau-

dichaud and Griffiths in Gnetum. From the above facts, it will

be seen that the seed of Ephedra is quite atropous, and (if we

except the formation of the tubillus) little different in its entire

structure from that of many of the Urticacee.

I have thus detailed minutely the floral and seminal structure

of Ephedra, in proof of Blume’s declaration that the Gnetacee

428 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

possess a much higher degree of organization than any of the

so-called Gymnospermous families. his structure of Ephedra

offers great analogy to that of Gnetum, from which it differs in

the relative numbers, sizes, and position of the male and female

flowers, in the form of its floral envelopes, in the number of its

anthers, and in the relative size of the radicle and cotyledons.

In Gnetum the flowers are arranged in distant nodes, each node

consisting of one general, short, cup-shaped involucre, which en-

circles the stem, and supports two close whorls of numerous

florets crowded together, each in a single series, the lower series

being composed of female florets, the upper one of male florets :

in the female series the perianthium is reduced to lacerated

scales that surround each ovary; in the male flowers, which have

only a single stamen, each is contained within a 2—4-fid perigo-

nium. I have not seen its fruit and seed, which are minutely

described by Griffiths : it grows to a size many times larger than

that of Ephedra, often attamimg the dimensions of a plum, the

ovary from which it originated being extremely minute. Ana-

logy shows that each involucel of the spikelet in Ephedra is a

verticil composed of two opposite bracteiform leaflets standing in

front of each perigonium, and which are connate at their base.

In Gnetum, where, instead of two, more than a score of florets

are congregated in each verticil, these bracts become wholly

agelutinated together by their margins into an entire cupular

and annular general involucre. We find the precise homologues

of such gamophyllous involucels in ‘the Nyctaginacee, Thyme-

leacee, Polygonacee, &c.

No one has yet noticed the condition of the ovary of Ephedra

at the period of its fructification, nor any’ of the intermediate

stages of its growth into’a mature seed; nor has any botanist

remarked its different gradations in Gnetum, except Griffiths, who,

in the posthumous memoir before mentioned, minutely detailed

this growth. According to that excellent observer*, the produc-

tion of the tubillus does not commence till after the impregna-

tion of the nucleus, when the micropylar mouth of the tegmen

gradually expands: and finally becomes elongated into a narrow

open tube, which becomes protruded-far beyond the apex of the

pericarp, as we findit in Ephedra; according to his report, there

is at first no constriction in this tubillus, which remains unclosed

for the purpose of impregnation, but it afterwards becomes sealed

up by a distinct deposit and by the adhesion of the base of the

tubillus to the tercine or integument formed by the contraction .

or absorption of the body of the nucleus, within which the albu-

men becomes deposited}. The various changes that take place

* Linn. Trans xxii. 301, tab. 55. figs. 18 & 20.

+ Loc. et tab. cit. figs. 21, 24, 26.

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 429

during this action (except the lengthening of the micropyle of

the secundine) are precisely analogous to those which occur in

the fecundation and production of seeds in the higher order of

exogenous plants.

In Ephedra, if we look upon its style as being entirely reduced

so that its hollow stigma becomes in consequence depressed

and fixed in the apex of the ovarium, we have nothing in such

a case but a modification of the ordinary pistillum ; and under

this point of view we have no sound reason for giving the name

of gymnospermous or naked ovules to the germens of the Gneta-

cee. In support of the view thus taken, we find here the female

organ in its development following the same changes as in some

of the higher orders of dicotyledonous plants; for the nucleus

of a single erect ovule grows into a regular embryo, enclosed in

albumen, its proper integuments (primine and secundine) finally

close over the nucleus, and become the testa and tegmen of the

seed, while the shell of the ovarium, in the usual manner of

phanerogamous seeds, becomes a coriaceous pericarp formed of

ligneous fibres (in Gnetum intermixed with peculiar acicular

pungent crystals, perhaps analogous to the cystoliths of the

Urticacee).

The only circumstance that has favoured the notion of naked

ovules in the Gnetacee is the absence of a style in the ovary, as

just mentioned, and the more immediate impregnation of the

ovule, by the entrance of pollinic boyaux through the aperture

in its apex, without the intervention of any apparent placentary

channels. But a very similar mode of impregnation exists in

numerous other families, where the style is hollow for its whole

‘length, leaving a pervious opening into the cell of the ovary :

this exists im Styracee, Olacacee, and many others. Schleiden

figures it in Helianthemum*, where several pollinic boyaux are ~

seen descending through the styles into the cell of the ovary,

and fixing themselves upon the micropyle of its several ovules.

This fact, though not distinctly seen by Brown, was ingeniously

inferred by him a long while beforet. Mirbel shows how this

is effected in Staticet, where a cylindrical process (probably

formed of the usual conducting-tissue combined with pollinic

boyaux) descends from the united styles through an aperture in

the apex of the cell of the ovary, and fixes itself upon the micro-

pyle of the ovule, by which means it becomes fecundated in the

same direct manner as in the Gnetacee. Griffiths also remarks §

that he could not detect any conducting-tissue in the wall of the

* Nov. Acta Czs.-Leop. xix. p. 56, tab. 8. figs. 131-133.

+ Gen. Remarks, p. 58.

t Mem. Acad. Inst. ix. 625, tab. 4. figs. 2, 3, 4.

§ Notule, p. 169, pl. 52. figs. 13-20.

430 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

ovarium leading from the stigmata to the base of the cell in

Chenopodium; he saw distinctly, however, pollinic boyaux at-

tached to the micropyle of its ovule, which could have had no

other means of ingress into the cell except directly from the

base of the very short style. As before mentioned, we find a

similar mode of direct communication between the stigma and

the ovules in Olacacee and Styracee, where the latter are sus-

pended from a free central placenta, or rather ovuligerous co-

lumn, the apex of which frequently enters into the broad hollow

space in the base of the style; by this means the ovules appear

to receive the pollinic influence immediately through the open

channel of the style. A similar perforation in the apex of the

cell of the ovary into the hollow style is seen in all the Thyme-

leacee; and this is manifested in Cansjera, where the ovules are

fixed on parietal carinal projections, leaving open channels which

extend nearly to the summit of the style. Griffiths gives other

similar instances in Santalum, Osyris, and Loranthus, where he

traced* the pollen-tubes from the stigmata, in a direct course

through the style into the cell of the ovary, and in contact with

the apex of the embryo-sac in the nucleus of the ovule. It was

moreover shown long ago by Endlicher+, and since confirmed by

Dr. Weddel, in nis admirable monograph of the Urticacee, that

in that family the micropyle of its basal atropal ovule attams the

summit of its l-locular cell, where it meets with the stigmatic

tissue protruding from an opening in the base of the style, and

where it becomes firmly attached, as already related of Statice.

These are cases perfectly analogous to what occurs in the Gne-

tacee, and yet no one has ventured to designate the germs so

immediately impregnated in those instances as naked or gymno-.

spermous ovules. So likewise in Piperacee, Schnitzlem has

demonstrated { that the ovary of Peperomia has an open channel

in its apex contiguous to its sessile stigma, and that the micro-

pyle of its erect atropous ovule is found in immediate proximity

to that foramen, exactly as in Ephedra and Gnetum. In Myrica,

also, a similar structure exists.

In a paper shortly to be published on South-American Ana-

cardiacee, it will be shown that in every genus I have examined

there is always a pervious aperture in the putamen, whether it

be corneous, as in Rhus, or thin and fragile, as in Comocladia,—

whence, from the position of the ovules and the absolute want

of any placentary communication between the style and the

ovule, we must infer either that the means of fertilization of the

latter could only have been conveyed through the spiral vessels

of the umbilical cord, according to the long-exploded notions of

* Linn. Trans. xix. 173. + Gen. Plant. p. 283.

{ Iconographia, pl. 81. fig. 17.

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 431

Adanson and Turpin, or that it took place by the direct action of

pollinic boyaux which had found their way to the nucleus through

the aperture in the apex of the carpel, somewhat in the same

manner as happens in Gnetacee. As in that paper I have quoted

the evidence of St. Hilaire regarding the similar mode of impreg-

nation witnessed by him in Polygonaceea, Chenopodiacea, and

other families, I need do no more than allude to them as additions

to the mass of evidence here brought together to show that this

mode of ovular impregnation is more general than is supposed.

In regard to the remarkable growth of the tubillus in the

Gnetacee, | am able to cite two analogous instances in families

of a much higher degree of organization, where the mouth of

the tegmen is produced into a long tubular expansion, showing

that such expansion is in no way connected with the develop-

ment of what have been held to be naked seeds. I have already

demonstrated its production in the tegmen of the seed of Ha-

lesia, where the summit of that integument becomes contracted

into a slender filamentous tube, which appears like a false sus-

pensor, at the radicular extremity of the seed; here, however,

the testa closes over it, so that the tubillus, reflected and free,

lies between the two integuments*. The other instance is still

more striking, and exists in Tropeolum, in which genus the pro-

duction of its tubillus remains to this day an enigma among

botanists. The fact of its occurrence was, I believe, first noticed

by Gaertner}, and afterwards by St. Hilairet, who considered it

to be a suspensor analogous to that of Cycas, and the channel

through which the aura seminalis was conveyed from the funicle

for the fecundation of the ovule. Dr. Giraud, in tracing the

development of the ovule of Tropa@olum majus, and the mode of

its fertilization by the impact of the pollen-tube upon the apex

of the nucleus, confirmed the observations of St. Hilaire in re-

gard to the production of the tubillus at the micropyle of the

inner integument §; he also considered this process to be a sus-

pensor like that of Cycas, which he regarded as an expansion of

the embryo-sac. Schleiden also demonstrates the same fact ||,

and attributes its existence to the same origin. Subsequently,

Mr. Wilson{ traced the development of the ovule from its earliest

stage to the final growth of the seed: but his account is not free

from error ; for while he admits the great difficulty of discerning

the exact limits of the secundine and embryo-sac, he seems to

have mistaken the elongation of the one for that of the other, as

* Contributions to Botany, i. 169, pl. 31. fig. 23.

Tt De Fruct. i. 380, tab. 79. fig. 1. ~ Ann. Mus. xviii. 469.

§ Linn. Trans. xix. 164, tab. 16, figs. 5, 6, 7, 8.

| Nov. Act. Acad. Leop. xix. 54, tab. 8. figs. 120-125, p. 56, fig. 126.

§| Lond. Journ. Bot. ii. 628, tab. xx. & xxi.

4.32 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

other observers had done before him. The drawings of Schleiden

are certainly more correct than those of the latter botanist, as

far as my observations extend. In examining the seeds of four

Chilean species of Zrope@olum, I found that this process is not

the embryo-sac, which appears to have been absorbed: it may

be seen that the extremity of the radicle is covered by a short

tubular cap, which is continuous with the inner seminal integu-

ment; this cap is formed by the doubling of the tubillus or

lengthened neck of the tegmen; and where this tubillus passes

through the foramen of the outer integument, the latter closes

round it by means of a glandular deposit*, well represented in

Schleiden’s figures 124, 125, by the letter a, and in Wilson’s

figure 10 by the letter &. This reduplication of the neck of the

tubillus is cansed by the final growth of the tooth-like wings of

the cotyledons, which, extending themselves upwards, conceal the

radicle ; and we have proof that the process here alluded to is

really a reduplication of the tubillus, from the fact that at this

part it is of greater opacity, and that when it is immersed in water

under the microscope, air-bubbles are clearly discernible between

the doubled membrane of the tube. It is certainly not a con-

tinuation of the apex of the radicle, as St. Hilaire imagined, and

does not offer any degree of analogy to the suspensor of Cycas:

the extremity of the radicle is defined by a distinct rounded

polished point, its apparent suspensor forming a lax covering

around its apex. The subjoined figure 1 shows the form of the

Fig. 1. Fig. 2.

imner integument, where its mouth becomes extended into a

very long neck or tubillus, which at the point of its origin be-

comes plicated by the prolongation of the auricles of the coty-

ledons, thus forming a sort of cap over the point of the radicle :

this neck (bearmg somewhat the appearance of a suspensor) is

the length of half the periphery of the seed, and is reflected

downwards from the vertex along the dorsal side, where it lies

tightly pressed, but free, between the testa and pericarp: the

glandular deposit marked g closes the integuments at the point

* This is analogous to the glandular closing of the base of the tubillus

in Ephedra, which Richard calls a “ tubereulum stigmaticum.”

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 433

where the tubillus (¢) passes through the foramen of the testa :

the position of the chalaza is shown at c (near the base of the

free portion of the style, and where it is confounded with the

hilum). It will hence be seen that the integuments are atropous

(not anatropous, as generally believed), while the embryo, from

its very excentric growth, lies amphitropously in regard to

them*. In figure 2 is seen the same inner integument as in the

preceding figure, where it is marked 2, to which is added the outer

integument, or testa, marked 0, the mouth being closed by the

gland g, which also forms a stricture in the neck of the tubillus.

The analogy of this development with that I have described in

Ephedra is very manifest.

I have not been able to find in the seeds of Ephedra any indi-

cation of the long spiral suspensor which in Ginetum is described

as being coiled up in the summit of the albumen, and there

attached to the embryo. The nature of this. suspensor has not

yet been precisely ascertained: it is figured and described by

both Gaudichaud + and Griffithst, the former from an analysis

of Aublet’s Guiana plant, the latter from the examination of two

Indian species: there is a considerable difference in the details

of these analyses, which admit of conciliation. Its existence in

the earliest stage is shown by Gaudichaud (loc. cit. tab.1. fig. 14),

where a number of distinct, loose, slender, inarticulate tubes are

seen in the summit of the nucleus, which he conceived to be

either “ very elongated cells” or “ embryo-bearing pollen-tubes”

(loc. cit. p. 54). The next state is represented in pl. 6. fig. 40,

when it seems like a long spiral cord in the cavity of the albu-

men, bearing a very young embryo. Afterwards (in figs. 41 &

42) it appears like a broad cylinder, consisting of the former

suspensor, now filled with and surrounded by cellular tissue ;

and he conceived§ that it was formed by a combination of all

the first-mentioned sterile embryoniferous threads. Finally (in

fig. 43), we see the same apparent cylinder separating by the

application of force into a spiral cord, formed of “ des sortes de

vaisseaux fasciculés rameux et tissu cellulaire.” Griffiths says

of it (loc. cit. p. 304), “'To the upper portion and to one side of

the cavity (in the albumen) is attached the embryo by means of

an enormously long, tortuous, and spirally but irregularly twisted

cellular funiculus, the cells being very much elongated and

* It would involve too long a digression to describe here the very ano-

malous seminal structure of Tropeolum, which has been altogether mis-

understood.

+ Rech. Organ. p. 76, tab. 1. fig. 14; tab. 6. figs. 40-43.

{ Linn. Trans. xxii. 304-308, pl. 56. figs. 30-37.

§ ‘Il est a croire que tous ces cordons stériles (pl. 1. tig. 14) font par-

ties de ce cordon suspenseur.”

434 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

twisted ; its length varies, when moderately pulled out, from

3 to 5 inches, the length of the fruit being 1 mch. This funi-

culus, as. well as the extremely similar one in Cycas, has the

property of contracting when immersed in water; when zn situ,

it is tolerably closely packed : it is dilated towards its attachment

with the embryo.”

From Gaudichaud’s account we may infer that this suspensor

is composed of cellular tissue loosely compacted round bundles

of very elongated pollen-tubes which become spirally twisted into

a hollow cylinder, moulded into the size and shape of a cavity of

the albumen. Griffiths’s drawing seems to confirm this; for

when drawn out into a spiral thread, it appears like a bundle of

such tubes. From its absence in Brongniart’s elaborate ana-

lysis of Gnetum Gnemon*, we may infer that it is not a constant

or essential feature m the organization of the seed. Roxburgh,

who minutely describes the structure of the embryo in two spe-

cies of Gnetum, makes no mention of any such suspensor; and

Griffiths affirms the “very rare and partial development of

the funiculus ;” for, after examining abundance of fully-formed

fruits of two species, he found only two instances where its

partial formation, it lying loose in the cavity of the albumen,

was observable (loc. cit. p. 802). Some additional light will be

thrown on this subject in the following remarks.

It has been the general opinion of botanists that the Guetacee

are intimately allied to the Conifere and Cycadacee, some in-

clining to their affinity with the former, others to the latter

group, which two families are placed by Endlicher widely apart

in his systematic arrangement; while others, again, congregate

the three families into one class, Gymnosperms or Gymnogens.

The principal argument in support of the relation to Conifere

has been founded on the assumption that in the Gnetacee the

seeds are naked—a doctrine which, it appears to me, ought

never to have been applied to this family. In other respects

there is no analogy ; for the Conifere have a very different habit

and another system of inflorescence, which is amentaceous, with

achlamydeous flowers and pistils generated upon the under side,

or on the margin of phylloidal bracts, forming altogether a de-

velopment of the lowest grade among dicotyledonous plants.

In Ephedra, on the contrary, we have regular spikelets of flowers,

though small, consisting of opposite decussating involucels, with

a perfect petaloid perigonium seated on each axil. There is ab-

solutely no parallelism in the organization of these two families.

Most botanists have considered the position of the Gnetacee

among Gymnosperms to be close to Taaxinee (a suborder of Coni-

* Voy. Coq., Bot. vol. u1. tab. 1. figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15.

Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra. 435

fere). In Taxus, however, if we consider the outer coating of

its pistil to be a carpel, which grows into an osseous shell, then

its ovule is perfectly devoid of any integumentary envelope, as

in Pinus, and in like manner it produces a perfectly naked

seed* ; and, according to the masterly analyses of Taxus by

Mirbel and Spach +, the facts of which have been confirmed by

Schleiden, its ovule has constantly three foramina in its apex,

leading into as many embryoniferous cavities in the amnios,

after the manner of other true Conifere. This is perfectly at

variance with all that we find in the Gnetacee.

With the Cycadacee the dissimilarity in these respects is still

more striking. The existence, however, of a suspensor in its

seeds has greatly favoured the idea of the close affinity of Gne-

tum with this family: the coincidence is unquestionable; but

this circumstance is of little import upon its own merit, for we

may conceive the possibility of its occurrence, as we find it in

Gnetum, in any family of the highest order of development. The

growth and structure of the seed in Cycadacee, as demonstrated

by Miquel}, present many peculiarities of which we have no

parallel in the Gnetacee. If we regard in its proper light the

outer covering of the pistil, and the thick fleshy and coriaceous

shell of the seeds of the Cycadacee to be the growth of a true

earpel, it will be evident that the erect nucleus enclosed within

the pistil and the seed contained within the carpel are deficient

of any proper integument ; and under this point of view both may

be considered to be perfectly naked —a condition widely different

from that of the Gnetacee, where both the ovule and seed are

covered by two distinct integuments. Miquel, who considered.

the pericarpial covering of the fruit to be the testa of the seed

lined with an adherent inner integument, notices that the latter

in its early stage is crowned by a broad areolar callus, which he

calls its chalaza; this is marked by a circular ring of perfora-

tions, which open into as many small cavities, in each of which

is generated a distinct thread, coiled up and bearing at its lower

extremity an embryo-sac: all these sacs descend into the am-

niotic body, where only one of them is fertilized; this fertilized

sac finds its way out of the amnios into the body of the nucleus

* From the analysis of Torreya taxifolia, as given by Sir Wm. Hooker

(Icon. 232, 233), it would seem that its carpel is at first pervious at its

summit, and is furnished with an erect atropous ovule, provided with two

very distinct free integuments, of which the primine afterwards becomes

agglutinated to the carpel in the fruit, while the secundine remains co-

herent with and enters deeply into the plicatures of the ruminated albu-

men. Should this analysis of the ovary be confirmed, it would show that

Torreya cannot belong to Taxinee, but is more allied to Myricacee.

+ Ann. Sc. Nat. 2 sér. xx. 257.

$ Ann. Se. Nat. 3 sé. iii. 193, pl. 8.

436 Mr. J. Miers on Ephedra.

and becomes an embryo, when a mass of albumen is generated

around it, which completely encases it, pushing upwards in its

growth the persistent amnios, which, like a vitellus, remains as

a sort of cap upon the albumen. When the seeds attain matu-

rity, the thread of the fertile embryo, as well as the several

filaments still bearing their sterile sacs, all having descended

into the vitellus, there become twisted together and surrounded

by lax cellular tissue, thus forming the suspensor. This de-

velopment is clearly shown in its several stages Joc. cit. pl. 8.

figs. 3, 5, 15, 16, 21, 26. After the perfection of the embryo

within the albumen, the radicle grows upward, as if germinating,

and, forcing a passage through the vitellus, finds an exit by the

side of the attachment of its own suspensorial thread, and re-

mains there naked and quite distinct from the main suspensor

(as shown in fig. 17)—a fact claiming our especial notice, as it

is a condition very different from what Griffiths and Gaudichaud

show of the suspensor in Gnetum, where the amnios, having

been altogether absorbed, the suspensor appears continuous with

the radicular extremity of the embryo. In regard to the nature

and origin of the several threads (which together form the sus-

pensor), Miquel was evidently inclined towards the notion that

they are the pollen-tubes, which had penetrated the several

embryo-sacs, becoming afterwards agglutinated together by lax

cellular tissue into one general twisted cord: this is certainly

the only legitimate inference from all the circumstances recorded,

in support of which Griffiths relates (loc. cit. p.306) that he

always found in Cycas that “the tubular membranous portion

of the apex of the nucleus becomes actually crammed with pol-

len-granules, from the lower and outer of which pollen-tubes

are pretty generally produced.”

Changes very similar in their nature take place in the pro-

duction and growth of the suspensor in the Conifere, the several

stages of which were clearly described and figured by Brown

two years prior to the publication of Miquel’s researches on

Cycadacee ; and the singular coincidence of these developments

is a strong argument in favour of the near affinity of these two

families. Brown showed that, in Pinus* (which, like Cycas, is al-

ways polyembryonous), previous to the development of the several

embryo-sacs and their suspending threads, the former are con-

stantly first discernible in distinct areolar cells in the nucleus,

arranged, as in Cycas, in a circular series in the summit of the

amniotic body: these sacs descend, each separately suspended

by its own elongated thread; but generally only one of them

becomes fertilized. The further progress of this growth, and the

* Ann. Se. Nat. 2 sér. xx. p. 195, pl.5; Ann. Nat. Hist. xiii. 368, pl. 7.

Mr. T. V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera. 437

increment of the embryo, which becomes surrounded by an

albuminous mass that pushes upward the amniotic body, and

remains persistent on it like a calyptriform cap, is quite analo-

gous to the growth described by Miquel in Cycadacee, and very

different from that of Gnetum. It is remarked by Brown that

each suspending thread appears formed of about four simple

tubes connected together but slightly, for he found them easily

separable from one another without laceration of their surfaces ;

and this fact gives additional force to the conclusion before

mentioned regarding the nature and origin of the suspensor.

Still further evidence is given by Schleiden, who traced the en-

trance of pollen-tubes into the areolar cavities before described,

and into the embryo-sacs, with which they remained permanently

connected. The growth and development of these several em-

bryo-sacs in each ovule, and their attachment to suspending

threads in Pinus, Thuja, and Taxus, are minutely described and

figured in the interesting researches of Mirbel and Spach*,

published about the same time, and confirming all the observa-

tions of Brown: they describe also each suspending thread as

being formed of five or six boyaux or simple tubes agglutinated

together, each being hollow and filled with granular fluid or

such fovillz as are usually found in the boyaux of pollen.

[To be continued. |

XLVI.—Brief Diagnostic Characters of new Canarian Coleoptera.

By T. Vernon Wottasrton, M.A., F.L.S.

Tue following short diagnoses of Canarian Coleoptera are merely

provisional, and are intended to secure a few of the more interest-

ing species, the full details of which (structural and geographical)

will be given in the general Catalogue which I am now preparing

of the Coleoptera of that archipelago. But as the latter is a work

of considerable time and labour, and as a large portion of my

material has already been dispersed in European collections, it is

almost too much to expect that a certain percentage of the new

forms (the descriptions of which .have long been completed)

would not be anticipated were I to delay the publication of them

until my whole manuscript is ready for the press; under these

circumstances, therefore, I feel that the subjoined notices, how-

ever brief, will serve my purpose in preventing, thus far at least,

a too violent intrusion into my Atlantic province.

* Ann. Sc. Nat. 2 sér. xix. pl. 8, 9, 10, 11.

_ Ann. & Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 3. Vol, ix. 31

438 Mr. T.V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera.

Fam. Carabide.

Genus Licinus,

Latreille, Gen. Crust. et Ins. i. 199 (1806).

1. Licinus Manriquianus.

L. ater, nitidus; capite leviter punctato; prothorace transverso-

subquadrato (ad latera subrecto), in disco leviter et parce sed

versus latera et basin dense et profunde punctato ; elytris profunde

punctato-striatis, interstitiis convexis, parce et profunde punctatis

necnon punctulis minutissimis interspersis; antennis ferrugineis,

ad basin, palpis tarsisque rufo-piceis. |

Long. corp. lin. 53-64.

Habitat Lanzarotam et Fuerteventuram, sub lapidibus, tempore

hiberno et vernali haud infrequens.

Genus Broscus.

Panzer, Ind. in Fna Germ. 1. 62.

2. Broscus rutilans.

B. ater; capite prothoraceque nitidissimis, hoe angusto, cordato, ad

basin profundius et densius punctato, ad latera ipsissima angustis-

sime marginato subconcolore; elytris nitidis, obsoletissime sub-

punctato-striatis, ad latera ipsissima angustissime marginatis sub-

concoloribus ; antennis fusco-piceis, articulo primo testaceo-piceo ;

pedibus piceis.

Long. corp. lin. 7-8.

Habitat in montibus excelsis Teneriffee, usque ad 7000! s. m. as-

cendens.

Genus Poconvs.

Dejean, Spec. des Col. iii. 6 (1828).

3. Pogonus Grayit.

P. angustus, pallidus; capite prothoraceque rufo-testaceis, hoc elon-

gato, postice paulo angustiore, ad basin punctato ; elytris testaceis,

parallelo-oblongis, subpunctato-striatis; antennis rufo-testaceis ;

pedibus testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 12-2.

Habitat Lanzarotam, in locis salinis a Dom° Gray (cujus in honorem

nomen triviale proposui) primo detectum.

Fam. Dytiscide.

Genus Hyproporus.

Clairville, Ent. Helv. 1. 183 (1806).

4. Hydroporus Clarki.

H. oblongo-ovalis, convexus, supra testaceus, oculo fortiter armato

subtilissime pubescens ; prothorace brevi, ad latera zequaliter ro-

Mr. T. V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera. 439

tundato, postice in medio valde producto necnon utrinque macula

transversa (in marginem nigrescentem posticum rare suffusa) or-

nato ; elytris ovalibus, lineis nigris valde fractis (antice preesertim

abbreviatis) ornatis, utroque punctorum seriebus tribus impresso

necnon ante apicem denticulo minutissimo armato.

Long. corp. lin. 2-23.

Habitat in aquis Fuerteventure, vulgaris: species in honorem Rev.

Domi Clark dicata.

Fam. Thorictide.

Genus THorIcTUS.

Germar, Silb. Rev. Ent. ii. 2. 15 (1884).

5. Thorictus canariensis.

T. oblongus, rufo-piceus, nitidus, minutissime et parce punctulatus,

subtilissime (oculo fortiter armato) cinereo-pubescens ; prothorace

convexo, ad latera valde rotundato, angulis ipsis posticis oblique

impresso-marginatis ; elytris piceis, antice subparallelis, in disco

valde convexis, ad basin linea media vix terminatis sed utrinque

breviter longitudinaliter subcostatis ; pedibus brevibus.

Long. corp. lin. ?—vix 1.

Habitat msulas omnes Canarienses, sub lapidibus in formicarum

nidis hine inde parum vulgaris.

6. Thorictus gigas.

T. quadrato-oblongus, rufo-piceus, nitidus, minute et parce asperato-

punctatus, subtiliter fulvescenti- pubescens ; prothorace brevi,

transverso, in disco postico convexo, ad latera valde rotundato

dilutiore vix subpellucido, angulis posticis obtusis; elytris piceis,

ad humeros calloso-incrassatis et ibidem obtuse prominentibus, in

disco valde convexis, ad basin ipsissimam linea media sinuata ter-

minatis, necnon utrinque breviter longitudinaliter bicostatis ; pedi-

bus longiusculis.

Long. corp. lin. 1}-vix 14.

Habitat Canariam Grandem, in formicarum nidis rarissimus.

Fam. Buprestide.

Genus ACMHODERA.

Eschscholtz, Zool. Atlas, 1. 9 (1823).

7. Acmeodera Cisti.

A. elongata, subconvexa, nigra, subtus cinereo pilosa; capite pro-

thoraceque submetallicis, subnitidis, profunde et dense punctatis et

pube longiuscula (przesertim in illo) suberecta cinerea fulvaque

obsitis, hoc leviter canaliculato ; elytris flavo multivittatis, profunde

striato-punctatis, interstitiis minute uniseriatim punctulatis.

Long. corp. lin. 2-33.

Habitat Canariam, 'Teneriffam, et Palmam, preesertim ad flores Cis-

31%

440 Mr. T.V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera.

_ torum (se. C. monspeliensis atque vagantis) in excelsioribus cres-

centium.

Fam. Elateride.

Genus CoprrosTrTuHus.

Woll., Ins. Mad. 238, tab. iv. f. 8 (1854),

8. Coptostethus globulicollis.

C. niger, elytris rarius dilutioribus, subcinereo pubescens ; prothorace

convexo, basi angustato, antice lato, prosterno antice deflexo ;

elytris convexis, pube subdemissa tenui vestitis, ad humeros

oblique truncatis, sat profunde crenato-striatis, interstitiis sub-

convexis; antennis pedibusque subgracilibus, infuscato-testaceis,

illis interdum etiam subnigrescentibus.

Long. corp. lin. 12-2}.

Habitat sub lapidibus i in montibus excelsis Teneriffe, a 3500! usque

ad 8000! vel 9000’ s, m. ascendens,

Fam. Cleride.

Genus CoryNETES.

Herbst, Kaf. iv. 148 (1791).

9. Corynetes fimetarius.

C. nitidus, pilis erectis mollibus et (preesertim in capite prothorace-

que) elongatis ubique vestitus ; capite prothoraceque leete cupreis,

dense et profunde punctatis ; scutello cupreo-viridi; elytris cya-

neis, valde profunde seriatim rugoso-punctatis; antennis nigris,

basin versus vix dilutioribus ; pedibus nigrescentibus, tarsis dilu-

tioribus ad basin testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 3-2.

Habitat Lanzarotam et Fuerteventuram, in stercore arido (sc. bovino,

equino, camelino, nec humano), tempore vernali haud infrequens,

Fam. Bostrichide.

Genus Dinoprrvs.

Stephens, Man. Brit. Col. 203 (1839).

10. Dinoderus brunneus.

D. cylindricus, piceo-brunneus, fere opacus, ubique densissime et

grosse rugoso-asperatus, breviter et parce sed in limbo longius

tulvo pubescens ; prothorace antice subangustato et valde mucro-

nato, postice dense granulato truncato ; elytrorum g granulis magnis

sed vix subseriatim dispositis ; antennarum clava ‘tarsisque paulo

magis testaceis.

Long.:corp. lin, 2-23.

Habitat in pinetis Teneriffe et Palmze, truncos Pini canariensis an-

tiquos destruens,.

Mr. T. V. Wollaston on new Canarian Coleoptera. 4A41-

Fam. Tomicide.

Genus Tomicvs.

Latreille, Hist. Nat. des Ins. 11. 203 (1802).

11. Tomicus nobilis.

7’. cylindricus, piceo-niger, subnitidus, pilis tenuibus longissimis

erectis fulvescentibus praesertim in limbo obsitus; prothorace

elongato, postice profunde punctato, antice valde asperato ; elytris

picescentioribus, profunde punctato-striatis, ad apicem subito et

valde retusis, parte excavata dentibus lateralibus tribus (superiore

maximo noduliformi), uno parvo antico et duobus vel tribus ob-

scuris subconfluentibus posticis, utrinque armata ; femoribus tibiis-

que rufo-ferrugineis, tarsis antennisque rufo-testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 13-2.

Habitat Teneriffam et Palmam, in iisdem locis ac preecedens et una

cum illo degens.

Fam. Curculionide.

Genus CLEONUS.

Schonherr, Cure. Disp. Meth. 145 (1826),

12. Cleonus Jekelit.

C. cylindricus, niger, cinereo pubescens; rostro triangulari densius

pallido pubescente, in medio leviter carinato ; prothorace subconico,

dense et minute punctulato et punctis majoribus perpaucis ad-

sperso, ad latera pallido pubescente ; elytris vix latioribus, paral-

lelis, grosse striato-punctatis, interstitiis obscure pallido pubescen-

tibus (linea suturam versus fracta, maculas parvas efficiente), utro-

que ad apicem ipsissimum paulo divaricato et longe ante apicem

macula media paulo distinctiore albidiore ornato; antennis ad

basin rufo-piceis.

Long. corp. lin. 33-5}.

Habitat Lanzarotam, Fuerteventuram et Canariam, sub lapidibus in

locis inferioribus aridis hine inde haud infrequens. Nomen triviale

in honorem Domi H. Jekel, Parisiis, Curculionidum scrutatoris

oculatissimi periti, proposui.

Fam. Chrysomelide.

Genus PsrupocoLaspPis.

Laporte, Hist. Nat. des Ins. Coléopt. ii. 514 (1840).

13. Pseudocolaspis obscuripes.

P. obscure znea, grosse sed breviter argenteo pubescens, dense et sat

profunde punctata; antennis nigrescentibus, ad basin vix dilutiori-

bus ; pedibus subzeneo-nigris.

Long. corp. lin. 12—vix 2.

Habitat in montibus excelsis Canariz Grandis, ad flores Cistorum

(sc. C. monspeliensis et vagantis) capta,

44,2 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Possible Entrance of

14. Pseudocolapsis splendidula.

P. lete eeneo-cuprea, grosse sed breviter argenteo pubescens, dense

punctata; antennis longiusculis, rufescentibus, apicem versus plus

minus obscurioribus ; pedibus rufescentibus.

Long. corp. lin. 13-2.

Habitat in Canaria, Palma et Hierro, ad flores Cisforum in locis

inferioribus et subinferioribus degens.

Fam. Ulomide.

Genus HyporHievs.

Fabricius, Skrivt. af Nat. Selsk. (1790).

15. Hypophleus nocivus.

H. subcylindrico-linearis, rufo-ferrugineus, parum nitidus; capite

prothoraceque sat dense punctulatis, hoc convexo elongato- -sub-

quadrato, antice et postice eequaliter (sed vix) angustiore; oculis

magnis, obliquis, nigris ; elytris parallelis, parcius leviusque punc-

tulatis, obsoletissime (vix perspicue) substriatis, ad apicem trun-

catis, pygidium haud ‘tegentibus; antennis brevissimis, crassis,

fusiformibus ; pedibus rufo-testaceis.

Long. corp. lin. 15-13.

Habitat in pinetis Teneriffee et Palme, arbores emortuas antiquas

perforans.

XLVII.—Notes on the Possibility of the Embryos of the Guinea-

Worm and so-called “ Fungus-Discase” of India, respectively,

entering the Human Body through the Sudorific Ducts. By

H, J. Carter, F.R.S.*

In my “Observations on Dracunculus,’ published in the 4th

Number of the ‘Transactions’ of the Society (New Series) +, I

have stated, at page 217, that the young Fuilaride of the free

Para which abound in the Island of Bombay during the

‘rains,” and throughout the year in most of the tanks, “ might

pass into the human body through the skin direct, or indirectly

through the ducts of the sudorific glands, the latter being much —

larger in calibre (viz. 1-1200th of an inch) than these young

Filaride,”—assuming that Dracunculus, when fully developed

in the human body, is a monster-growth of a worm whose

natural habitat is out of the body, that the young ones which

it then brings forth are too delicate to maintain an independent

existence, and thus unable to propagate the species, and that,

therefore, the Guinea-worm is introduced.

No case, however, has yet occurred where a young Filaria of

* Communicated by the author, having been read in part before the

Medical and Physical Society of Bombay on the 5th of seis 1861.

+ Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist, ser. 3. vol. iv. pp. 28, 98,

‘Guinea-worm Embryos into the Human Body. 443

the free species has been found entering, or in, one of the sudo-

rific ducts; so this is still an assumption ; but having met with an

instance in which young Filaride were found entering a fungus

by analogous apertures on the surface, even smaller than those

of the sudorific ducts, it seems desirable that the facts should be

recorded to show that, at least in the vegetable kingdom, this

kind of entrance takes place.

I have formerly stated that the free microscopic Filaride

chiefly frequent the gelatinous Algze for breeding, and alao for

food; and now I can add that myriads also accompany almost

every species of large fungus for the same purpose. The num-

ber of microscopic worms, together with the larvee of insects, to

which the fungi give nourishment is incredible; and it was on

the surface of a large species of Spheria that I observed the fact

to which I have aboye alluded, and of which the following is a

description :—

While examining some specimens of the large digitiform Xy-

laria which grows on the decaying trunks of Tamarind-trees,

&c., some delicate, glistering, thread-like bodies were seen to

project from the summits of the conceptacles (one from each),

and to be waving with such an animal motion that I thought it

desirable to ascertain their real nature; so, having collected two

or three on the point of a needle for this purpose, they were

transferred to a little water on a glass slide, and placed under

a microscope, when they were found to be young Filaride, but

too undeveloped for their species to be determined,

The conceptacles are little globe-shaped sacs, imbedded in

and scattered over the surface of the fungus, upon which they

open by minute mouths or ostioles, respectively, which, when

measured, were found not to exceed the 1-1880th part of an

inch in diameter (so that they are smaller than the orifices of

the sudorific ducts of the human body) ; and from each of these

ostioles was projecting a single Filaria—the head in the con-

ceptacle.

If, then, it be possible for these little embryo-worms to enter

such small apertures for food in one organic being, it may fairly

be inferred that others may do so in another; and hence the

possibility, if not probability, of the Guinea-worm in the human

subject bemg a monstrous development of a particular species

of one of the free Filaride, which also enters the human body

in an embryonal form for food, through the sudorifie ducts—

assuming, as before stated, that, indeed, which is almost a cer-

tainty, viz. that the young of Dracunculus are too delicate to

maintain an independent existence, and therefore cannot propa-

gate the species, which must thus obtain its perpetuity and

come from some other source,

444, Mr. H. J. Carter on the Possible Entrance of

(Turning to another subject.—To those who are interested in

seeing how the fungi follow in their propagation the law of all

other organized beings, the species of Xylaria to which I have

above alluded may form a beautiful example ; for it presents on

its surface conceptacles of two kinds, viz. one (the female) bear-

ing thecze filled with sporidia, and the other (the male) bearing

a bunch of filaments surmounted by spermatia or conidia. It

is necessary, however, not to confound this Xylaria with another

species of Spheria which often accompanies it, viz. an Hypoxy-

lon. The former is brown when fresh, dentiform, digitiform or

clavate, with no definite internal structure; the latter blackish

brown, globose, convex, and sessile, presenting a concentric la-

minated structure internally, and throwing off a dark-black,

indigo-blue powder when mature, which consists of the sporidia.

Both may exceed in size the fingers and the fist respectively.)

“ Fungus- Disease.” —Again, the black fungus described by

my namesake (Dr. H. V. Carter) in the last number of the

‘Transactions’ (No. VI.), which commits such devastation in

the bones and soft parts of the feet and ankles almost exclusively,

and ultimately attains, in spheroidal masses, the diameter of half

an inch, may also, in an embryo state, that is, in the form of a

zoospore, like an Ameba, enter the body through one of the

sudorific ducts; for microscopic examination of fresh, young

and favourable specimens of this undoubted fungus has led me

to infer that it is most nearly allied to the Mucoridee, ex. gr.

Mucor stolonifer, Ehy. (the black-headed, pin-shaped fungus

that grows over paste), which we shall presently see is most

probably propagated in this way. This Mucor is closely allied

to Achlya, which‘has been viewed by some as merely an aquatic

form of it, so much are the two alike (ex. gr. the fungus which

grows out from dead’ grasshoppers and insects generally when

undergoing decomposition in water). Closely allied to Achlya,

again, are the “ water-fungi” which grow in and out through

the cells of all Alga, to which I have long called attention in

the Characee, &c. (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1856), and which

lately have been named by Pringsheim “ Pythium” (Ann. des

Se. Nat. t. xi. p. 370, Bot. 1859): ex. gr. Pythium entophytum,

which breeds in and about the cells of Spirogyra after the latter

has been removed from its habitat, and kept in a basin of water

until it begins to perish. Lastly, all these are allied to the

great fungus family of Myxogastres, for which now the name

of “ Myxozoa” has been proposed by M. Antoine de Bary (Ann.

des Se. Nat. t. xi. p. 150, Bot. 1859), partly on account of their

embryos or propagative germs being locomotive—that is, poly-

morphic cells (minute Amebe), provided with one or two cilia,

so that they can swim with the latter when in water, or creep

Guinea-Worm Embryos into the Human Body. 445

about by means of their polymorphic moto-plastic cell when on

wet surfaces (under the form of dmebe). Now Mucor, Achlya,

Pythium, and the Myxogastres all being allied to cach other by

this mode of propagation (that is, by minute amcebous or moto-

plastic cells), we are not wanting in Fungi which produce em-

bryonal forms that, if any of them chose to enter the human

body, have the power, under the condition and circumstances

above mentioned, to do so as easily through the sudorific ducts

(or even directly, through the skin itself, for they have wonderful

penetrating power) as an embryonal Filaria.

I would also add my opinion that the black fungus of the

human body is a monster-form—from its sporangia, or large

cells apparently identical with sporangia, never, to my know-

ledge, containing anything but an amorphous albuminous mass

(abortive state of sporidia, which is chiefly the seat of the black

colouring-matter, and ultimately becomes resinous or fatty ?),—

and thus that this fungus is no more capable of putting forth a

true embryo which can propagate the species from one human

body to another, or even out of the body, than the Guinea-worm ;

and that the natural habitat of the species is therefore, like that

of the Guinea-worm, out of the body.*

It may, perhaps, be asked how I come to place Mucor stolo-

nifer among the fungi which are propagated by polymorphic

zoospores. My reply is, that I have met with a case in which

* Ttake from my “ Note-book” the following short description of this

fungus, which on a late occasion (28th September 1861) I examined half

an hour after the amputation of the foot in which it was situated, with my

namesake, who has the merit of having first poited out its real nature in

the Article to which I have above alluded, and to which I would direct

attention for a more elaborate account of the disease, &c. :—

Foot.— Greatly enlarged, presenting several small cloacal orifices connected

with branched sinuses originating around globular, black or dark-brown

masses, ranging in size from microscopic minuteness to upwards of half

an inch in diameter, situated in the bones and deep soft parts of the foot

and ankle.

Black masses.—Globular, presenting a cauliflower surface, and breaking

up with a like structure radiating from the centre ; composed of short,

irregular filaments of concatenated unequal-sized cells, bearing on their

sides and ends larger ones (abortive spores ?), which at first are pear-shaped,

but afterwards become globular, filled with a homogeneous (albuminous ?)

substance coloured brown, which, swelling out the cell, appears to burst it,

and, thus becoming free, affords the principal part of the colouring-matter

and substance of the mass.

Iodine gives a deep claret-colour to the contents of the large cells

(spores ?), indicative of their amylaceous nature, and a deep sherry- or

amber-colour to the rest of the structure, among which I observed starch-

grains that appeared to me to belong to the fungus.

The best portions for illustrating this structure are the smallest and

least coloured, not those which come from the large dark masses, for they

seldom present much beyond homogeneity and colour.

446 . Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

many of the heads of M. stolonifer were composed of a mass of

minute polymorphic cells (Ame@be), which, after haying been

placed in water on a slide, soon separated from their globular

aggregation, and crept away from each other under moto-plastic

forms, which forms, under other circumstances, I assume, would

have respectively been surrounded by firm, sporidious capsules,

and, on the latter bursting in development, would have come

forth as propagative amcebous germs or embryos, like those

which come from the sporidia of the Myxogastres, with which

family Corda has already placed the Mucoridex, though not

probably from the circumstance just mentioned, but from their

general resemblance (Corda, Icones Fungorum, p. 19; and

Mucor stolonifer seu Riizopus nigricans, p. 20, tab, xu. fig,

83)*,

XLVIII.—Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley.

Corzorrera: Lonaicornes. By H. W. Barus, Esq.

{Continued from p. 405.]

Group Anisocerine.

Genus TricgonorePius, Thoms,

Thomson, Class. des Céramb. p. 339.

Turis genus is an aberrant form in the group Anisocerine, differ-

ing from most of the other genera in haying the terminal joint of

the antenne, compared with the penultimate, of normal length,

and the elytra obtusely truncated at the tip, instead of rounded.

It resembles the genus Chalastinus so much in general form that I

have thought it better to place it in this group, Thethird and three

following joints of the antennz are slender and slightly thickened

at the tips; this indicates an affinity with the Anisocerinz, where

the thickening of the tips of the antennal joints is a very general

character. The typical species of Trigonopeplus (T. signatipennis,

Thoms,, a native of South-east Brazil) has a deep semioval

notch in the middle of the epistome—a singular peculiarity of

* Familiar examples of these fungi are given, that the reader may the

more easily procure them for examination. Abundance of the Myxogas-

tres may be found on the dead wood in the building-timber and fire-wood

yards during the monsoon, among which is the Afithalium or creeping-

fungus,’ which, under the microscope, by transmitted light, affords one of

the most wonderful objects in the world. To obtain this, look among the

chips and sawdust of the astringent woods during the “raims,” and

having found a yellow- or a brown-coloured slime, take a piece of it, about

half the size of a pea, and place it in a watch-glass with a little water;

afterwards put the glass in a shaded or dark place for a few hours, when

the Aithalium will, if young and fresh, have passed into an arborescent

form fit for observation.

of the Amazon Valley. | 44.7

structure, of which it is difficult to guess the purpose, especially

as the labrum beneath it remains entire. The species of this

genus which I found in the Amazon region has the epistome of

the usual shape, the muzzle, in fact, being of exactly the same

form as in the next genus, Chalastinus. It differs also from the

type of the genus in the shape of the head, the antenniferous

tubercles not being at all salient, whilst they are strongly raised

in T. signatipennis. It agrees, however, so closely with the typi-

cal species in all other characters that I think it cannot be sepa-

rated from it generically, It will be convenient, nevertheless,

to treat it as a group or subgenus, which may be named

Anepsius.

Trigonopeplus (Anepsius) bispecularis, White,

eeenenis bispecularis, White, Cat. Long. Col, in Brit. Mus, ii. p. 403,

pi. iti,

Found occasionally on foliage in the forest at Hga.

Genus CHALASTINUS, nov. gen.

Head narrow ; antenniferous tubercles prominent. Antenne

slender, elongated, 11-jointed in both sexes, the terminal joint

shorter than the preceding, filiform; the third and five follow-

ing joints thickened at the tips and curved, especially in the @.

Thorax much narrowed anteriorly, scarcely perceptibly tubercu-

lated on the sides. LElytra subtrigonal, depressed, rounded to-

gether at the tips. Mesosternum bituberculated, hind margin

sinking behind into a fovea in common with the fore edge of the

metasternum. ‘The fore tarsi of the d not dilated, but fringed

with fine hairs.

This genus has a great resemblance in general figure to Thry-

alls (Thomson, Class. p. 31); but the antenne in Thryallis have

only ten joints, and the sterna are broad and plane, the pro-

sternum especially being remarkably broad. The Anisocerinz

vary to such a degree in these and other parts of structure, that

almost every species might be made into a separate genus, if we

attached the same importance to those characters in this as in

other groups of Coleoptera.

Ch. Egaensis, White.

Anisocerus Egaensis, White, Cat. Long. Col. in Brit. Mus. ii. p. 408.

The typical form of this species seems to be confined to the

neighbourhood of Ega, on the Upper Amazons. It has on each

elytron behind the middle a short, oblique, ochreous belt, com-

mencing on the sides near the middle, and not reaching the

suture, near which, in a line with the belt, is a round ochreous

spot. This is common at Ega on decaying branches of trees in

448 My. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

the forest. The following slight local modification was found

only at Fonte Boa, 120 miles in a straight line north-west of

Fga.

“Local var. Ch. postilenatus. Like the type, except that the

oblique ochreous belt of the elytra is continuous from the sides

to the suture, and is also prolonged as a stripe along the sides

to the shoulders.

This variety wholly replaces the Ega form at Fonte Boa. At

Cayenne a nearly allied undescribed form* occurs, which, al-

though apparently very different from Ch. Egaensis, I believe to

be a local modification of it. A species which varies in a small

degree from locality to locality a short distance apart becomes

modified in a greater degree in a more remote district and under

more greatly changed local conditions ; at least, the distribution

of closely allied species and varieties, when carefully studied,

seems to point to this conclusion.

Genus PHACELLOCERA.

Castelnau, Anim. Artic. ii. p. 468.

Char. emend.: Antenne long and slender, eleventh joint about

as long as the tenth, and filiform in both sexes ; first joint slen-

der at the base, and enlarged about the middle into a thick pyri-

form club ; third joint thickened at the tip; fourth also sometimes

dilated at its apex, and furnished with a small brush of hairs.

Body elongate, parallel-sided, depressed. Thorax narrow, the

lateral tubercles small, acute. The mesosternum plane or bi-

tuberculated, its hind margin depressed in conjunction with the

fore edge of the metasternum, as is the rule in the Anisocerine.

The fore tarsi in the ¢ are not dilated, and scarcely fringed.

I. think the followmg species may be comprised in this

genus :—

1. P. plumicornis, Klug, Entom. Bras., specimen alterum,

pl. 42. f. 5. South-east Brazil.

2. P. Buquetii, Guér. Icon. R. A. p. 240. Cayenne.

3. P. Batesii, Pascoe, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1858, n. s. iv.

Upper Amazons.

4. P. limosa, un. sp.t Venezuela.

* This is extremely rare in collections; and I regret being unable, from

having no specimen at command, to give a description of it.

+ P. limosa. Corpus parum elongatum, depressum, fuliginosum, pilis mi-

nutis squamiformibus cinereo-fuscis vestitum. Antenne (2 ) corpore

vix longiores, articulo quarto simplici. Caput et thorax punctata,

hujus tuberculis lateralibus brevibus acutis, dorso trituberculato. Elytra

passim granulato-punctata, singulis prope basin tuberculo magno cris-

tato, et postice fasciculis duobus pilorum munitis. Antennz fusce,

articulo tertio apice valde dilatato. Long. 6lin. 2. Hab. Venezuela,

of the Amazon Valley. . 449

Phacellocera Batesit, Pascoe.

Phacellocera Batesii, Pascoe, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1858, n. s. iv.

This species much resembles P. Buqueti of Cayenne, but it is

considerably smaller. Its colour is light-greenish grey dusted

with black; the sides of the head and thorax have a broad

dusky stripe, and a narrow dusky zigzag belt runs across the

elytra behind the middle, but does not reach the suture. The

antenne are three times the length of the body in the ¢, and

not much shorter in the 9; the joints are slender, almost capil-

liform, the basal one forms a very large and thick club, the

third is thickened at the tip, the fourth simple like the rest ;

the apical joints are the longest: the colour is black, except a

broad grey ring round the third joint.

This very curious insect is found at Ega, on the trunks and

larger branches of fallen trees in the virgin forest. In crawling

over the bark, it holds its antenne straight forwards, and has a

most striking resemblance to a greenish-coloured species of

Ptychoderes belonging to the family Curculionides, which swarms

at times on the same trees. I have a specimen from Yurimaguas,

on the Huallaga, near the Andes, which differs (as all the other

examples do which I have seen from the same place) from the

Kga type only in being of a dull-grey colour without any greenish

or olivaceous tinge.

Genus AnisocERrvs, Serv.

Serville, Ann. Soc. Ent, Fr, iv. p. 79.

This genus was founded by Serville on the Lamia scopifera of

Germar, apparently the only species known at that time. Since

then, a number of species have been added which do not belong

to the genus, or at least would render its definition almost im-

possible were they to be included. I think it better to restrict

it to those species which present the following characters :—

Body oblong, compact, subdepressed. Head broad; antenni-

ferous tubercles slightly raised. Antenne 11-jointed in the ¢,

the terminal joint about half the length of the penultimate ;

10-jointed in the @ ; the third joint in both sexes furnished at

the tip with a compact rounded brush of short silky hairs. The

mesosternum is very short, deeply depressed in the middle and

on the hind edge in conjunction with the fore margin of the

metasternum. ‘The ligula is narrow at the base, then abruptly

dilated, the lobes widely divergent. The palpi are gradually and

obtusely pointed.

Anisocerus Onca, White.

Anisocerus Onca, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 405, pl. 10. f. 4,

Local var. a. A. Fonteboensis. Head and thorax as in A, Onca,

450 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

Elytra at the base reddish brown and granulated, each with two

rounded spots, and the humeral callus black; the rest of the

surface has four rows of quadrate black spots divided only by

narrow lines of a reddish-brown colour, and before the apex is a

transverse black streak; the spaces between these black spots

are quadrate in shape, and of a pale ochreous hue. Abdomen

beneath varied with black. This variety diverges from the type

only in the increased size and squared shape of the black spots,

and the pallid hue of the equally squared interspaces. It is

intermediate both in character and in geographical position be-

tween the type and local var. 0, and is found near Fonte Boa, on

the Upper Amazons.

Local var. 6. A. Olivencius. Much larger than the type, being

7-74 lines in length. The occiput is black, with two pale

ochreous lunate spots behind the eyes. Elytra at the base dingy

ochreous and granulated, each with two rounded spots, and the

humeral callus black; the rest of the surface is dark violet-

brown, with four rows of angular spots, and the tip pale ochreous;

the black spots in the same positions as in the type appear faintly

through the violet-brown ground-colour. The rest as in the

type. In this variety the pale spots of the elytra, already indi-

cated in var. a, are strongly marked, and the ground-colour has

become obscure. This change in the dress, added to the mark-

ings of the head and the size and robustness of the whole body,

give the variety an aspect totally different from the typical form.

Taken sparingly at St. Paulo de Olivencia: all the individuals

found were conformable to the description here given.

This pretty insect seems very susceptible of local modification.

The typical form is confined im its range to a very limited area

around the town of Ega, on the Upper Amazons. It is there

found in plenty on the trunks and branches of fallen trees in

the virgin forest. At Fonte Boa, 120 miles above Ega, it occurs

under a slightly modified local form (A. Fonteboensis), which

would be scarcely worthy of remark were it not intermediate

between the Hea type and the strangely transformed local variety

or race, A. Olivencius, found at St. Paulo, 180 miles further west,

or 800 miles in a straight line over a uniform country undivided

by physical barriers from the home of its type. As before re-

marked, when a species varies in this way from district to di-

strict not far apart, it often happens that several closely allied

but more distinct forms or species present themselves in districts

further removed; these may be fairly suspected of being also

modifications, considermg the proof already obtained. of the

variability of the species. Several of these nearly allied forms

occur in the present case. Thus I have no doubt, on perusing

the excellent description, that the A. stel/atus of Guérin-Méne-

of the Amazon Valley. 451

ville (Cat. Ins. Coléop. recueillis par Osculati, p. 27), found in

Ecuador, probably on the banks of the Napo, is a further modi-

fication of the A. Onca, in the direction of our var. Olivencius.

There is also an undescribed species found at Cayenne (A. multi-

guttatus, Laferté, MS.)*, which diverges from A. Onca in another

direction; and this may with great probability be referred to the

same type. It is the custom of naturalists, when they subordi-

nate varieties to a species, to fix upon one of the forms as the

original, to which the rest are referred : this original is generally

the one first described or best known. In accordance with this

usage, I have said that such and such forms are varieties of A.

Onca ; but, strictly speaking, no form can be said to be a variety

of another existing form unless it can be proved or shown to be

highly probable that the one descended from the other, this other

itself remaining meanwhile unchanged. It is necessary, there-

fore, to guard against the error of supposing that the arbitrarily

chosen forms we see placed as species, with varieties subordinated

to them are the true parents of those varieties; for whilst the

varieties were being formed the parents themselves may have

been undergoing modification, and therefore the so-called species

and their varieties may be all equally varieties of some common

possibly extinct form. In the present case, all that I mean to

convey is, that, reasoning upon the fact of much local modifica-

tion in A. Onca, we are constrained to infer that other closely

allied forms have been derived from a pre-existing one nearly

resembling them; and this might have been either A. Onca or

the common parent of 4. Onca and its subordinates+.

* T regret being unable, not having a specimen at command, to give a

description of this species.

T Some entomologists, however, believe that a local variety is an original

creation equally with a species. Dr. Schaum, an author of high reputation,

says, in discussing a case of local variation similar to the present one (Ber-

liner entom. Zeitschr. 1861, p. 398), that many pairs of a species were

originally created, and that, as there would be original differences amongst

the individuals according to locality, so we have, at present, local varieties.

This view will recommend itself to some minds by its extreme simplicity ;

for the excessive complexity of the relationships between existing varieties

and species, on the other view above stated, repels by its difficulty of

unravelment. In no case does the remark of Bacon so well apply, to the

effect that the subtlety of nature far exceeds the subtlety of man’s intellect.

But Dr. Schaum’s view ignores the fact that many local varieties shade off

into mere individual variations or differences, such as we see occurring

amongst the offspring of the same parents, making it extremely probable

that local varieties or races have been derived by ordinary generation, with

modification, from pre-existing forms. The hypothesis of the persistence,

under the same conditions, of a local variety from the time of its creation

is also quite at variance with the great mass of evidence, supplied by

geology, of great migration and dislocation of species during the glacial

and other epochs.

452 Mr. 1. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

Genus Gymnocerwus, Serv.

Serville, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1835, p. 84.

In this genus both sexes have eleven joints to the antenne.

According to Serville, the ¢ has the terminal joint very long,

Amongst the species which I propose to include in the genus,

some have this joint as long as the tenth, others much shorter ;

and it is always relatively shorter in the 9 thaninthe d, All

the joints are naked; but the third in some species, and the

fourth in others, are more or less thickened at the tip, The

body is convex and rather broad, and the elytra somewhat more

gradually rounded to the apex than in Anisocerus,

This genus was omitted in Mr. White’s ‘Catalogue of the

~ Longicorn Coleoptera of the British Museum ;’ and some of the

species were included by him under Anisocerus, from which they

are distinguishable by the naked antenne.

1. Gymnocerus capucinus, White.

Anisocerus capucinus, White, Ann. Nat. Hist. xvii. t.1.f.7; Cat, Long.

Col. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 406.

This remarkably beautiful species, which in its colours and

markings resembles some kinds of Doryphora of the Chryso-

melide group, I found only at Caripi, near Para. It occurred

sparingly, in January, on dead branches of trees in the forest.

The third antennal joint is considerably thickened at the apex.

2. Gymnocerus dulcissimus, White,

Anisocerus dulcissimus, White, Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 406.

I met with this species only on one occasion, in the forests on

the banks of the Cupari, a branch of the Tapajos, in 4° S. lat.

and 55 W. long. It is still more beautiful in colours than G.

capucinus ; but I believe, with Mr. White, that it may be only a

modification of that species. The third antennal joint is less

thickened at its apex than in G. capucinus.

Three individuals only occurred, on a decaying branch in the

depths of the forest.

3. Gymnocerus cratosomoides, n. sp.

G. ovalis, convexus, tomentosus, ochraceo-fulvus: thorace levi:

elytris seriatim punctato-granulatis, singulis prope basin tuberculo

magno glabro instructis et apud medium breviter quadricarinatis,

fascia lata undulata pone medium et marginibus posticis fuscis.

Long. 93 lin. @.

Head dull-greenish yellow, tomentose, smooth, Antenne slen-

der, shining black, about the length of the body, the third joint

scarcely thickened at the apex. Thorax about half the breadth

of the elytra; lateral tubercles rather small, acute, the surface

of the Amazon Valley. 453

quite impunctate; the disk tawny brown; the sides yellowish.

Elytra very broad at the base, the breadth at that point being

three-fourths the length; they are very gradually narrowed to

two-thirds the length, thence more rapidly narrowed to the apex;

each has in the middle, near the base, a very large naked obtuse

tubercle; behind this, on the disk, are four short raised longi-

tudinal lines, the one nearest the suture only being strongly

elevated ; the basal two-thirds of the surface is scantily covered

with granulated punctures, mostly arranged in lines, each of

which is accompanied by a dark-brown speck; the colour is

ochreous brown or tawny; the posterior part of the suture and

the discal ridges are finely streaked with grey; behind the

middle is a broad irregular dark-brown belt, preceded by a yel-

low line; the dark-brown colour runs from the belt along the

margins and suture to the apex. The body beneath and legs

are clothed with greenish-yellow pile, which is denser on the

sides of the breast and on the tarsi. The fore tibiz are dilated

and compressed.

One example, taken on the trunk of a tree at Tunantins, on

the Upper Amazons. This and the following have a most de-

ceptive resemblance to species of Curculionidee of the genus

Cratosomus, which occur in numbers on the trunks of certain

trees. The general colour is exactly the same, and the resem-

blance is made more perfect by the large, glossy, basal tubercles

of the elytra, which are merely modifications of the ordinary

centro-basal ridges existing in this section of the Lamiaires.

The shortness and slenderness of the antenne, rendering the

organs almost invisible at a short distance, also assist in perfect-

ing the disguise, which completely deceived me when I saw the

insect in situ. G. scabripennis (Serville), a native of Cayenne,

belongs to this same group, all the forms of which appear to be

excessively rare.

4, Gymnocerus crassus, 0. sp.

G. ovalis, convexus, tomentosus ; thorace elytrisque fulvis, his fascia

latissima et macula subapicali canis. Long. 83 lin. 9.

This species very much resembles the preceding, and might

be treated as a variety of it, although it seems more convenient

to deal with it as a separate form. The punctures of the elytra,

with the granulations, are much more strongly developed;

otherwise the only differences observable are those of colour.

The head is greenish yellow, with the crown and occiput grey.

The thorax does not differ from that of G. cratosomoides. The

base of the elytra is occupied by a narrow belt of a fulvous co-

lour, and a much broader belt of the same hue crosses the elytra

behind the middle; the rest of the surface is hoary grey, with

Ann, & Mag. N. Hist, Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 32

454 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

the exception of the margins and suture near the apex, which

are blackish.

I found one individual only of this form at Ega, on the trunk

of a tree.

5. Gymnocerus monachinus, White.

- Anisocerus monachinus, White, Cat. Long. Col. in Brit. Mus. ii. p. 406,

pl. 10. f.3

This magnificent species varies in size from 7} to 11 lines.

The fourth antennal joint is gradually and slightly dilated at the

apex, the third is simple. The ground-colour of the upper sur-

face in the ¢ is chalky white, in the 2 rose-red, the latter being

very bright during life. I found the species only within a radius

of twenty miles of Ega, on the Upper Amazons. At Nauta,

540 miles to the west of Ega, the species recurs in a modified

state ; the modification is one of colour only, but is remarkable

for its distinctness and its occurring in both sexes. The follow-

ing is a short description of it :—

Local var. A. Nautensis; 8 lines, ¢ ¢.

The white fascia of the elytra is very much broader ; the se-

cond black belt extends posteriorly along the suture, and the

tooth-shaped black streak near the apex is replaced by a distinct

isolated round spot.

I received one pair of this variety-from Nauta, on the banks

of the Upper Amazons, in Peru.

Genus OnycHocerws, Serv.

Serville, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. iv. 83.

Inthis genus the antenne have eleven joints in both sexes, but the

terminal joint is much thinner than the others, and claw-shaped.

In the males several of the apical joints are fringed beneath

with long hairs; the second joint in both sexes is remarkably

elongated. The sterna are in some species simple, and in others

tuberculated, showing that this character has no generic value ;

for this genus is one of the most natural of the whole tribe.

The tarsi of all the legs are strongly dilated ; the fore tarsi of the

males are more widely broadened than ‘the others, but they are

not fringed with long hairs. The ligula is elongated, not dilated

on the sides, but simply rounded; the two lobes approximate,

but are not united on their inner edges.

1. Onychocerus scorpio, Fabricius.

Lamia scorpio, Fabr. Mant. Ins. i. 131. 8.

» Fabr. Ent. Syst. 1. 11. 273. 26.

This well-known and common species is always found on the

trunk of a particular kind of wild fruit tree called by the natives

of the Amazon Valley. 455

of the Amazon region Tapiriba ; and the strange sculpture, shape,

and colours of the body and limbs of the insect give it a most

wonderfully exact resemblance to the bark. It is not possible to

distinguish the insect, although a very large one (sometimes an

inch long and a third of an inch broad), unless the tree is care-

fully examined. The tree is planted in fences very commonly in

and near towns, on account of its rapid growth, and the insect

accompanies it everywhere with the pertinacity of a parasite. It

sometimes swarms on felled logs of Tapiriba.

2. Onychocerus concentricus, ni. sp.

O. ovalis, postice paulo dilatatus, cinereo-fuscus: elytris multituber-

culatis, violaceo tinctis, lineis pallidioribus curvatis quasi concen-

tricis ornatis. Long. 7 lin. ¢ 2.

Head and antenne dull black. Thorax ashy brown, the sides

below the lateral tubercles black; the disk punctured and tri-

tuberculate. Elytra widest behind; the sides near the base

thickly granulate-punctate; the upper surface furnished with

about four rather distinct rows of large and small acute dusky

tubercles ; ashy brown, the disk tinged with purplish, with se-

veral rather indistinct curved belts alternately of a darker or

paler hue; the first is dark, and near the base on the outer side

of the centro-basal ridge; the second, pale, is exterior to the

first, and strongly curved outwards; the third, more distinct, of

a dark colour and strongly curved, touches the suture, and forms

a semicircular belt common to both elytra. The body beneath

and legs are black, and clothed with ashy-brown pile. The

three terminal joints of the antennz in the ¢ have a few hairs

beneath. The pro- and mesosterna are simple, the latter sloping

from the hind to the fore margin.

I found this species on one occasion only, in great plenty, on

a felled tree at Caripi, near Para. The colour and sculpture of

the insect gave it a deceptive resemblance to the bark on which

it adhered.

Genus XYLoTRIBUS, Serv.

Serville, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. iv. 80.

The antenne are short and mis-shapen ; the third and fourth

joints are dilated on one side at the tip, the fourth much more

broadly so than the third. The eleventh joint is long and slender

in the @, short and subuliform in the 2. The head is narrow

on the vertex, broadening below to the end of the muzzle, which

is elongated. The terminal joint of the palpi is obtusely trun-

cated at the tip. The ligula is short, slightly dilated in the

middle, and the lobes joined together along their whole length,

the two being conjointly and obtusely rounded at the apex.

32*

456 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorn Coleoptera

The prosternum is simple, the mesosternum short and bituber-

culated. The body is oblong and somewhat depressed. The

thorax is short, transverse, and the lateral tubercles are small.

The fore tarsi of the males are simple, and have only a slightly

denser fringe of hairs than those of the females.

This genus is very closely allied to Acanthotritus, White

(Cat. Long. Col. Brit. Mus.), and I think the latter might be

with great advantage united to it. It appears to have been

overlooked by Mr. White.

Xylotribus simulans, n. sp.

X, castaneo-rufus, thorace flavo trilineato: elytris pone basin minute

granulatis et flavo sparsim irroratis, fascia lata sericeo-brunnea

pone medium et prope apicem maculis oblongis carneis ornatis.

Long. 53 lin. 5 @.

Head dull red; front with four longitudinal yellow lines, the

two outermost running obliquely down the muzzle from beneath

the eyes. Antenne about the length of the body, shining dull

red. Thorax with two short transverse raised lines on the disk,

dull reddish, with three fine, interrupted, dorsal, yellow lines,

Elytra with the basal half minutely, densely, and evenly granu-

lated ; the colour of the surface is reddish brown, the basal half

sprinkled with small yellow specks of different sizes and shapes;

close behind the middle is a rather broad, silky, brown fascia,

not touching the suture, its fore margin dentate and speckled

with yellow ; behind the fascia are a few oblong flesh-coloured

spots, which are placed longitudinally at first, and then towards

the apex transversely.

The body beneath and legs are dull reddish; the fore coxee

and a few spots on the sides of the breast are yellow, and there

is a large, round, bright orange-yellow spot on each side of the

post-pectus ; the abdomen has on each side two rows of round

whitish spots.

I have adopted for this species the name under which it stands

in White’s Catalogue ; but it has not before been described. It

seems to be peculiar, like nearly the whole of the Anisocerine I

have here enumerated, to the Amazon region. I found it on the

Lower Amazons only, at Obydos, Santarem, and Paré. It occurs

on woody sipés or lianas, especially those which have been se-

vered with knives or axes, on the borders of new clearings. It

is Closely allied to the X. heterocerus of Serville, to which in fact

it should stand in the relation of a geographical form or race.

Genus Horristocervs, Blanch.

Blanchard, Voyage de D’Orbigny, Ins. p. 210 (not characterized).

The antenne in this remarkable genus are short and thick as

of the Amazon Valley. 457

in Xylotribus, and the eleventh joint in the ? is slender and claw-

shaped. The basal joint is thickened from the base; the second,

third and fourth are each produced at their tips into a very sharp

and rather long spine. The body is oblong and depressed ; the

thorax cylindrical and unarmed. The species are adorned with

brilliantly metallic colours. The terminal joints of the palpi are

gradually and sharply pointed. ;

Hoplistocerus gloriosus, n. sp.

H. castaneo-rufus, glaberrimus, antennis pedibusque violaceo-cupreis:

elytris alutaceis, confertim punctulatis, rubro-cupreis, vitta angusta

suturali apicem haud attingente, altera lata marginali viridi-cyaneis.

Long. 5 lin. 9?

Head and front tumid, very finely rugose-punctate ; occiput

and thorax marked with fine transverse striz. The cheeks have

a spot of brilliant green; the rest of the head and thorax is of a

dark-chestnut hue. The elytra are oblong, broadly rounded be-

hind, even on their surface, and uniformly punctured ; their colour

is red or orange-copper, with the exception of a narrow sutural

stripe not extending to the apex, and a broader marginal one,

which are of a greenish-blue lustre. The antennz and legs are

of a brilliant violet copper hue; the underside of the body is

chestnut-red, and, with the legs and the other portions of the

body, glabrous.

I took one individual only of this extraordinary and beautiful

Longicorn, flying over a mass of dried twigs in an open place

in the forest at Ega. It has a near resemblance to the Hoplis-

locerus refulgens of Blanchard (Voy. de D’Orbigny, Ins. p. 210,

pl. 22. f.9); but that species is described as having the body,

with head and thorax, of a green colour. D’Orbigny’s species

was taken in the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia),

which region is connected with the Ega district by an uninter-

rupted stretch of low wooded country over 14° of latitude. I

have seen several undescribed and distinct species of this genus

in the collections of Count Mniszech at Paris and Messrs, Bowring

and Pascoe in London.

Genus CycLopEerius, Thomson.

Thomson, Classif. des Cérambye. p. 32.

In this genus, which is still more extraordinary in form than

the preceding, the second and third antennal joints have an

elongated and very slender spine at their tips; but the fourth,

instead of being armed with a spine, is dilated on one side of

the apex into a large, thick, rounded knob, clothed with a vel-

vety pile. The antennz differ also from those of the preceding

two genera in being greatly elongated and slender, in the ¢

458 Mr. H. W. Bates on the Longicorns uf uke Amazon Vailey.

being twice the length of the body. The basal joint is very thin

at its origin, and is dilated beyond the middle into a pyriform

club ; in length it departs from the almost universal rule in the

subtribe Acanthoderitz by being as long as the third. The fore

tarsi in the ¢ are strongly dilated and fringed.

Cyclopeplus Batesii, Thomson.

Cyclopeplus Batesti, Thoms. Class. de Céramb. p. 32.

Ega, UpperAmazons, on dead branches on the margins of small

tobacco plantations in the forest. The form of the insect is quite

an exception to the prevailing character of the Longicorn family,

the elytra being excessively dilated—in fact, as near as possible

hemispherical in shape, instead of elongated as is the almost

universal rule. When I first met with it, I was deceived by its

great resemblance to a common insect of the family Eumorphide

(Corynomalus discoideus) which swarms at times on the same de-

caying branches of trees on which the Longicorn is found. It

is true the size is much larger than that of the Corynomalus, but

this is not noticed when they are zn situ. The very curious

black knob on the fourth antennal joint assists greatly to com-

plete the disguise ; for this mimics the terminal club of the an-

tenne of the Corynomalus; and as the remaining joints in the

Longicorn are very slender and imperceptible when the insect is

on the tree, the organs in motion resemble precisely those of the

Corynomalus. It is further remarkable that the Longicorn

mimics especially a pale variety of Corynomalus discoideus, which

is the prevailing form of the species at Ega.

A second species of this genus is known from Cayenne,—the

Cyclopeplus cyaneus (Thoms. J. c.). I do not know whether this

has its analogue in the same country, in a species of Coryno-

malus. Both species are excessively rare. The Anisocerine fur-

nish many instances of adaptive mimetic resemblances; and to

this peculiarity of the group is no doubt attributable the strange

divergences or aberrations of form which it contains. In addi-

tion to the clearer cases which I have noticed, there are others

not quite so evident. For instance, I think our Hoplistocerus is

the mimetic analogue of a species of Stenochia, a Heteromerous

genus, and the Acanthotritus dorsalis of South-east Brazil ap-

pears to resemble much a species of Hezlipus, belonging to the

family Curculionide. The Onychoceri, instead of mimicking

other insects, have deceptive resemblances to the bark of trees

on which they live. A tendency to mimetic resemblances seems

to run in certain groups; and these groups are remarkable for

the aberrations from their types in minor points of structure or

in facies, and for the rarity and diversity of the specific forms

which they contain.

[To be continued. }

Dr. Strahl on the Thalassine. 459

XLIX.— Supplement to a Memoir on the Thalassine*.

By Dr. Stranrf.

Amoncst the reasons cited by De Haan (‘Fauna Japonica,’ p. 160)

in favour of the union of the Astacoidea and the Thalassinoidea,

the relation of the simple branchia to the fifth pair of feet plays

a not unimportant part. He states that although the <Aséa-

coidea possess this single branchia, which is wanting in all Tha-

lassinoidea, the genus Astacus itself belongs by its species to

both sections, and effects the union. Subsequently, however,

Erichson divided the genus Astacus, employing for this purpose

especially the characters of the branchiz ; so that, by this division

into new genera, the separation of the Astacoidea and Thalas-

sinoidea might appear to be again established. The genera

Cambarus and Cheraps, which are destitute of the branchia on

the fifth pair of feet, and were therefore removed from the

genus Astacus, nevertheless approach more closely to Astacus

and its allies than to the Thalassinoidea. Cheraps even gives

up another character of the Astacoidea, namely, the appendages

on the first segment of the abdomen in the male sex, which

are likewise wanting in the genera Astacoides and Engeus, and

makes another step towards the Thalassinoidea; nevertheless

its relationship to Astacus and its allies is greater than to the

Thalassinoidea. The common characters of the genera grouping

themselves immediately about Astacus, besides the perfectly deve-

loped antennal scale (armiger and squama), are, that the first three

pairs of feet are didactyle, and the external lamina of the caudal

fin transversely divided ; the forehead bears a rostrum projecting

over the eyes, beneath which the latter are concealed whenever

the appearance of danger causes them to require protection.

Here belong the genera, Homarus, Nephrops, Paranephrops,

Astacus, Astacoides, Engaus, Cambarus, and Cheraps. I propose

to group these together as Astacina.

Glaucothoé and Asius are not to be placed here, although

they are stated to possess the antennal scale; at any rate, they

have fewer didactyle feet, and the outer lamina of the caudal fin

is entire. In describing Aaius plectrorhynchus, I have pointed

out the difficulty which existed in determining whether this spe-

cies does or does not possess a moveable scale. It now appears to

me doubtful whether Azius and Glaucothoé have a moveable scale,

because the existence of this belongs to the general character of

the Astacina, from which both these genera depart in several

respects ; and, indeed, they cannot even be referred to a common

* See ‘ Annals,’ May 1862, p. 383.

+ Translated by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from the ‘ Monatsber. der Akad.

der Wiss. zu Berlin,’ February 1862, p. 133.

460 Dr. Strahl on the Thalassine.

group, but must decidedly be separated, as I will immediately

show. Hitherto I have been unable to examine Azius sti-

rhynchus and Glaucothoé Peroni in connexion with the existence

or absence of the moveable scale. Should it prove that these

species possess only the armiger, Avxius and Calocaris would

probably have to be united ; for the latter has certainly no scale

(see the figure in Bell’s ‘ British Crustacea,’ p. 233), and the

other differences are not sufficient to support the division into

two separate genera.

That Gebia possesses no antennal scale is perfectly correct,

although Dana thinks that his G. pugettensis might possess a

scale. In G. barbata, described by me as new, the same struc-

ture, however, occurs ; and I have pointed out that, great as the

illusion may be, there is nothing but a fringe on the second

joint, which, moreover, also occurs in G. littoralis. I have even

seen a specimen of G. barbata, of which the left external antenna

exhibited the fringe uninjured, while on the right side the hairs

of the frmge were rubbed off, so that no one could be misled

into the assumption of a scale. In the same way probably the

fringe of G. hirtifrons, White, as figured by Dana, has been de-

stroyed, and the fringe belongs to the general generic character.

Consequently Gebia is throughout deéstitute of all trace of a

scale, and G. hirtifrons does not constitute the type of a series

of Gebie unfurnished with fringes.

The new genus 77rypea is represented by Dana as allied to

Calhanassa. The structure of the external maxillipeds and of

the five pairs of feet, and the configuration of the abdomen,

especially in regard to the appendages, certainly agree in the

two genera; but- the eye-peduncles are different. In Trypea,

according to Dana’s own drawing, these are cylindrical with a

terminal cornea; but he expresses an opinion that they may be

incorrect, as he could not make another comparison with nature.

However, a further distinction is furnished by the structure of

the outer antenna: as far as we can judge from Dana’s figure,

this has neither squama nor armiger. Consequently the gap

between Callianassa and Trypea would be greater than is stated

by Dana. A second species, 7. porcellana, has been described

by Kinahan (‘Journ. Roy. Soc. Dubl.’ i. p. 130, pl. 4. fig. 2),

but this is probably only a Callianassa ; for, to judge from the

figure, the flagella of the inner antenne are rather long, and

certainly longer than their third joint, which is in opposition to

Dana’s diagnosis; moreover he says of the eyes that they are

sessile, but from the figure it is clear that they present the pecu-

liar structure of Callianassa. The character of the external an-

tenn cannot be determined with certainty from the figure.

It is true that all Thalassinoidea have no branchie on the fifth

_ Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Coleoptera. 461

pair of feet, and that the outer lamina of the caudal fin is entire ;

nevertheless, even here two perfectly different forms occur, for

which the characteristic, distinguishing points of organization

have yet to be ascertained. In many the first two pairs of feet

are cheliferous, namely, Axius, Calocaris, Callianassa, Trypea,

Scytoleptus, Callianidea, and Callisea; the others, Glaucothoé,

Calliadne, Laomedia, Gebia, and Thalassina, have only the first

pair of feet cheliferous, and these in the last two genera are even

subcheliform. Taking into consideration the character of the

outer antenna, Calocaris, Callianassa, and Thalassina may be

united, as possessing only the armiger; Axius and Glaucothoé

also probably belong here. There then remain Scytoleptus,

Laomedia, Calliadne, Trypea, Gebia, Callianidea, and Callisea,

which possess neither squama nor armiger.

Neither the characters of the cheliferous feet nor those of the

external antennz, however, unite the genera most nearly allied

in their external conformation ; but the relation of the pedun-

culated eyes to the forehead and its process furnishes a more

accordant division. In Aaius, Calocaris, Gebia, Scytoleptus,

Laomedia, and Calliadne, the forehead projects beyond the eyes ;

and the latter can be concealed under it, as in the Astacina.

We name this group Gebiina. The others, namely, Glaucothoé,

Callianassa, Thalassina, Trypea, Callianidea, and Callisea, have

no such projecting forehead, and their eyes lie free in front of it.

This latter group we may name Thalassinina.

The Astacida, consequently, split up into Astacina, Gebina,

and Thalassinina.

L.—On some new Coleoptera from Lizard Island, North-eastern

Australha. By Francis P. Pascon, F.L.S. &e.

Lizarp Istanp is one of the group forming the Great Barrier

Reef on the north-east coast of Australia, in (about) 14° S. lat.,

145° EK. long. ; but it is so small that its name is only to be found

on the larger maps. Calculating in a rough way, it may be

about 200 miles south and a little east of Cape York, the northern

extremity of the continent.

The collection which is the subject of this paper was formed

by Mr. Macgillivray, and is a small one, so far as the number of

species is concerned; but if, as is probable, it was obtained

during the casual stay of his ship for water or wood (perhaps

only a few hours), the 700 specimens (mostly Coleoptera) which

it contains indicate a greater amount of imsect life than could

have been anticipated. Of course a collection so formed cannot

justify us in drawing any very definite conclusions ; but it is

462 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Coleoptera

because of its proximity to Torres Strait, which divides the

Neso-Indian from the Australian province—so far, at least, as

the Coleoptera are concerned—that we welcome anything which

may add to our scanty knowledge of the productions of its two

shores.

Contrary to what might have been expected, there was almost

a complete absence of Neso-Indian forms: a Lomaptera and a

Chariotheca, which has now for the first time to be added to the

Australian list, were, I believe, the only ones. On the other

hand, there was a total, or nearly total, absence of the commonest

Australian genera, e. g., Castiarina, Temognatha, Lamprima, Ano-

plognathus and the Lamellicornia generally, Belus, Phoracantha

(one specimen), Saragus, Amycterus, &c.,—thus showing a ten-

dency towards the Neso-Indian province, where those genera are

unknown, or, as in the case of Phoracantha, only represented by

a single species.

So far as our knowledge at present extends, everything points

to the conclusion that the peculiar forms of the Australian fauna

have their maximum in the temperate portion of the continent,

and that there is evidence of their dying out or becoming less

abundant as they approach the north. What is the proportion

of the Neso-Indian forms which may be expected to occur in

tropical Australia remains to be seen.

The species which I have selected for description are among

the most interesting novelties of the collection.

Fam. Cicindelidz.

- Distipsidera Grutia.

wD. nigro-chalybea ; labro nigro, medio albo; elytris transversim

rugulosis, purpureis, maculis quinque albis ornatis.

Dark chalybeate blue, shining ; head concave in front, longi-

tudinally striated near the eyes; lip black, with a broad longi-

tudinal white stripe in the centre; antennz brown; palpi black,

second and third joints of the labial yellowish white; prothorax

finely punctured, constricted anteriorly and posteriorly, bulging

at the sides, canaliculate in the middle; elytra transversely

plicato-punctate, the apex entire, two smooth yellowish-white

spots at the base, behind these a sublunate patch, and a little

behind the middle two more, one of which is marginal; body

beneath dark chalybeate blue; legs black, with a few white

setose hairs, the four anterior pair with the base of the femora

and the two posterior trochanters yellow. Length 7-8 lines.

I have dedicated this elegant species to my friend Ferdinand

Grut, Esq., whose devotion to the Geodephagous families of the

Coleoptera is well known to entomologists.

from Lizard Island, North-eastern Australia. 463

Fam. Helopide.

Omolipus socius.

O. ater, nitidus ; elytris seriato-punctatis, his prothoracis basi latiori-

bus; antennis tarsisque concoloribus.

Deep glossy black; head and prothorax very minutely punc-

tured; elytra rather broader than the prothorax at the base,

each with about nine rows of deeply-impressed, rather distant

punctures, those of the two nearest the suture smaller; antennze

and legs black, shining ; tibize at the base and tarsi clothed with

fulvous hairs. Length 5 lines.

Nearly allied to Omolipus corvus, Pasc. (Journ. of Entomol. i.

p- 127), but with the prothorax broader and less contracted at

the base, yet narrower than the base of the elytra, the humeral

angles more obvious, and the punctures less deeply impressed,

especially on the two sutural rows; the antenne and tarsi are

also destitute of the brownish hue of the former species.

Chariotheca amaroides.

C. latiuscula, atra; prothorace subquadrato, lateribus marginatis ;

elytris ovatis, cupreis.

Rather broad and robust for this genus, smooth, glossy black;

head with a few coarse punctures between the eyes; lip nearly

hidden ; antennze scarcely longer than the breadth of the head ;

prothorax very minutely punctured, transversely subquadrate,

narrowly margined, the sides rounded anteriorly, but curving

inwards towards the base ; elytra ovate, seriato-punctate, copper-

brown (but under the lens they are seen to be mottled with

metallic green) ; legs and body beneath glossy black. Length

6 lines.

In its form this Helopian resembles some species of Amara or

Zabrus ; except that the upper lip is less exposed, I see nothing

to distinguish it from Chariotheca.

Tragocerus formosus.

T. flavo-luteus, pilis brevibus suberectis vestitus; elytris fasciatis,

singulatim tricarinatis, carina suturali abbreviata, apice sinuatis.

Luteous, covered with short, coarse, nearly erect hairs ; head

with a short impressed line between the eyes; antenne about

half the length of the body, covered with a fulvous pile; pro-

thorax unarmed, slightly narrowed in front, curved inwards at

the side near the base, the disk dark glossy brown, surrounded

by coarse fulvous hairs; scutellum triangular, smooth, dark

brown ; elytra elongate, each with three prominent carine, the

outer extending from the base to the apex, the second nearly as

long, the inner one only about half the length, the apex sinuated,

464 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Coleoptera

not spined nor angulated, the base dark brown, a pale-yellowish

band in the middle, preceded by a narrow and followed by a very

broad dark-brown band, beyond this to the apex bright fulvous

yellow ; legs luteous, pubescent; body beneath dark shining

brown, the propectus and margin of the abdominal segments

hairy, fulvous. Length 12-13 lines.

A very distinct and handsome species, approaching most

nearly in its coloration to Tragocerus Spencei, Hope.

Fam. Lamiide.

Symphyletes vetustus.

S. dense griseo pubescens, luteo alboque varius; prothorace tuber-

culato; elytris basi granulatis, apice subtruncatis, externe emar-

ginatis, plaga laterali fasciaque dentata pone medium albidis.

Closely covered with a dark-greyish pile, varied with fulvous

and white; head canaliculate m front ; antenne ciliated beneath ;

prothorax transverse, irregularly tuberculate ; elytra much wider

than the prothorax at the base, the shoulders produced, the

sides gradually receding to the apex, which is nearly truncate,

with the outer angle slightly emarginate, finely punctured, the

base with a few black shining granules, a large patch at the side

and an oblique irregular band behind the middle white, which

also, like the rest of the elytra, are spotted with fulvous; legs

brown, varied with fulvous; body beneath hairy, brownish grey.

Length 12 lines.

Differs from Symphyletes sodalis in its denser pubescence, the

fascia on the elytra nearer the middle, the patch at the side

more band-like, and the apex subtruncate and slightly emar-

ginate externally.

Niphona trata.

N. hirsuta, pube grisea fusco varia; elytris parce fortiterque punc-

tatis, fascia obliqua pone medium suturam non attingente dilutiore.

Pitchy black, covered with a coarse greyish pile, beset with

numerous short stiff pale hairs, and clouded with brown, the

upper surface coarsely and remotely punctured ; head not canali-

culate in front; antenne shorter than the body, all the joints,

from the fifth inclusive, white at the base; prothorax nearly

regular, with a short lateral tooth anteriorly ; elytra rather short,

broadest at the base, gradually narrowing posteriorly, the apex

rounded, behind the middle an oblique whitish band not reach-

ing the suture; legs greyish, more or less ringed with brown ;

body beneath dull grey, spotted with brown. Length 5 lines,

Near N. insularis, but narrower, much more strongly punc-

tured, with a thicker and coarser pile, and without the fulvous

tint of that species.

from Lizard Island, North-eastern Australia. 4.65

Zygocera luctuosa.

Z. albo pubescens, maculis fasciisque atris ornata; scutello postice et

ad latera rotundato ; elytris basi cristato-plumosis.

Black, closely covered with a somewhat ashy-white pile, banded

and spotted with black; head white, with two black stripes in

front and one beneath each eye, and two black spots on the

vertex; antennze black, the intermediate joints white at the

base ; prothorax transverse, the lateral spine behind the middle,

the disk not tuberculate, white, with three black bands; scutel-

lum white, rounded at the sides and behind; elytra subtrigonate,

the shoulders produced, the base gibbous, bearing a narrow

crest, which is crowned with short erect hairs, the posterior half

with a single carina, which terminates in the apical spine, base

black, except a white spot above the shoulder, the disk with

a few black spots, in the centre of each of which is a round

smooth puncture, posteriorly two black irregular bands; legs

pubescent, white, banded with black ; body beneath glossy black,

with patches of white hairs, particularly on the sides of the ab-

dominal segments and sterna. Length 5 lines.

A beautiful species, allied to Zygocera plumifera, but readily

distinguished (inter alia) by its colour, form of scutellum and

prothorax.

Meton tropicus.

M. nigro-piceus, parce grisescente pubescens; prothorace trans-

versim subquadrato, ad latera granulato et spina minuta instructo ;

elytris postice albo fasciatis,

Pitchy black, rather sparsely covered with short greyish hairs;

antennee scarcely longer than the body, black, with all the joints,

except the basal, covered with a greyish pile; prothorax trans-

versely subquadrate, with a pale-greyish stripe in the middle,

the sides darker, inclining to brown, and furnished with nu-

merous black shining granules, lateral tooth small; scutellum

transverse, pale grey ; elytra broadest at the shoulder, gradually

receding to the apex, tuberous or crested at the base, the crest

together with the basal half of the elytra with several glossy

black granules, the posterior half pale brown, with a transverse

white band, a little bent near the suture, towards the apex ; legs

pubescent, greyish; body beneath pitchy, with a greyish pile.

Length 6 lines.

This species is more nearly allied to the Aru Meton granulicollis

than to the Australian Meton Digglesii, agreeing with the former

in the style of coioration, the granulated prothorax, with its small

lateral tooth and the narrower elytra, but differing in the broader

and shorter prothorax, more trigonate elytra, the nearly trans-

verse posterior band, and more ashy hue. Meton has been re-

466 Mr. F. P. Pascoe on some new Coleoptera.

cently characterized in the ‘Journal of Entomology,’ 1. p. 342 ;

but the descriptions of the two species mentioned above will be

found in the ‘ Transactions of the Entomological Society,’ ser. 2.

vol. v. pp. 42 & 59.

Mycerinus* aridus.

M. angustulus, rufo-testaceus, totus pube griseo-alba tectus ; anten-

narum articulis tertiis quartisque equalibus.

Somewhat narrow, reddish brown, everywhere covered with a

thin greyish-white pile; head slightly canaliculate im front ;

antenne as long as the body, ciliated beneath, the third and

fourth joints equal; prothorax scarcely longer than broad, nar-

rower anteriorly, with a central raised line ; scutellum transverse ;

elytra subparallel, slightly punctured at the base, rounded at

each apex; legs sparsely pubescent; body beneath with the pile

somewhat coarser. Length 6 lines.

Very like the Senegal Mycerinus dorcadioides, but narrower and

unicolorous, although the elytra show faint traces of two stripes,

caused, however, by a greater thinness of pubescence.

From Aneiteum, one of the New Hebrides, Mr. Macgillivray

has also sent a remarkable form, belonging to the family Anthri-

bidee, which I have described below under the name of Bytho-

protus lineatus. But for its antenne and long fore legs, it might

be taken at the first glance for a specimen of the Macrodactylus

flavolineatus, Guér., one of the Melolonthide and a native of

Venezuela. In regard to the immense space which separates the

two insects, no explanation on the “struggle-for-life” hypothesis,

causing the one to mimic some other form more powerful or less

subject to destruction than itself, seems applicable here. The

specimen described is in the collection of the British Museum,

and appears to be a male; but of this I am not quite sure.

Fam. Anthribide.

BytTHOPROTUS.

Caput exsertum, subconicum, oculis rotundatis, integris. Rostrum

subelongatum, bicarinatum, apice emarginatum. _ Antenne (in fovea

insertz) longiusculee, compressee, articulis sulcatis, clava brevi, vix

crassiore. Prothorax subelongatus, lateribus rotundatis, antice an-

gustior, carina subbasali ad latera continuata. Pedes elongati, antice

longiores, tarsorum articulo primo longissimo. Prosternum elevatum,

postice productum.

This remarkable genus belongs to Schénherr’s second sub-

division of the Anthribide; but at present it would be difficult

to say what are its precise affinities. In contour, perhaps, it

* Hathlia (Dej.).

Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes. 467

approaches most nearly to Ectatotarsus. No doubt many new

and intermediate forms remain to be brought to light from

among the numerous islands of the Pacific, few of which have

as yet been visited by the naturalist, but every one of them

probably having its own endemic species *.

Bythoprotus lineatus.

B. niger, subnitidus, albo lineatus; prothorace corrugato, metallico-

viridi; elytris basi albo maculatis.

Black, slightly shining, with remotely scattered, greyish-white,

squamulose hairs, occasionally collected together and forming

lines; head closely punctured, a line over each eye, and another in

front ; antenne compressed, shorter than the body, inserted in

a large deep fovea, the basal joint short, ventricose, the second

about the same length, obconical, the third three times, the rest

to the eighth twice the length of the second, and all, except the

basal, fluted on both sides, the last three together not longer

than the third, and scarcely thicker than the rest; prothorax

very slightly convex, finely corrugated transversely, dull metallic

green, with five narrow longitudinal lines; scutellum small;

elytra nearly covering the abdomen, rather short, broadest at

the shoulders, the sides rounded, a large white spot at the base,

and six lines on each, which are united at the apex; legs black,

claws deeply bifid; body beneath smooth, glossy greenish black,

last abdominal segment with a strong tooth on each side; pro-

and mesosterna elevated, continuous. Length 9 lines.

LI.—A Catalogue of the Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall. By the Rev. Tuomas Hincxs, B.A.

{Continued from p. 310.]

[Plate XVI]

Fam. Diastoporide, Busk.

1. Diastorora, Lamouroux.

D. obelia, Fleming.

Very common, on shells, &c., from moderate depths and from

deep water.

* M. le pére Montrouzier, a French missionary, has been for some time

sending collections from some of these islands—Woodlark, Lifu, Balade,

Art, &c.—to Paris, and they are being published in the ‘ Annales’ of the

French Entomological Society. They appear to be, almost without ex-

ception, new to science,

468 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

2. PaTInELLA, Gray.

P. patina, Lamarck.

Very common, on shells, stones, &c., from moderate depths

to 40 fathoms.

From Torbay and from deep water off the Cornish coast, I

have very beautiful specimens, which are proliferous in habit,

bearing the young on the margin of the cup. In one case as

many as five are present, occupying the greater portion of the

edge of the disk. A similar condition is met with in the P. pro-

ligera of Mr. Busk’s ‘Monograph on the Crag Polyzoa,’ and

may prove to be common throughout the genus. It has never

come under my observation, however, except in the case of the

specimens to which I have referred, nor have I met with any

account of its occurrence in a recent species. The cup in this

proliferous form is deep and funnel-shaped, and stands erect,

being attached by only a small portion of the base. The young

are developed on the cellular border, just within the basal

lamina.

Dr. Johnston states that the cells of this species have “a plain

circular aperture.” But both the upper and lower margins are

frequently produced into a strong mucro, the orifice appearmg

bifid when viewed sideways.

3. DiscoporELia, Gray.

D. flosculus, nu. sp. Pl. XVI. fig.

Polyzoary discoid, bordered with a thin margin; cells much

raised, with a strong mucro on the upper edge, united toge-

ther in regularly radiating rows, alternately longer and shorter,

which are separated by reticulated spaces; the centre of the

disk a depressed area, reticulated, with two or three large

oblong openings placed near the edge of it.

Not common, on weed and shell: Brixham; Salcombe Bay.

The polyzoary forms a circular convex disk, about 4 inch, or

rather more, in diameter, resting on a thin base, which is adnate

throughout ; the entire surface is reticulated. The cell-tubes

are much raised, and united together in radiating rows, with

reticulated grooves between them. The uppermost cell-tubes

are the longest, and they gradually diminish in height as they

approach the margin. The rows of cells are alternately longer

and shorter, the former radiating from the border of the central

area to the margin of the disk, the others extending only about

half the distance. The upper edge of the cells is strongly mucro-

nate. At the top of the polyzoary there is a somewhat concave

area, closely reticulated, and with a variable number (generally

of South Devon and South Cornwall. 469

three) of oblong orifices, with raised margin, the nature of which

I have had no opportunity of determining.

I was at one time inclined to regard the first of the varieties

of Tubulipora hispida described by Johnston (p. 269) as identical

with the Discoporella flosculus ; but I am now convinced that he

had in view the early state of Heteroporella hispida, which is at

first a simple subconical disk, somewhat “ dimpled” at the centre,

with radiating rows of cells, which are but little elevated, and

are “ closely compacted near the circumference.” The large adult

specimens seem to be formed by successive buddings from the

margin, the cluster of disks thus produced gradually coalescing

so as to constitute a composite structure, with many papillary

prominences studding the surface.

In D. flosculus the polyzoary is always simple, circular in

shape, and of small size.

[Coast of Labrador, on weed.]}

4, Heteropore.ta, Busk.

H. hispida, Fleming.

Discopora hispida, Fleming, Brit. Anim. 530.

Tubulipora hispida, Johnston, Brit. Zooph. 268, pl. 47. figs. 9, 10, 11.

Discopora hispida, Couch, Cornish Fauna, 109, pl. 19. fig. 1.

?Heteroporella radiata, Busk, Crag Polyzoa, 127, pl. 19. fig. 2.

Very abundant on stones, shells, &c., from moderate depths

to deep water (60 fathoms).

The Discopora hispida of Fleming, a very common British

species, must be assigned to the Heteroporella of Busk, a genus

lately constituted for the reception of two Crag forms, which

agree with the Heteropora of De Blainville in having “ openings

of two distinct kinds” on the surface, but differ from it in being

adnate and incrusting, instead of erect. One of these fossil

species, the H. radiata, appears to be identical with the present

_form. The mouths of its cell-tubes, indeed, are described as

“simple and even with the surface,’ whereas in H. hispida they

are raised and spinous in the perfect state. But even in recent

specimens the erect portions are often wanting, and the surface

is uniformly porous.

Dr. Johnston has described two varieties of his Tubulipora his-

pida, which are only, I believe, the young and adult states of the

Discopora hispida of Fleming. His figures (pl. 47. figs. 9, 10,

11) are indifferent representations of this form.

The Discopora hispida of Couch’s ‘Cornish Fauna’ is also

Fleming’s species.

I am indebted to Mr. Holdsworth for drawing my attention

to the fact that it belongs to the genus Heteroporella.

H., hispida often attains a very considerable size. A specimen

Ann. & May. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 33

470 Rey. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

from deep water off the Cornish coast measures more than

14 inch in circumference, and is covered with about thirty of

the little “papillary eminences” which are so characteristic of

the species. The intercellular pores present the pretty stellate

appearance which Mr, Busk has noticed in Heteropora clavata.

[Isle of Man; Rothesay Bay, mouth of the Clyde; Shet-

land, &c.] .

Fam. Crisiade.

1. Crista, Lamouroux,

1. C. eburnea, Linneus.

Common. °

2. C. denticulata, Lamarck.

Very common: abundant in Saleombe Bay, &c.

2. Cristp1a, Milne-Edwards.

C. cornuta, Linneus.

Common in Devon; Cornwall (Couch).

The only Crisidia which I have met with is the form in which

the spine springs from the side of the cell beneath the aperture.

This is the C. setacea of Couch, but is probably only a variety of

the C. cornuta.

Suborder Ctenostomata, Busk.

Fam. Alcyonidiade.

_ 1. Atcyonrpium, Lamouroux.

1. A. gelatinosum, Pallas.

Salcombe Bay, Devon; Cornwall, “on shells and stones from

deep water; not rare on the south and south-west coast”

(Couch).

2. A. hirsutum, Fleming.

Common between tide-marks. This species attains a large

size on the South-Devon coast, forming very beautiful palmate

masses, variously lobed.

In its crustaceous state, it is the Cycloum papillosum of

Hassall.

3. A. parasiticum, Fleming.

Not éommon: Salcombe Bay; Cornwall.

4, A. hexagonum, Hincks.

Very common, on stones, weed, &c., between tide-marks, and

also from moderate depths.

of South Devon and South Cornwall. 471

5. A. polyoum, Hassall.

Torbay, between tide-marks, encrusting shells of Trochus

cinereus.

The form here intended, which I believe to be distinct from A.

hexagonum, seems to agree with the Sarcochitum polyoum of

Hassall. There is no sufficient ground for separating it from

the genus Alcyonidium.

2. ARACHNIDIA, nov. gen.

Polyzoary membranaceous, forming a delicate network ; cells

separate, distant, adnate, connected by a creeping, anastomosing

fibre.

A. hippothooides, nu. sp. Pl. XVI. fig. 2.

Cells lozenge-shaped, or rudely fusiform, of a light horn-colour,

with fibrous processes round the margin; orifice near the

upper extremity of the cell.

On shell, Torbay.

The Arachnidia may be regarded as an Alcyonidium with its

cells detached from one another, and held together by a delicate

thread, instead of being immersed in a fleshy crust. Occasion-

ally the cells are massed together, but usually they are separated

by considerable intervals, and connected by a fibre which passes

off from the two extremities and from about the middle of eachside.

The habit of the Hippothoa is curiously imitated by this species.

The form of the cells is somewhat irregular, and the fibrous

processes round the margin are not easily detected, unless the

specimen can be viewed with transmitted light. When the

Arachnidia spreads over the surface of a shell, it is almost impos-

sible to make them out.

[On a Cyprina, dredged off the Isle of Man (7. H.); on shell

and the test of an Ascidian, Lulworth Cove (Mr. Alder).]

Fam. Vesiculariade.

1. Vestcutaria, J. V. Thompson.

V. spinosa, Linn.

Not uncommon amongst the Brixham trawl-stuff; “deep

water off the Deadman, rare” (Couch).

[Filey, Yorkshire; Lytham, Lancashire; Llandudno, North

Wales. |

2. Amatuta, Lamouroux,

A, lendigera, Linn.

Very common: in great luxuriance on Halidrys siliquosa,

under the rocky shores of Salcombe Bay, &e,

30%

472 Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes

3. Busxra, Alder.

B. nitens, Alder.

Dredged in Salcombe Bay, on Calicella dumosa.

[Filey, Yorkshire; Llandudno, North Wales. ]

4, VaLKERIA, Fleming.

1. V. Cuscuta, Linn.

Not uncommon, in fide-pools, on Coralline and weed; Tor-

quay ; near Plymouth, of remarkable size and beauty, &e.

[Llandudno, on Halidrys; Filey; Ramsay, Isle of Man.]

2. V. Uva, Linn.

Common, under stones, on Corallines, Sertularia pumila, &e.,

between tide-marks.

3. V. pustulosa, Ellis & Solander.

Dredged abundantly in Salcombe Bay; ‘“ Fowey Harbour,

and off Goran, Cornwall, very rare”? (Peach).

This species grows in dense arborescent masses, and some-

times attains the height of 4 inches.

[Llandudno, North Wales; Filey.]

4. V.tremula,n. sp. Pl. XII. fig. 9.

Stem creeping; cells elongate, tapering to a point below, very

small and slender.

Saleombe Bay, on Flustra chartacea.

This is a very minute species. It may be known at once by

its delicate tapering cells, which terminate in a point below.

They seem to be very slightly attached to the creeping stem,

and droop a little to one side when the polypide retracts itself.

I have met with what I take to be the same species on shell

dredged off the Isle of Man.

5. Mimose1xa, Hincks.

M. gracilis, Hincks. Pl. XVI. fig. 1.

Not rare in the Laminarian zone, always on Halidrys sili-

quosa: Salcombe Bay; Torbay, under Berry Head; Plymouth ;

* Polperro and Goran” (Couch).

In the original description of this beautiful species (‘ Annals’

for November 1851) I have stated that the polypides are fur-

nished with a gizzard. I'rom subsequent observation, however,

I am inclined to doubt whether this is the case or not. The

_ point must be reserved for future determination.

The description and figure of Valkeria Cuscuta in ‘The Cornish

- of South Devon and South Cornwall. 473

Fauna’ must be referred to the Mimosella. Mr. Couch himself

remarks upon the discrepancies between his own account of this

species and those given by Ellis, Fleming, Thompson, and

Johnston, and says of the form which he had in view, “If we

suppose their descriptions to have been taken from injured spe-

cimens, this in a similar condition closely resembles them ;

otherwise it must be considered a new species.” He does not

notice the mobility of the cells, or their biserial arrangement;

but the characters which he gives are those of the Mimosella,

and not of the Valkeria. His figure also is evidently intended to

represent the former.

In Dr. Johnston’s collection, now deposited in the British

Museum, there are specimens of the Mimosella which he had

received from Mrs. Griffiths, ranked under Valkeria Cuscuta.

Mimosella gracilis grows in tangled masses on the Halidrys.

6, BowrerBank1A, Farre,

B. imbricata, Adams.

Both forms occur—the densa of Farre, and the erect and

branched variety, which Mr. Alder is inclined to consider speci-

fically distinct. The former is met with abundantly in tide-

pools, growing in small tufts on the stems of Corallina officinalis,

and creeping over the under surface of stones between tide-

marks. ‘The latter is also littoral, and is sometimes as much as

3 inches in height. In colonies of the variety densa, cells are

commonly found, laden with large yellow ova, one or two being

present in each. In such cases the polypides have always dis-

appeared, the eggs about filling the interior,

7. AVENELLA, Dalyell.

1. A. gigantea, Busk.

Farrella gigantea, Busk, Mic. Journ. vol. iv. p. 93, pl. 5. fig. 2.

Salcombe Bay, profusely investing Salicornaria farciminoides,

The specimens are inferior in size to Mr. Busk’s from Tenby,

but otherwise agree exactly with his description.

2, A. dilatata, Hincks, Microsc. Journ. vol. viii. p. 279,

pl. 30. fig. 7,

On Flustra, probably not uncommon.

There has been much confusion about the species of Avenella.

The form here intended is a common parasite of various kinds

of Flustra. I have it also spreading over shells dredged off the

Isle of Man. In the latter habitat, the spinous expansions of

the creeping fibre, which constitute a striking character, are

well displayed; but on the Flustra they are detected with diffi-

Ai7 4, Rev. T. Hincks’s Catalogue of Zoophytes.

culty. The cells, however, are sufficiently well marked. They

are stout, sessile, of equal size throughout, somewhat quadran-

gular, opake, and of a very dark-brown colour when dried. This

seems to be the form which Mr. Alder has identified with the

Avenella fusca of Dalyell (Northumberland Catal. p. 69). The

latter, however, I have no doubt, is a distinct species. Its cells

are smaller and more slender, with a tendency to assume a bent

form. They taper slightly both towards the base and the upper

extremity ; and the opacity is due to a peculiar constitution of

the ectocyst, resembling that which Mr. Busk has described in

the case of Furrella gigantea (Microscop. Journ. vol. iv. p. 93).

The creeping fibre is also perfectly simple. I have specimens

from Professor Wyville Thomson, which agree in all respects

with Sir John Dalyell’s figure.

Avenella gigantea differs from the A. fusca im size and in the

shape of the cell.

Mr. Busk unites. Avenella with Farrella. But perhaps the

species with sessile and opake cells and numerous tentacles

are entitled to distinct generic rank.

Order PHYLACTOLEZMATA, Allman.

Suborder Pedicellinea, Gervais.

Fam. Pedicellinide.

PEDICELLINA, Sars.

1. P. echinata, Sars.

Very common : between tide-marks ; on Vesicularia from the

Brixham trawl-stuff, &c.

2. P. Belgica, Van Beneden.

Exmouth, on weed in rock-pools.

[Filey, between tide-marks ; Llandudno. |

3. P. gracilis, Sars.

Common: under stones, Salcombe ; Torbay (8 fathoms), &c.

[Lamlash Bay; Filey; Llandudno; Ramsay, Isle of Man.]

Suborder Lophopea, Allman.

Fam. Plumatellide, Allman.

PiuMaTELLA, Lamarck.

P. repens, Linn.

Stoke, near Plymouth.

I have not had the opportunity of investigating the freshwater

Polyzoa of Devon and Cornwall; and none are included in

On the Supposed Bilateral Symmetry of the Ctenophora. 475

Couch’s ‘Cornish Fauna’ but the Fredericella Sultana, which

has been found near Penzance. There can be little doubt, how-

ever, that many of the species might be discovered by careful

examination.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVI.

Fig. 1. Mimosella gracilis, Hincks, nat. size.

Fig. 2. Arachnidia hippothooides, n.sp.,magnified : 2a, a single cell, more

highly magnitied.

Fig. 3. Discoporella flosculus, u. sp., nat. size and magnified : 3a, side view

of cells; 30, one of the tubular orifices in the centre of the disk.

LI.— On the supposed Bilateral Symmetry of the Ctenophora.

By Fritz Mtiurr*.

In radiate animals we can distinguish only the front from the

back, or the top from the bottom; in bilateral animals we can

stmultaneously distinguish the front from the back, and the top

from the bottom. Radiate animals are divisible into symmetrical

parts through as many planes as there are rays present ; bilateral

ones only into symmetrical halves through a single plane: ra-

diate animals have an axis at the intersection of the above planes;

bilateral ones only the median plane, and no axis. In radiate

animals only the parts situated in the axis can be present singly;

all the parts in the middle and on the borders of the rays are

repeated to the number of the rays, all the other parts to twice

this number. In bilateral animals all parts situated in the me-

dian plane may occur singly, and all parts out of this plane exist

in pairs.

If the divisional planes of the rays be allowed to turn round

the axis, retaining their relative position, the animal will con-

stantly be cut into congruent parts; bilateral animals are not

divisible into congruent parts. ach individual ray of a radiate

animal is bilaterally symmetrical ; bilateral animals are not divi-

sible by planes parallel to their longitudinal direction into frag-

ments which are again bilaterally symmetrical.

When the rays are in pairs, therefore, in 2-, 4-, or 6-rayed.

animals, every plane passing through the axis cuts the body into

congruent halves, and each of these sections is again cut through

the axis into congruent halves. Bilateral animals (as also Ra-.

diata with an uneven number of rays) are not divisible into.

congruent halves; a right half cannot be replaced by a left one,

nor can an entire animal be made out of two right halves of,

congruent animals. If, on the other hand, two even-rayed ani-

mals were cut in the same way into congruent halves, any two

* Translated by W.S. Dallas, F.L.S., from Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1861.

476 nt M. F. Miller on the supposed -

of these four halves might at pleasure be united to form a com-

plete animal.

_ Every plane carried through the middle of a ray, as also every

divisional plane between two rays, divides even-rayed animals

into bilaterally arranged halves. The halves of a bilateral ani-

mal, considered separately, are no longer bilaterally arranged.

The series of these characters which separate sharply and

abruptly the radiate from the bilateral arrangement of the animal

body might readily be carried much further. I break it off

here; for already I hear the question, What is the use of this

idle enumeration of self-evident differences between things which

no one can confound together? Is it not sufficient to have seen

a starfish by the side of a crab, or even merely to hear the de-

nominations radiate and bilateral, to prevent our ever doubting

which of the two modes of arrangement we have before us?

This may be supposed, but evidence to the contrary is furnished,

amongst other things, by the Ctenophora. According to all

the characters adduced, and however the idea may be other-

wise analyzed mathematically, they appear to be radiate and,

indeed, biradiate animals, and exhibit this structure stamped in

the most perfect regularity and most rigidly followed throughout,

without the slightest trace of a transition to bilateral arrange-

ment; and yet the prevailing opinion of the day appears to be

in opposition to this. Burmeister expresses himself with cau-

tious doubt :—‘ The Ctenophora appear to be constructed upon

both types, yet a regular oval form predominates*.” Others

regard them positively as “ bilaterally symmetrical animals,” or

as a transition-form “from the radiate type to the bilaterally

symmetrical.” These are the views of Agassiz}, Vogt, and

Gegenbaur. The weighty suffrages of such opponents urged

me to a somewhat detailed exposition of the subject, in itself cer-

tainly extremely simple. With this exposition of the differences

between radiate and bilateral animals my evidence in favour of

the position of the Ctenophora among the former is already given.

It remains for me to discuss the reasons for the opposite opinion,

which, unfortunately, I cannot find brought imto connexion in

any work accessible to me.

The first inducement to regard the Ctenophora as bilateral

animals, or as intermediate between these and radiate animals,

has probably been furnished by “the laterally compressed”

form of the body of many species, and especially the greatly

elongated ribbon-like form of Cestum, in which Vogt finds the

“symmetrical type” most distinctly displayed, and Gegenbaur

considers that “the bilateral symmetry attains its culminating

* Geschichte der Schopfung, 6. Aufl. p. 330.

j According to the ‘ Jahresberichte’ of V. Carus and Leuckart.

Bilateral Symmetry of the Ctenophora, 477.

point.” If this remarkable form of the Cestum Veneris might:

furnish the inducement to a new investigation of its right to

stand as a radiate animal, it cannot, however, be made available

as evidence to the contrary, any more than the globular form of

a rolled-up Spheroma can exclude that animal from the bilateral

series. If the Ctenophora be regarded as biradiate animals, this

ribbon-like form, moreover, loses all its remarkableness ; Cestum

then places itself in the neighbourhood of the Cydippe with a

circular transverse section, in exactly the same way as the long-

rayed Asteriade and Ophiure take their place in the neighbour-

hood of the globular Echinus.

A second reason for the assumption of a “ bilateral symmetry ”

appears to have been furnished by the duality of various parts,

such as the orifices of the funnel, the oral lobes, the gastric ves-

sels, tentacular filaments, &c. ‘ Even in the otherwise radiately

constructed Beroés”? Gegenbaur finds “the bilateral symmetry

indicated” in the two orifices of the funnel*, and supposes the

two tentacular filaments of Cydippe to be arranged “in accord-

ance with bilateral symmetry+.” It is true that most of the

parts of bilateral animals are present in duality ; but the distri-

bution of these duplicate parts, in the Ctenophora, upon two

planes perpendicular to each other, far from being a proof of

bilateral symmetry, is rather something perfectly irreconcileable

therewith, and, combined with the quadruplication of all parts

exterior to these planes, is a certain characteristic of biradiate

arrangement. However, quite independent of the characters of

radiate and bilateral animals stated above, it is a matter of

wonder that the contradiction which lies in regarding the orifices

of the funnel and the tentacular filaments as both bilaterally .

symmetrical has escaped notice. If it be the orifices of the

funnel, then, in Mnemia, for example, the narrow sides and oral

lobes lie right and left, the broad sides with tentacular filaments {

and gastric vessels above and below. If it be the tentacular

filaments, the broad sides and gastric vessels are right and left,

the narrow sides, oral lobes, and orifices of the funnel above

and below. One supposition reduces the other ad absurdum.

In both suppositions, moreover, in contradiction to the most

essential characteristic of bilateral structure, there is no distinc-

tion of dorsal and ventral surfaces.

A further remark of Gegenbaur’s has always been unintelli-

gible to me. In the Ctenophora the radiate type of the Coelen-

terata is said to pass over into the bilaterally-symmetrical type

“by a preponderating development of the individual parts taking

* Wiegmann’s Archiv, xxi. p. 170. t Loc. cit. p. 176.

{ These are indeed very minute, but not wanting, in Mnemia Schweig-

geri, Eschsch,

478 On the supposed Bilateral Symmetry of the Ctenophora.

place on two symmetrical halves of the body*.” As the animal

has only two halves, and consequently the two halves with pre-

ponderating development of parts constitute the entire animal,

one does not understand where the parts remaining backward in

their development can find a place. But if we were to under-

stand by the term “ halves” only opposite parts of the body (and

one is accustomed to find a perfectly new mathematical language

in works on natural history), the relation occurring in the Cte-

nophora, and indicated as in favour of “ bilaterally symmetrical

type,” would not be any better expressed. Or are the orifices

of the funnel and the oral lobes preponderatingly developed

gastric vessels and tentacular filaments, or vice versé? Or are

our own arms and legs preponderant developments of some parts:

of our dorsal and ventral surfaces ?

In his ‘Zoologische Briefe’ +, Carl Vogt has explained, in

his usual simple and luminous manner, the distinctions between

radiate and bilateral structure. According to this representation

of his own, he ought to have indicated the Ctenophora uncon-:

ditionally as perfectly radiate in their structure. And yet even.

he has allowed himself to be led astray by the ‘long transverse

ribbon” of the Cestum Veneris, which, as he remarks in his

‘Ocean und Mittelmeer,’ “may be divided, by a cut carried

transversely upon the axis of the band, into two perfectly similar

halves, in which not the least trace of a radiate arrangement can

be detected :” it is sufficient te add, “ any more than in an indi-

vidual ray of any other radiate animal,” in order to show that.

the indisputable fact proves nothing adverse to the radiate con-

struction of animal. And if we further indicate that the halves

_are indeed perfectly similar, that is to say, not merely sym-:

metrical, but congruent, and that each of them displays a bi-

lateral arrangement, a peculiarity is pointed out which certainly

occurs in all biradiate animals, but not in a single bilateral one.

But are not the Ctenophora, although perfectly radiate animals,

still, as being bzradiate, more nearly allied to the bz/ateral animals

than other polyradiate forms, and consequently to be regarded

as intermediate? I think not. The apparent similarity, existing

ouly in name, disappears as soon as we exchange “ bilateral” for

“‘non-radiate.” On the contrary, the smaller the number in

which an animal or vegetable organ exists, the more certainly is it

usually retained. And so in this case it might be expected that

the smaller the number of rays, the more rigidly will the radiate

structure be carried out, and that a transition into other modes

of arrangement will occur rather with a high than with a low

number of rays. Experience confirms this conjecture: leaving

* Grundziige der vergl. Anatomie, p. 67.

+ Bd. i. pp. 64 & 65,

Zoological Society. 479

out of consideration the Echinodermata, in which Johannes

Miiller’s acuteness everywhere recognized traces of bilateral

arrangement, such are to be found amongst the Coelenterata,

for example, in the 12-rayed Philomedusa Vogtii, and in the

young brood of the equally many-rayed Cunina Kollikeri. The

radiate structure is exhibited, on the contrary, with the greatest

strictness in many four-rayed Discophora, and in the biradiate

Ctenophora, which therefore prove, even in this respect, to be

true Coelenterata.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

January 14, 1862.—Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair.

DESCRIPTION OF SPHYROCEPHALUS LABROSUS*, A New Barr

FRoM Oxp CaLABaR River, Western Arrica. By An-

DREW Murray, Ass. Sec. R. Horricutrurau Society.

PTEROPINI.

SPHYROCEPHALUS, nov. gen.

Dental formulary :— Molars.

—— a

Incisors. Canines. Premolars? True molars?

4 1 1

= te 4 en —_

4 l 2 3

Head very large and oblong; the lips largely developed and ex-

panded. Kars rather large, without tragus. Thumb and index-finger

of hand unguiculate, the other fingers without claws. Tail wanting.

SPHYROCEPHALUS LABROSUS, Sp. Nov.

Brown, with a few whitish hairs at the base of the ears. The

head very large, massive, half as long as the whole body, oblong,

and as broad at the muzzle as at the top of the head, with some re-

semblance to a hammer, whence the name hammer-headed (Sphyro-

cephalus), rather more than twice’as long as deep; ears rather large,

destitute of tragus; eyes rather large; eyelids provided with eye-

lashes ; nostrils large and tubular ; lips extraordinarily developed ;

* Since this paper was in print, the last number of the ‘ Proceedings of the

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia’ has been received in this country

(the first copies arrived on 19th February, 1862) ; and in it I find a description of

a new Bat, which probably belongs to this species, by Dr. Harrison Allen (Proc.

Acad. Nat. Se. Phil. July 1861, p. 156). It is said to be taken from a specimen

collected by M. Du Chaillu, and is named by Dr. Allen Hypsignathus monstrosus.

If it is the same species, of course Dr. Allen’s name must take precedence. His

description does not quite correspond with mine, but, judging from the description

of the nose, may, perhaps, have been taken from a dried skin, whereas mine is

from a fine example in spirits. M. Du Chaillu has exhibited no specimen of this

Bat in England.

480 Zoological Society :—

both upper and lower lips of a very smooth semi-mucomembranous

texture, corrugated and tuberculated at the margins ; the upper lip

with a tuberculated prominence in the line of the two outer incisors,

and a more elongated tuberculated ridge further up, in the line of

the two inner incisors; the external lateral margin expanded into a

sort of stiff semi-cupshaped flap with a tuberculated edge, rising to

meet the nostril and then descending, following its lower edge, and

terminating in a curved scroll-like coil in the nostril.

The same semi-mucomembranous lip is spread over the front

of the lower jaw, forming a sort of chin. The skin in the neigh-

bourhood of the lips, and extending upwards and backwards along

the nasal bones, is covered with the same sort of fine velvety down

which surrounds a horse’s nostrils ; the hair on the rest of the head

is flocky ; on the downy portion there are on the sides of the upper -

lip three rows of papillee, each with a long whisker-hair springing from

it. In the specimen before us these papillee are arranged four in

the two first rows and three in the last ; similar papillee and hairs

run up the downy space covering the long nasal bones, in three rows,

past the eyes and quite to the forehead, numbering each nine or

ten papillee, the middle row being shorter than the two others. The

gape of the mouth is large, extending back fully a third of the head ;

the lip does not encroach on the outside of the face along the gape ;

it is only directly in front that it is so much developed ; the upper

lip is connected with the gum by-a broad thick ridge uniting them

together in the line of the symphysis of the intermaxillary bones.

The disposition of the teeth is as follows :—

They are all well separated from each other, none touching each

other except, perhaps, the last molars ; the incisors of the upper jaw

are minute rounded points ; in the lower jaw they are equally minute,

but transversely oblong and bilobed. The canine teeth in both are

well developed and of the usual form; beyond the canine there is

a minute tooth (a mere point) in the lower jaw which is wanting in

the upper jaw; the next tooth beyond it is almost exactly of the form

of the canine, and is probably a pre-molar ; the remaining teeth, two

in the upper and three in the lower jaw (probably true molars), have

their crown divided longitudinally ; in the upper jaw each ridge slopes

backwards, in the under jaw the external ridge is bilobed. The

palate has strong, elevated, transverse ridges running across from

interspace to interspace between each tooth. The tongue is rather

large, and covered with a sort of tessellated pavement of large flat

papillee ; it is free very far back. Under it and lying im the hollow of

the mouth, occupying the whole breadth for a short space in front

between the rami of the lower jaw, is a very curious membrane fringed

with slips or plaits—a sort of second tongue, calling to recollection

a somewhat similar organ or structure under the tongue of the Loris

and Lemur. In these it assumes the form of an aponeurotic lamina,

which is divided at its anterior thinner end into filaments or slips.

** This arrangement (a development of the freenum of the tongue),”

says Van der Hoeven, “has been described incorrectly, in my judg-

ment, as though the tongue were double, or even as if a bird’s tongue

Mr. A. Murray on a new Bat. 481

were under the mammalian tongue.” It may be a development

of the freenum, because two things connected together, although at

opposite ends, may always be said to be parts of the same thing

however distant they may be. But I would only observe that in the

present instance the freenum of the tongue is situated very far back,

and it seems to me that it may just as possibly be a development of

the floor of the mouth as of the frenum of the tongue. I do not

suppose that Dr. Van der Hoeven would think it necessary to look

elsewhere than to the walls of the cesophagus to find the structure

from which the elongated papille lining the cesophagus, in the

hawk-billed turtle for instance, had been developed. There is a

tendency to similar structure in other parts than the tongue in

many animals—on the palate and back of the mouth, for example ;

and I should not be disposed to seek further than the place from

which it springs for the source of this development. It does not

extend much further back than the lower canine teeth ; but there is

a slight plait or perceptible line running on each side all the way to

the back of the mouth, giving the appearance of a second thin flat

tongue lying in the hollow of the mouth, tied down like the tongue

of a crocodile; but the separation here is a mere trace, and it is only

the fringed margin in front which is free.

The neck is distinct, and the skin has the appearance of having

some cellular space between it and the muscles.

The body is oblong and compact; the ribs descend far, and the

lower ribs are very large ; the stomach is moderate in size, furnished

internally with several large transverse folds; the small intestines

are not very long; there is no ceecum.

The arms have the thumb and index unguiculate, the rest of the

fingers are without claws ; the thumb has two phalanges, the rest have

three phalanges. The thumb is united to the wing by a membrane

stretching on both sides over the whole of the proximal and half of

the distal phalanx ; the proximal phalanx of the thumb is shorter

than the distal. The winged membrane is not extended across the

back, but is very ample; the winged space between the third and

fourth fingers, and between the fourth and the body, has in its middle

numerous longitudinal bundles of muscular fibre interwoven without

attachments, and one or two similar transverse bundles; these are

probably for the purpose of assisting in the folding of the wing.

Along these bundles of muscular fibre the membranous wing is

closely wrinkled; and there is little doubt that they will also strengthen

the membrane where they occur.

The hind feet are uniform and all unguiculate ; they are united to

the body by an interfemoral membrane, which has a single large

bundle of muscular fibres stretching obliquely across from the foot

to the coccyx.

The testicles are situated under the skin on each side of the male

organ, and are round.

There is no tail.

The length of the whole body, in the specimen from which the

above description is taken, is nearly 7 inches; the length of the

482 . Loological Society:—

head 31 inches, its depth about 1} inch. The stretch of wings

is 28 inches across.

The most remarkable features in this animal are its large hammer-

shaped head, and the great external development of its lips. Its

whole structure is essentially that of a Pteropine Bat, with some

modifications showing a tendency towards the Rhinolophi. No

species having any of the nasal appendages peculiar to that section

of the Bats has yet been found among the Pteropine Bats. They are

strictly frugivorous, and have the nose like that of a fox or dog.

The present species, although it has not any nasal appendages, has

labral expansions which may possibly be analogous to them, and the

animal may possibly have peculiar habits to which the structure of

these organs is especially adapted.

Unfortunately, in the only specimen yet received, the stomach and

intestines were wholly empty; so that we cannot speak of its food

with positive certainty. The teeth are Pteropine in character, but not

so absolutely so as to preclude the possibility of this creature being

at least partially insectivorous, the molars showing a tendency to

mammuillation on the external side of the longitudinal ridges into which

they are separated. The large folds in the interior of the stomach

seem to point to a vegetable diet.

The sublingual fringed membrane is also an interesting peculiarity,

not only on account of its rarity, but because one of the few

other instances where it has been noticed is in an animal having no

one thing in common with the present, except that of living in the

same country. We sometimes see this happen; an abnormal struc-

ture or peculiarity occurring in an animal restricted to one country

will be found repeated in some other animal of that country no way

connected with or allied to it.

This Bat was sent to me by my excellent friend, the Rev. Wm. C.

Thomson, one of the missionaries of the United Presbyterian Church

of Scotland, stationed at Old Calabar—a true Christian, an excellent

naturalist, and one whose devotion to the cause he has undertaken,

viz. the amelioration of the African negro, has been proved by the

greatest sacrifices from his youth upwards.

Prof. Owen communicated the first part of his paper on the Aye-

aye (Chiromys madagascariensis, Cuv.), including an introductory

historical sketch of its discovery and the various opinions respecting

its nature and affinities set forth by naturalists from Buffon to the

present time. After commenting on the chief of these, the author

proceeded to narrate the circumstances under which the subject of

his descriptions, a nearly full-grown male, had been obtained from

Madagascar, and prepared for dissection, by the Hon. H. Sandwith,

M.D., C.B., whilst Colonial Secretary at the Mauritius. The habits

of the Aye-aye during the period in which it lived a captive at the

Mauritius with Dr. Sandwith, and also the habits of other individuals

that for a time were kept alive in the island of Réunion, by MM.

Liénard and Vinsor, in 1855, were next noticed. The specimen sub-

mitted to Prof. Owen, having been transmitted well preserved in

Prof. Owen on the Aye-Aye. 483

spirit, afforded the means of a minute external description. The

extremities were described as follows :—‘‘The fore leg turns freely

in the prone and supine position; it is pentadactyle: the inner-

most digit stands out at an acute angle with the index, and is op-

posable to the other digits, making a prehensile hand, but in a

less perfect degree than in the old-world or ‘catarrhine’ quadru-

mana. The second, fourth, and fifth digits have the ordinary thick-

ness, the fourth being almost twice the length of the second. The

third or middle finger is singularly attenuated, is rather shorter than

the fourth digit, and is terminated by a slender curved claw. It is

this seemingly atrophied digit which the Aye-aye inserts into the

burrows of the wood-boring caterpillars, after it has gnawed down to

and exposed them by its strong fore teeth, in order to extract the

grub. The hind limb is longer than the fore limb, and is terminated

by a more perfect hand-—the ‘hallux’ or thumb being stronger,

and set at a more open angle with the other toes, and these being

more similar to each other in length and thickness: the thumb has

a flat, broad nail.’’ Prof. Owen observed that, from the external cha-

racters of the Aye-aye, it might be inferred that it was of arboreal

habits, the limbs being constructed chiefly for grasping, especially the

hinder pair, as in all good climbers. ‘The circular open eye, large

iris, and wide pupil, reducible to a minute point when contracted,

indicated a climber of nocturnal habits. The large and perfect ears

bespoke the acuteness of their sense. The tail, long and bushy, but

not prehensile, might add to the protective non-conducting covering

of the well-clothed body during sleep. Prof. Owen then proceeded

to describe the skeleton of the Aye-aye.

January 28, 1862.—Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair.

Professor Owen concluded the reading of his memoir on the Aye-

aye (Chiromys madagascariensis), which had been adjourned from

the last meeting of the Society. The portions of the structure of

this animal successively examined were the dentition, the muscles,

the brain, the digestive organs, the organs of circulation and respira-

tion, and the renal and genital organs. The author then proceeded

to the comparison of its external characters, its osteology, and its in-

ternal structure with those of the Lemurs and Rodents, and showed

that in a variety of particulars its nearest approach was to members

of the lemurine group. In ordinary zoological or external characters

its nearest allies were certain Galagos of Africa (Otolicnus crassi-

caudatus and O. Alleni). In conclusion, he entered into the evi-

dence afforded by the peculiarities of this animal on the question of

the origin of species, and, after showing the arguments in favour 0

the derivative hypothesis and those against its mode of operation, as

propounded by Buffon, Lamarck, and Darwin, came to the conclu-

sion that, whilst the general evidence on this subject was in favour

of creation by law, he was compelled to acknowledge ignorance as

to the mode in which such secondary causes might have operated

in the origin of Chiromys. At the same time he fully admitted that

the attempts to dissipate the mystery which environed the origin of

species, whether successful or not, could not but be fraught with

great collateral advantages to zoological science,

484 . Zoological Society :—

February 11, 1862.—Dr. J. E. Gray, V.P., in the Chair.

Mr. Gould exhibited a specimen of a Lyre-bird (Menura) from

Port Philip, and pointed out the characters in which it differed from

the closely allied Menura superba of New South Wales. Mr. Gould

proposed the name Menura Victoria for this new species.

_ The following papers were read :—

On THE AssUMPTION OF THE MALE PLUMAGE BY THE FE-

MALE OF THE CoMMON PHeEasANtT. By Epwarp Hamitton,

M.D., F.Z.S., F.L.S., erc.

The late Mr. Yarrell, in a communication read before the Royal

Society in 1827, ‘‘ On the Assumption of the Male Plumage in Female

Pheasants,”’ drew attention to the fact that this anomaly was not ne-

cessarily the accompaniment of age—i.e., in old hen-birds which

had done laying; but states that it may occur sometimes from an

original internal defect, sometimes from subsequent disease, and

sometimes from old age. Dr. Butter, who had written previously

on this subject, had stated that this peculiarity only occurred im old

birds; and John Hunter, in “An Account of an Extraordinary

Pheasant,” had the same opinion.” He considers that in such cases

the female puts on the secondary properties of the male, and observes

that some classes are more liable than others to this change. He

goes on to state “that in animals just born, or very young, there

are no peculiarities to distinguish one sex from the other, exclusive

of what relates to the organs of generation, which can only be in

those who have external parts; and that towards the age of maturity

the discriminating changes before mentioned begin to appear, the

male then losing that resemblance he had to the female in various

secondary properties: this particularly applies to birds. It is evi-

dently the male which at this time recedes from the female, every

female being at the age of maturity more like the young of the

same species than the male is observed to be; and if the male is de-

prived of the testes when growing, he retains more of the original

youthful form, and therefore more resembles the female. From

hence it might be supposed that the female character contams more

truly the specific properties of the animal than the male; but the

character of every animal is that which is marked by the properties

common to both sexes, which are found in a natural hermaphrodite,

as in the snail, or in animals of neither sex, as the castrated male or

spayed female. They are curious facts in the natural history of

animals, that by depriving either sex of the true parts of generation

they shall seem to approach each other in appearances.”

In some species of animals, that have the secondary properties we

have mentioned, there is a deviation from the general rules by the per-

fect female, with respect to the parts of generation, assuming more or

less the secondary character of the male. John Hunter, like Butter,

considers that this does not arise from any action produced at the

first formation of the animal, nor grows up with it, but seems one

of those changes which happen at particular periods. He goes on

to describe some hen-pheasants having the plumage in part of the

Dr, Hamilton on the Plumage of the Pheasant. 485

male, and says, ‘I found the parts of generation to be truly female,

they being as perfect as any hen-pheasant that is not in the least

prepared for laying eggs, and having both the ovary and oviduct.”

He says, ‘‘ From what has been related of these birds we may con-

clude that this change is one of the effects of age, and obtains to a

certain degree in every class of animals. We find something similar

taking place even in the human species; for that increase of hair

observable on the faces of many women advanced in life is an ap-

proach towards the beard, which is one of the most distinguishing

properties of man. Thus we see sexes, which at an early period had

little to distinguish them from each other, acquiring about the time

of puberty secondary properties which clearly characterize the male

and female,—the male at this time receding from the female, and

assuming the secondary properties of the sex. The female at a much

later time of life, when the powers of propagation cease, loses many

of her peculiar properties, and may be said, except from mere struc-

ture of parts, to be of no sex, even receding from the original cha-

racter of the animal, and approaching in appearance towards the male.”

In the years 1858, 1859, and 1860 this peculiar alteration of

structure in the female organs of generation in the Pheasants was

particularly prevalent in some parts of England. I had the oppor-

tunity of examining many specimens, and was able completely to

confirm Mr. Yarrell’s views on this subject. Indeed, the majority

of the birds were young females, many of them being birds of the

year, some being in their first moult. I found also that the plumage

varied and approached that of the male, not in accordance with the

age of the bird, but with the amount of disease of the generative

organs. The greater the destruction of the ovarium and oviduct,

the nearer the plumage similated to the male.

For example, in birds with the hen-plumage predominating, the

ovarium and oviduct exist as in the fecundating hen, the small ova

lying in considerable numbers in the ovarium, the ovarium and ovi-

duct showing dark lead-coloured masses of disease.

In birds with the plumage of the male in a measure exceeding that

of the female, the ovarium is considerably diminished in size, dark-

coloured, and containing only a few blackened ova; the oviduct is

spotted with dark patches, and considerably coutracted.

And thirdly, in birds with the male plumage predominating over

that of the female, the ovarium is reduced to asmall dark amorphous

mass, resembling coagulated blood; the presence of ova cannot be

detected, and the oviduct is almost entirely obliterated at its junction

with the ovarium. Thus it seems that there are three distinct phases

in this peculiar abnormal state of the generative functions.

I have also noticed that, in most cases where the male plumage is

in excess of the female, the tail-feathers are particularly long, some

being as much as 19 inches in length.

Although Mr. Yarrell states that this condition of the female

generative organs is uot confined to the Phasianide, and that it has

occurred in the gold and silver pheasants, partridges, pea-fowl, com-

mon fowl, common pigeon, king-fisher, and common duck, and that

Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. ix. 34

486 Miscellaneous.

other classes of animals are liable to an influence similar in kind,

particularly among insects and Crustacea, yet this disorganization is

rarely observed except among the Phasianide, and particularly when

these birds are produced in a domestic state, 7. e. on the present

system of breeding pheasants in preserves. Very few battues take

place in which some of these birds, generally designated mules, are

not killed and mixed indiscriminately with the heaps of the slain.

As to the cause of this disorganization, if it occurred only in the

old female, or if it were a common occurrence among birds either of

different genera or of the same genus, it could be easily accounted for ;

but when it is generally found existing among a class of birds which

are bred in vast numbers in a particularly artificial manner, it leads

one to suppose that the cause must be connected with this condition.

Whether the eggs laid by a number of females—to whom perhaps,

from circumstances, too few males have been admitted—have been

properly fecundated, and therefore the chick improperly formed, re-

mains a subject for future consideration.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On Mesozoic Forms of Life in Australia.

To Wm. Francis, Ph.D., F.L.S.

My pear Si1r,—I learn from a correspondent at Melbourne, Mr. J.

S. Poore, that during his visit to King George’s Sound, Western

Australia, he there dredged up, from 8 fathoms, a living Encrinite.

The stem, which was attached to a stone, was about 6 inches long ;

the arms about 13 inch, of a beautiful rose-colour, or pink, fading

to white.

This, in connexion with Stutchbury’s discovery of a living Trigonia

at Port Jackson, and other evidences of mesozoic life at the Anti-

podes, noticed in the published descriptions of the fossil marsupials

of British oolites, is an interesting fact. Faithfully yours,

British Museum, May 19, 1862. RIcHARD Owen.

On the Development of Actinotrocha branchiata.

By Dr. A. SCHNEIDER.

Krohn first discovered that Actinotrocha is the larva of a Sipun-

culide (Miiller’s ‘Archiv,’ 1858, p. 293). In his investigations,

however, the passage into the worm took place so rapidly that he

could obtain only a very imperfect notion of the nature of the meta-

morphosis. At the time when-I was engaged in Heligoland with

investigations upon the same subject, Claparéde published (in Reich-

ert and Dubois’s Archiv, 1861, p. 538, taf. 2. figs. 1-6) the exact

description of a Sipunculide, which, as Claparéde himself asserts,

was not fully developed. I believe I may assume with tolerable

certainty that this is derived from an Actinotrocha. Krohn’s dis-

covery was made upon a new species. I succeeded with Actinotrocha

branchiata, not only in ascertaining the Sipunculide to which it

belongs, but also in tracing the evolution step by step.

In the cavity of the body of Actinotrocha there is a long convo-

Miscellaneous. 487

luted tube, which is closed at one end, and at the other opens

externally on the ventral surface. This tube is the body-wall of the

future worm. By becoming turned inside out it issues from the

body, at the same time taking in the intestine of the larva completely.

This process, considered in detail, is as follows:—The tube is

swelled at its closed end into the form of an acorn. A little before

this inflation, its outermost layer (the innermost layer of the per-

fect worm) is firmly attached to the wall of the intestine of the

Actinotrocha, at the spot where the stomach or middle part of the

intestine passes into the rectum or terminal part of the intestine.

In the meanwhile the vascular system of the worm is already formed.

A narrow double streak, which runs along the dorsal surface of the

stomach and cesophagus, is the foundation of the two longitudinal

vessels. At the spot above mentioned, at the commencement of the

rectum, numerous ceca sprout forth. These are the czecal diverticula,

which, in the perfect worm, stand upon the posterior loop of the

vessels. Although there is not yet any circulation of blood, these

portions of the vascular system, and especially the czeca, are already

in jerking motion. The anterior annular vessel, as also the blood-

corpuscles, are produced from two aggregations of cells of a blood-

red colour, which stand on each side of the anterior extremity of the

tube. After these preparations, the tube turns itself out, in the

manner of the tentacle of a Snail. As the intestine is attached to it,

this is drawn out with it, like a loop of intestine in hernia. The

entire body-wall of the larva disappears, with the exception of the

tentacles, which, now contracted into a close circlet, close the anterior

extremity of the tube. The oral lobe and rotatory organ have com-

pletely disappeared. The mouth and anus remain the same, except

that now they are brought quite close together, both standing at the

anterior end on opposite sides. However, all the tentacles of the

larva are not transferred into the worm. ‘Towards the close of the

larval life, a second circlet of tentacles sprouts forth at the base of

and behind the first circlet of tentacles. Only the second remains ;

the first falls off.

The entire surface is ciliated, with the exception of the hindmost

acorn-shaped end. As far as the ciliation extends, a transparent

tubular sheath surrounds the body. The free posterior extremity,

which is set with small warts, serves the animal for attaching itself.

The blood now circulates briskly : it streams forward through one

vessel, enters the tentacles, and flows back through the other vessel.

At the posterior end the two vessels are united by the above-men-

tioned loop, beset with contractile czeca.

The worm has not yet, however, attained its definitive form.

The tentacles, together with the portion of the skin on which they

are seated (the last-remaining portion of the body-wall of the

Actinotrocha), are thrown off in a coherent piece, as in a moulting,

By this means the anterior extremity acquires a button-like form.

The circulation continues, but the vessels now pass into each other

in a simple loop at the anterior end. The further development of

the worm could not be traced. Monatsber, der Akad, der Wiss, zu

Berlin, October 1861, p. 934. 34*

488

INDEX to VOL. IX.

Acanrnocorata, on a new species

of (/2.

Acmzodera, new species of, 439.

Acrolepis, new species of, 269.

Actinia, new species of, 181.

Actinotrocha branchiata, on the deve-

lopment of, 486.

Adams, A., on new species of Mol-

lusca from the Seas of China and

Japan, 150, 223, 295, 298.

/Etea, new British species of, 25.

/Ethomerus, new species of, 117.

/Extoxicum, observations on the ge-

nus, 214.

Agassiz, Prof., on the arrangement

of natural-history collections, 415.

Alder, J., on some new and rare Zoo-

phytes, 311.

Alicia, description of the new genus,

182.

Alicula, new species of, 159.

Alphus, new species of, 122.

Anderson, Dr. J., on the anatomy of

Sacculina, with description of the

species, 12; on an apparently new

form of Holothuria, 189.

Angas, G. F., on Phascolomys lati-

frons, 64.

Anseranus melanoleuea, on the habits

of, 63,

Antiaris, on a new species of, 405.

Apicalia, characters of the genus,

et oS

Apogon, new species of, 327.

Apteryx australis, on the anatomy of,

187.

Arachnidia, description of the new

British genus, 471.

eye lithographica, on the,

366.

Arthropoda, on vision in the, 230.

Atractylis, new British species of, 313,

Atys, new species of, 158.

Australia, on the ancient and recent

fauna of, 137.

Axius, new species of, 387.

Bates, H. W., on the insect fauna of

the Amazon Valley, 117, 396, 446.

Bartlett, A. D., on the breeding and

rearing of the Chinese Crane, 324.

Bennett, Dr. G., on the habits of An-

seranus melanoleuea, 63.

Bignoniaces, remarks on the order,

192:

Blackwall, J., on some newly disco-

vered Spiders from Madeira, 370.

Blastodermie cells, on the production

of, 336.

Blennius, new species of, 329.

Books, new:—Jones’s Animal King-

dom, 59; Tennent’s Sketches of

the Natural History of Ceylon, 61;

Spence Bate and Westwood’s Brit-

ish Sessile-eyed Crustacea, 62;

Boner’s Forest Creatures, 161;

Hall and Whitney’s Geological

Survey of the State of Iowa, 165;

Geological Survey of Arkansas,

168; Tyler’s Anahuae, 407.

Brachyura, on the limits of the, 299.

Brady, G.S., on Callithamnion Rothii,

256.

Broscus, new species of, 438.

Bunodes, new species of, 181.

Bursinopetalum, observations on the

genus, 219.

Bythoprotus, description of the new

genus, 466.

Bythotrephes longimanus, description

of, 135.

Calathi of the Canary Islands, on the,

341.

Calliadne, description of the new ge-

nus, 390),

Callianassa, new species of, 583.

Callithamnion Rothii, note on, 256,

Callophis, new species of, 131.

Campanularia, new British species of,

B15:

Candona, new British species of, 46.

Cannabinacez, on the relationship of,

198:

Carcinology, contributions to British,

Carter, H. J., on the possibility of

the embryos of the Guinea-worm

and so-called Fungus-disease of

India entermg the human body,

442.

Cellepora, new British species of, 304.

INDEX.

Chalastinus, description of the new

genus, 447.

Chariotheca, new species of, 463.

Chiromys, on the structure and affi-

nities of, 482.

Church, A. H., on Myxotrichum char-

tarum, 32,

Ciniflo, new species of, 371.

Clarke, J. L., on the development of

striped muscular fibre in man,

mammalia, and birds, 236.

Cleonus, new species of, 441.

Clinus, new species of, 329.

Codium Bursa, note on, 260.

Coleoptera, new, 19, 117, 396, 437,

446, 461.

Cophotis, description of the new ge-

nus, 419.

Coptostethus, new species of, 440.

Coral, on the reproduction of red, 335.

Corbula, new species of, 225.

Cornularia, new species of, 178.

Coronella, new species of, 58.

Corymorpha nana, on the develop-

ment of, 314.

Corynetes, new species of, 440.

Coscinodiscus, on the nature of the

markings on, 212.

Cremnobates, new species of, 330.

Crenella, new species of, 228.

Crypta, new species of, 297.

Cryptodon, new species of, 227.

Ctenophora, on the supposed bilateral

symmetry of the, 475.

Cuscus, observations onthe genus, 244.

Cuttlefish, on a gigantic, 187.

Cylichna, new species of, 150.

Cyllene, new species of, 297.

Cypris, new British species of, 43.

Cyrilla, new species of, 295.

Cythere, new British species of, 47.

Dicynodon, new species of, 332.

Diemansia, new species of, 129.

Dinoderus, new species of, 400.

Diodon pennatum, note on the cap-

ture of, 260.

Discoporella, new species of, 468.

Distipsidera, new species of, 462.

Dor, Dr. H., on vision in the Arthro-

poda, 230.

Dromicus, new species of, 128.

Duck, on a hybrid, 339.

Duthiers, Lacaze, on the Theridia, 77 ;

on the reproduction of Porpita,

186; on the reproduction of red

coral, 335,

489

Dysdera, new species of, 381.

Ehrenberg, Prof., on the microscopic

life of the island of St. Paul, 353.

Elapomorphus, new species of, 57,

318

Eleutheria, on the structure and re-

production of, 1.

Encrinite, note on the discovery of

a living, from Western Australia,

486.

Epeira, new species of, 378.

Ephedra, observations on, 421.

Ervilia, new species of, 224.

Kthalia, new species of, 296.

Euctenogobius, new species of, 528.

Fish, on the remains of, from the

Permian series of Durham, 267.

Fishes, new, from Central America,

326.

sti: fossil, of Bovey Tracey, on the,

176.

Fries, E. P., on the geographical dis-

tribution of Fungi, 269.

Frog, on the development of the, 238.

Fumaria muralis, on the vitality of

the seed of, 257.

Fungi, on the geographical distribu-

tion of, 269.

Fungus-disease of India, on the so-

called, 442.

Galeomnia, new species of, 228.

Gebia, new species of, 388.

Globiocephalus, on a new British spe-

cies of, 319.

Gobius, new species of, 327.

Goupia, observations on the genus,

289.

Gray, G.R., on the Megapodide, 67.

Gray, Dr. J. E., on the genus Helo-

gale, 243; on the genus Cuscus,

244; on Codium Bursa, 260; on

the capture of Diodon pennatum,

260; on a new British species of

Pilot-whale, 319; on a large spe-

cies of Teredo, 323; on the skull

of the Japanese Pig, 411.

Griphosaurus, description of the fossil

feathered reptile, 261.

Grus montignesia, on the breeding of,

324.

Giinther, Dr. A., on new species of

Snakes, 52, 124; on some fishes

from the coast of Central America,

326; on anew species of Plectro-

poma, 410.

Guinea-worm embryos, on the pos-

490

sible entrance of, into the human

body, 442.

Gulliver, Prof. G., on the fibrin and

latex of vegetables, 207.

Gymnocerus, new species of, 452.

Halecium, new British species of, 315.

Hamilton, E., on the assumption of

the male plumage by the female of

the common Pheasant, 484.

Haminea, new species of, 155.

Hanburia, observations on, 9.

Heer, O., on the fossil flora of Bovey

Tracey, 176.

Helogale, description of the new ge-

nus, 243

Higginbottom, J., on the develop-

ment of the Tadpole and Frog, 238.

Hincks, Rev. T., on the Zoophytes of

South Devon and South Cornwall,

22, 200, 303, 467.

Hodge, G., on the development of a

species of Pycnogon, 33.

Holothuria, on an apparently new

form of, 189.

Hoplistocerus, new species of, 457.

Hoplocephalus, new species of, 130.

Hydractinia, new British species of,

311.

Hydrophobus, new species of, 127.

Hydroporus, new species of, 438.

Hyoscyamus niger, on the vitality of

the seed of, 257.

Hypophlceus, new species of, 442.

Hyrtl, Prof., on the anatomy of Apte-

ryx australis, 187. -

Insects, on the respiratory process in,

Isander, new species of, 296.

Johnson, J. Y., on a new species of

Acanthogorgia, 75; on the Sea-

Anemones of Madeira, 177.

Kirkby, J. W., on the remains of fish

and plants from the upper lime-

stone of the Permian series, 267.

Kleinella, new species of, 295.

Krohn, Dr. A., on the structure and

reproduction of Eleutheria, 1.

Leipoa ocellata, on the young of, 339.

Lepralia, new British species of, 206.

Leptodora, characters of the new ge-

nus, 133.

Lepton, new species of, 228.

Licinus, new species of, 438.

Lilleborg, W., on two remarkable

Crustacea of the order Cladocera,

133;

INDEX.

Liophis, new species of, 58.

Longicorns of the Amazon, on the,

117, 396, 446.

Loxocemus bicolor, observations on,

M‘Coy, Prof. F., on the ancient and

ee natural history of Victoria,

3 y/o

Megapodiide, on new species of, with

an account of the habits of the, 67.

Membranipora, new species of, 29,

200.

Meton, new species of, 465.

Meyer, H. von, on the Archzopteryx

lithographica, 366.

Miers, J., on Villaresia, 107; on Aix-

toxicum and Bursinopetalum, 214;

on Goupia, 289; on Ephedra, 421.

Mithras, new species of, 373.

Modiolaria, new species of, 229.

Mollusca, new, 150, 223, 295, 298.

Mucronalia, new species of, 295.

Miller, F., on the supposed bilateral

symmetry of the Ctenophora, 475.

Mugil, new species of, 330.

Murray, A., on a new Bat from Old

Calabar, 479.

Mycerinus, new species of, 466.

Myoxinus, characters of the genus,

120.

Myrtea, new species of, 225.

Myxotrichum chartarum, note on, 32.

Myxus, new species of, 331.

Natrix, new species of, 124.

Neotoma, new species of, 78.

Neriéne, new species of, 378.

Newton, A., on a hybrid duck, 339.

Niphona, new species of, 464.

Norman, Rev. A. M., on species of

Ostracoda new to Great Britain,

43; on Physa acuta, 185; on the

vitality of the seed of Fumaria mu-

ralis and Hyoscyamus niger, 257.

CXcobiide, characters of the new fa-

mily, 382.

Oligodon, new species of, 57.

Oliver, Prof. D., on the distribution

of northern plants, 333.

Omolipus, new species of, 463.

Onychocerus, new species of, 455.

Ophidia, on the scales of certain, 255.

Ostracoda, new British species of, 43.

Owen, Prof., on dicynodont Reptilia,

332; on the Aye-Aye, 482; on a

living Encrinite from Western Au-

stralia, 486.

IND EX.

Paiva, Barao do Castello de, on new

species of Coleoptera, 19.

Palzeoniscus, new species of, 267.

Pascoe, F. P., on new Coleoptera from

North-eastern Australia, 461.

Pengelly, W., on the lignites and clays

of Bovey Tracey, 173.

ae Dr., on a new genus of lizards,

Lg.

Phascolomys latifrons, notes on, 64.

Phellia, new species of, 179.

Philine, new species of, 160.

Philodryas, new species of, 127.

Phoxichilidium coccineum, on the

development of, 33.

Phragmitophis, new species of, 126.

Physa acuta, note on, 185.

Piazomias, new species of, 22.

Plants, on the remains of, from the

Permian series of Durham, 267 ;

on the distribution of northern,

333.

Plectropoma, new species of, 410.

Pogonus, new species of, 438.

Polyrhaphis, new species of, 403.

Porpita, on the reproduction of, 186.

Psammophis, new species of, 126.

Pseudocolaspis, new species of, 441.

Pyenogonoidea, on the development

of the, 33.

Python Sebz, on the temperature of,

during incubation, 310.

Rathke, H., on the respiratory pro-

cess in Insects, 81.

Reinhardt, J., on the structure of the

scales in some Ophidia, 255.

Rhamnophis, new species of, 129.

Robin, C., on the polar globules of

the ovum, and the mode of their

production, 336.

Rood, Prof. O. N., on the investiga-

tion of microscopical forms, 211.

Roxania, new species of, 158.

Royal Institution, proceedings of the,

333%

Royal Society, proceedings of the,

M3250; coe:

Riippellia, on a species of, 299.

Saccanthus, new species of, 184.

Sacculina, on the anatomy of, with

description of the species, 12.

Sagartia, new species of, 178.

Sao, new species of, 160.

Saurian remains, discovery of iter-

esting, 258.

Scala, new species of, 296.

491

Scaphander, new species of, 156.

Schneider, Dr. A., on the develop-

meee of Actinotrocha branchiata,

486.

Schomburgk, R., on the young of

Leipoa ocellata, 339.

Sciobius, new species of, 22.

Sclater, Dr. P. L., on the temperature

of Python Sebz during incubation,

310; on a new species of Finch,

340. é

Scytoleptus, new species of, 383.

Seemann, Dr. B., on Hanburia, 9;

on the Bignoniacez, 192; on the

relationship of Cannabinacez, 199;

on a new species of Upas-tree,

405.

Silybura, new species of, 56.

Snakes, new species of, 52, 124.

Sphenoptera, new species of, 20.

Sphyrocephalus, description of the

genus, 479

Spiders, descriptions of new, 370.

Spilotes, new species of, 125.

Steirastoma, new species of, 398.

Stoppani, A., on the general condi-

oe of the Avicula-contorta beds,

259.

Strahl, Dr., on a species of Rippellia,

and on the limits of the Brachyura,

299; on the systematic position of

the Thalassinz, with descriptions

of new species, 383, 459.

Sus pliciceps, on the skull of the,

4ll.

Sycalis, on a new species of, 340.

Symphyletes, new species of, 464.

Tellimya, new species of, 225.

Teredo, on a large species of, 323.

Tetragnatha, new species of, 379.

Thalassine, on some new, and on the

systematic position of the family,

383, 459.

Thecidium, observations on, 77.

Theridion, new species of, 376.

Thomisus, new species of, 370.

Thorictus, new species of, 439.

Tomes, R. F., on a new species of

Neotoma, 78.

Tomicus, new species of, 441.

Tornatina, new species of, 153.

Tragiscoschema, new species of, 20.

Tragocerus, new species of, 463.

Triceratium, on the nature of the

markings on, 212.

Tropidonotus, new species of, 59.

492

Turricula, new species of, 297.

Valkeria, new British species of, 472.

Vegetables, on the fibrin and latex

of, 207.

Veleda, new species of, 372.

Verticordia, new species of, 224.

Villaresia, on the species of, 107.

Virgularia Christii, description of,

316.

Volvula, new species of, 154.

Wagner, A., on a new fossil feathered

reptile, 261.

Wallich, Dr. G.C., on some novel

phases oforganic life at great depths

in the sea, 30.

Wollaston, T. V., on two new Rhyn-

INDEX.

chophorous insects, 21; on the Ca-

lathi of the Canary Islands, 341;

on new Canarian Coleoptera, 437.

Wucherer, Dr. O., on the Ophidians

of Bahia, 251; on a new species of

Elapomorphus, 318.

Xylotribus, new species of, 456.

Zamenis, new species of, 125,

Zeidora, new species of, 298.

Zoological Society, proceedings of the,

63, 177, 2438, 318, 410, 479.

Zoophytes of South Devon and South

Cornwall, catalogue of the, 22, 200,

303, 467; descriptions of new and

rare British, 311.

Zygocera, new species of, 465,

END OF THE NINTH VOLUME.

PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,

RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.