74 



to be a young black Cock, having nearly completed his first moult. 

 He added that lie was indebted to Mr. Sabine for the information 

 that the Tetr. rupestris of Pennant's 'Arctic Zoology' has been killed 

 in Perthshire, and that the specimen is preserved in the collection of 

 Lord Stanley, the President of the Society. 



At the request of the Chairman, Mr. Martin referred to the notes 

 of the dissection of a specimen of Tesludo Grceca which he had laid 

 before the Committee on the 26th of April, and stated that the 

 correctness of these notes had been subsequently confirmed by the 

 examination of another individual of that species, in which he had 

 observed the same lengthened form of stomach j similar intestines j 

 and a ceecum agreeing with that previously described. The urinary 

 bladder also corresponded in form and size. The trachea bifurcated 

 in the same manner; and the bronchia had the same remarkable 

 sigmoid flexure, and were furnished with the compressing muscle 

 which he had before noticed. 



Mr. Owen remarked that he had ascertained the existence of a 

 ceecum in another species of Tortoise, (Emgs concentrica, Leconte,) 

 which he had recently dissected. 



The preparation of the ceecum of the Testudo Gr&ca having been 

 laid upon the table, it was pointed out that the part so termed in 

 this instance consisted of a pouch formed by the oblique insertion 

 of the small into the large intestine, the upper end of the latter 

 being dilated as in the human subject into a ceecum caput coli: but 

 that it by no means corresponded with the cceca of birds, and might 

 almost be regarded as wanting when contrasted with the develope- 

 ment of the same part in some of the Ophidian Reptiles, as in the 

 genera Python, Boa, &c. 



A living individual, apparently referable to the Gulo barbarus, L., 

 was exhibited. It was presented to the Society by Edmonstone 

 Hodgkinson, Esq. of Trinidad, who describes it as being " playful 

 and gentle, although easily excited, and very voracious. It is ex- 

 ceedingly strong, as is indicated by its shape ; and it has the same 

 antipathy to the water as a cat." Mr. Hodgkinson suspects that it is 

 a native of Peru. He obtained it in Venezuela, where it was presented 

 to him by the President, General Paez. The name he received with 

 it was " the Guache " but this appellation, it was observed by Mr. 

 Bennett, was probably erroneously applied to the present animal, 

 belonging rather to the Coati, the orthography of which is variously 

 given as Coati, Couati, Qiiasje, Quachi, and Guachi. The latter 

 form occurs in the ' Personal Narrative' of the Baron Von Hum- 

 boldt, where it evidently refers to a nocturnal species of Nasua. 



The form and general appearance of the animal were remarked 

 to be altogether those of a Mustela, to which genus it is probable 

 that it should be referred, together with the typical Gulo barbarus. 

 A specimen of the latter was placed upon the table, from which the 

 living animal was shown to differ by the absence of the large yellow 

 spot beneath the neck : a remarkable distinction in this group, but 

 on the occurrence of which, unless confirmed by several specimens, 



