NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA. 21 



February 5th. 



Mr. Lea, President, in the Chair. 



Thirty-one members present. 



The following papers were presented for publication : 



"Synonymy of the Cyclades, &c. No. 2. By Temple Prime." 



" Synopsis of the Subfamily Clupinae, with descriptions of new 



genera, by Theodore Gill." 



" Descriptions of twenty-five new species of Unionidae from Georgia, 



Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida, by Isaac Lea." 

 And were referred to committees. 



to 



February 12th. 



Mr. Lea, President, in the Chair. 



Forty-five members present. 



The following papers were presented for publication : 

 " Descriptions of new recent shells from the coast of South Carolina, 

 by Edmund Ravenel." 



"Synopsis of the Subfamily Percinae, by Theodore Gill." 

 " Synopsis generum lihyptici et affinium, by Theodore Gill." 

 " Description of a new species of Neritina, from Coosa river, Ala- 

 bama, by Isaac Lea." 



" Descriptions of two new species of Anodonta, from Arctic America, 

 by Isaac Lea." 



And were referred to committees. 



Dr. LeConte stated in regard to the species of Anableps. described in the 

 Proceedings of last month, by Mr. Gill, as A. Dowii, that he had seen it in 

 great abundance, not only in the bay of La Union, San Salvador, but in all the 

 streams emptying into the Gulf of Fonseca, and also in the small tributaries of 

 the Rio Lempa, as far as the town of Virtud, a great distance from the ocean. 

 The method of swimming is very peculiar ; the fishes are seen in groups on 

 the surface of the water, with their eyes projecting ; they are easily alarmed, 

 and very active. They are known to the natives under the name cuatro-ojos, 

 in allusion to the transverse black band which divides the iris. 



Mr. Gabb remarked that he had recently had an opportunity of conversing 

 with Messrs. Meek and Hayden in regard to the Geological formations of the 

 far West, and of examining the fossils brought by the numerous Government 

 expeditions from that region. He said, "I have seen both the Gryphcea 

 calceola and the Ostrea Marshii," referred to by Prof. Marcou, in his letter, 

 read to the Academy on December 11th, of last year. 



" Prof. Marcou was laboring under a false impression in regard to those 

 species, and thus misled me. The form referred to by Messrs. Meek and 

 Englemann as G. calceola, is that figured by Quenstedt on pi. 48, figs. 2, 3 and 4, 

 and called by Rcemer Ostrea calceola. The form illustrated by fig. 1 of the 

 same plate has never been found. It is even doubtful whether the Western 



1861] 



