io8 



HA R D WICKE 'S S CI EN CE- G O SSI P. 



Guinea, and seen climbing about the vines in the 

 forests — it is the King Bird of Paradise [Ciciuimrtis 

 rcgius), the " Burong Rajah," King-bird of the 

 Malays. This exquisite little creature frequents the 

 smaller trees in the thickest part of the forest, feed- 

 ing on various fruits ; it is very active, both on its 

 wings and feet. D'Albertis in his recent expedition 

 up the Fly River obtained the Twelve-wired Bird of 

 Paradise {Selencides alba). This beautiful and singu- 

 lar bird appears at first sight to be velvety black, but 

 by holding the bird in various lights, it is found that 

 every part of it glows with the most exquisite metallic 

 tints — rich bronze, intense violet, and on the edges of 

 the breast-feathers brilliant green colour. An im- 

 mense tuft of dense plumes of a fine orange-buff 

 colour springs from each side of the body ; and six of 

 these on each side terminate in a black curled shaft, 

 which form a perfectly unique adornment to this 

 lovely bird, and from these raches or shafts it has 

 been named the Twelve-wired Paradise Bird. Wal- 

 lace says " it is found in the island of Salwatty, and 

 in the north-western parts of New Guinea, where it 

 frequents flowering trees, especially sago-palms and 

 pandani, sucking the flowers, round and beneath 

 which its unusually large and powerful feet enable it 

 to cling. Its motions are very rapid." 



( To be contimtcd. ) 



CHAPTERS ON CARBONIFEROUS 

 POLYZOA. 



By G. R. Vine. 



THE Polyzoa of the Carboniferous epoch have 

 been only partially described. There is no 

 monograph as yet, and probably some time will 

 elapse before one is called for. Material for the work 

 is fastly accumulating, and every now and again some 

 few additional species are noticed in works devoted 

 to popular geology. The few species that are fully 

 described are in books too often inaccessible to the 

 general reader, or isolated in periodicals not always 

 on the shelves or tables of our free libraries and 

 reading-rooms. Then, again, the proper identifica- 

 tion of species, and the synonyms of various authors, 

 prove too often a stumbling-block in the way of new 

 beginners. If, by the publication of a few papers in 

 SciEXCE-GossiP I can help others to follow up a 

 most delightful study, I shall be more than amply 

 repaid for the many difficulties I have had to en- 

 counter. 



When De la Beche, in 1832, published the second 

 edition of his "Geological Manual," he gave as a list 

 of then known Carboniferous Polyzoa two species 

 only, Cellepora Urii, Rdepora clongata, and two 

 doubtful species, under the genera Millepora [foliacca) 

 and Retepora, but stated that " Polypifers were very 

 numerous in the British Isles, but that the genera 

 were undetermined." 



J In the "Geology of Yorkshire," by Professor 



Phillips, there is a plate of figures, with descriptions 

 of about sixteen species of Polyzoa from'the carboni- 

 ferous limestone of Ireland and Yorkshire. Under 



' the generic term Retepora he describes and figures 

 the species memh-anacea, flabellata, flusti-lformis, 

 plitnia, tiiidnlata, polyporata, ir7-egidaris, tciitiisfila, 

 laxa, and nodnlosa ; four species of Alillepom — • 

 rJtombifera, inferporosa, spicidaris, ocidata ; and one 



I doubtful species, which he gives as Flustra parallela. 



Fig. 89. Fenestella F!g. go. Fragments 



7tic!nbra>iacea of Fcnestella 



(magnified). (magnified). 



Fig. gi. Another 

 fragment of ditto. 



In the "Student's Manual of Geology," by J. Beete 

 Jukes (ed. 1857), the list of Carboniferous Polyzoa 

 is increased to twenty-two species and fourteen 

 genera : Ceriopora distans and rhonibifera (this is 

 the Millepora of Phillips) ; Diastropora megasioma 

 (M*^Coy) ; Fenesiclla {Retepora of Phillips) ; Glaiico- 

 nome {Retepora plmiia of Phillips) ; Heinitrypa Hiber- 

 iiica ; leJdhyorachis Neivenhaini ; Orbictdites aiitiquits; 

 Polypora fastitosa, laxa, polyporata ; Ftilopom phima 

 {Retepora fliistriformis of Phillips) ; Pitstidopora 

 oeidata and spieidaris ; Retepora itndata ; Sidcorete- 

 pora parallela ; Vhieidaria diehotoiiia (the Flustra (?) of 

 PhiUips). 



Fig. 92. Larger fragment of 

 Fenestclla. 



Fig. 93. Vincutayici 

 jiiegastoina. 



In King's Catalogue, and in ]\P'Coy's "Car- 

 boniferous Fossils," there are several species of 

 Polyzoa figured and described ; but as these works 

 are at present inaccessible to me, I cannot give 

 details of the genera and species. The particular 

 part of vol. XXX. of the " Quarterly Journal of the 

 Geological Society " is also inaccessible ; but in it 

 Drs. Young, of Glasgow, figure and describe a new 

 genus, Aetinostonia fenestraliitin, and also a new 

 species, Glaneonome stellipora. There is also a paper, 



