March 1, 1869.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE GOSSIP. 



CI 



A NEW SURIKELLA. 



IN the early part of last spring my attention 

 was called to a form of Surirella occurring 

 in a slide sent to me by Dr. Capron, of Slierc 

 (Surrey) ; but as it was scarce in the small gathering 

 he had made, I was inclined to consider it an ab- 

 normal state of S. spleml'ula. Some months after- 

 wards I received from my friend, M. de Brebisson, a 

 small quantity of a gathering made by him at 

 Ealaise, in which the form I am about to describe 

 was common, and when I called his attention to it 

 he pronounced it to be a new species, and suggested 

 that it should be called S. coriugera, or Capronii 

 ("Je penserais, plutot, que serait une espece nouvelle 

 que vous pourriez appeler eomigera ou Capronii, 

 comme vous jugeriez le plus convcnable")- 



Fig. 43. Surirella Capronii, Falaise variety, x 300. 



This species does not differ from S. splendlda in 

 size, outline, or canaliculi, but differs from that, and 

 all other species of Surirella, in possessing one or 

 more horns, or processes, springing from the longi- 

 tudinal median line, of which they appear to be a 

 prolongation. Some little distance from the apices 

 of the valve the nipple-like process has a short 

 spine on the apex. A careful examination of the 

 under-surface of the valve shows that the process is 

 hollow, but I have not been able to satisfy myself 

 that the spine is tubular; the process near the nar- 

 row end is smaller than that at the broad end of the 

 valve, and points in an opposite direction. The 

 French species differs from ours in possessing only 



one process (Dr. Capron informs me he has de- 

 tected some valves with two), and is not quite so 

 large. 



Fig. 44. Surirella Capronii, from Shere, x 300. 



Surirella Cafroxii, n. sp. E. K— Valve ovate, 

 elongated, alsc conspicuous, canaliculi distinct (3£ to 

 4 in. '001), reaching median line, valve with one or 



Fig. 45. Ideal longitudinal) section of valve, and transverse 



section of valve (central portion). 



a, «', aire ; b, longitudinal median line or ridge. 



two spurious processes proceeding from the longi- 

 tudinal median line. Freshwater; Shere, Dr. Ca- 

 pron ; Falaise, M. de Brebisson.* 



F. Kitton. 



Microscofic Societies' Soirees.— The Annual 

 Soiree of the Old Change Microscopical Society 

 was held with great success on the 15th of February. 

 That of the Quekett Microscopical Club is an- 

 nounced for the 12th of March, at University Col- 

 lege, Gower Street. 



* I have great pleasure in naming it after Dr. Capron, 

 whose name is well known to the students of the " Synopsis 

 of British Diatomacere ;" he is, moreover, the discoverer of 

 the species. 



