132 NATURAL SCIENCE. Feb., 



plans and sections are given of each cave, most of which are drawn 

 by the author or his companions, and of these plans we may call 

 especial attention to that of the Trou de Grandville in the Dordogne, 

 and that of the subterranean river of Bramabiau (Gard). This latter 

 plan is simply a revelation to the geologist, as about half a square 

 kilometre of the district is a perfect network of tunnels, in which the 

 Bramabiau and Le Bonheur rivers disappear. These plans bring 

 home to the reader the amount of denudation slowly going on from 

 the percolation of water, and the possibilities of minor alterations to 

 the surface features in limestone districts. 



We cannot recall any book on the subject which has been so 

 carefully compiled and so beautifully illustrated, and the moderate 

 price of the volume should permit of a large and well-deserved sale. 



We learn that this and the other writings of Mr. Martel have 

 aroused such interest in subterranean investigation, that he has 

 succeeded in founding a society, named " La Societe de Spelseologie." 

 Those interested should communicate with Mr. Martel, at no. 8 Rue 

 Menars, Paris. 



As this notice was going through the press, we saw a second 

 book on the same subject, relating mainly to Austrian caverns. 

 " Hohlenkunde " as the book is called, is written by Franz Kraus, 

 and published by Gerold's Sohn, of Vienna. It has 155 illustrations, 

 and a map showing the Bavarian caves, contributed by Dr. W. 

 Gumbel ; but while equally useful, it is by no means so beautifully 

 produced as " Les Abimes." The price is 10 marks. 



The Permian Fishes of Bohemia. 



Fauna der Gaskohle und der Kalksteine der Permformation Bohmens. 

 By Anton Fritsch. Vol. iii., part 3. Pp. 81-104, pis. 113-122. Prague: 

 F. Rivnac, 1894. 



The higher fishes of the Palaeozoic Epoch are difficult to understand, 

 and further progress in elucidating their relationships can only be 

 made by a detailed study of their osteology such as is now being 

 undertaken by Dr. Anton Fritsch in Bohemia. When reviewing last 

 year's instalment of the Professor's work (Natural Science, vol. ii., 

 p. 435), we alluded to the opinion that these fishes, commonly grouped 

 in the family Palaeoniscidae, are the scaly and normal forerunners of 

 the scaleless and abnormal modern sturgeons. All the facts hitherto 

 published appear to justify such a view ; and we thus turn with 

 interest to the new part of the " Fauna der Gaskohle" which now 

 lies before us. In the present instalment, Dr. Fritsch describes two 

 more Palaeoniscids with delicate scales, and some species related to 

 Amblyptevus, while his detailed letterpress, as usual, is illustrated with 

 numerous diagrams and some coloured plates. 



The fishes with thin scales which Dr. Fritsch terms Sceletophorus 

 biserialis, and the scaleless which he assigns to the genus Phancrosteon, 

 are of most interest because they display a few traces of the internal 

 skeleton of the trunk. We observe no remarkably new facts, how- 

 ever, because we consider the author to be entirely mistaken in his 

 determination of the presence of calcified vertebras. In our opinion 

 the structures described by Dr. Fritsch as such are merely crushed 

 portions of the appended arches. We do not perceive even isolated 

 hypocentra and pleurocentra, and we must thus continue to believe 

 that the Palaeoniscidae are as destitute of rudiments of vertebrae as 

 the modern sturgeons. 



The author's numerous diagrammatic sketches and brief detailed 

 descriptions will be very useful for reference, and we advise all 



