342 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



ment of the pedunculus olfactorius and the optic chiasma. He finds 

 that it is certainly a part of the smell-centre, and that its function is 

 probably almost exclusively olfactory. It is linked to the olfactory bulb 

 by a direct tract, which arises in the formatio bulbaris. 



Races of Swine.* — Adolf Pira makes some elaborate contributions 

 to the history of swine, based chiefly on a study of the sub-fossil 

 remains in Sweden. These give evidence of seven forms — Sus scrofa 

 ferus antiquus, Sus scrofa palustris, etc. — whose relationships are dis- 

 cussed. 



Albinism in Birds and Mammals.f — L. Petit sen. has observed 

 a number of interesting cases of albinism, in most cases partial. His 

 collection includes a perfectly white squirrel with red eyes, a grebe 

 (Podiceps auritus), with all the dorsal surface dull white, a cream- 

 coloured (isabelle) woodcock, a partridge of the same colour, a black- 

 bird covered with white spots, a perfectly white tree-pipit, a white and 

 greyish white sand-martin, and a great many more. 



Remains of Parasphenoid in an Opossum.} — Hugo Fuchs dis- 

 cusses and dismisses the theory that the vomer of Mammals corre- 

 sponds to the parasphenoid of lower Vertebrates. He has found, 

 however, in an embryo of DideJphys a vestige of the true parasphenoid 

 insinuated between the divergent posterior ends of the vomerine 

 primordia. 



Notes on Clawless Otters. § — Einar Lonnberg has some notes on 

 Lutra capensis hindei and other African clawless otters. The structure 

 of the skull and the dentition exhibit adaptations to feeding on 

 molluscs and crabs. 



Affinities of the Okapi.|| — J. Fraipont gives an outline of his 

 forthcoming monograph on the Okapi, and discusses its affinities. It 

 has affinities with Palseotragus of the upper Miocene, but is in many 

 ways more primitive ; it has also affinities with the giraffe, but is 

 nearer Palseotragus ; in some respects it is more primitive than Paleeo- 

 t rag us. 



Partial Albinism in Grass Snake.1T — Gr. Tornier describes a case of 

 partial albinism in Tropidonotus natrix, and shows that the yellowish- 

 white or bluish-white ground colour with rows of reddish-brown spots 

 corresponds to a transitory stage in the normal ontogeny. It is really 

 a case of arrested development, and the author suggests that it is due 

 to insufficient yolk. His experiments in producing albino axolotl larvss 

 point in this direction. It is also noted that a southern variety of grass 

 snake which has a lighter colour has less yolk. 



Mimicry in Snakes.** — R. Sternfeld cites a number of cases of 

 close resemblance between a relatively rare unprotected snake and the 



* Zool. Jahrb., 19C9, Supp. 10, Heft 2, pp. 233-426 (52 figs.), 



t Bull. Soc. Zool. France, xxxiv. (1909) pp. 32-5. 



j Anat. Anzeig., xxxii. (1908) pp. 584-90 (3 figs.). 



§ Arkiv f. Zool., iv (1908) No. 12, pp. 1-11 (1 pi.). 



|| Bull. Classe Sci. Acad. Rov. Belgique, 1908, No. 12, pp. 1097-1130 (4 pis). 



1 SB. Ges. Nat. Preunde Berlin, 1908, pp. 196-200 (4 figs.). 



** Tom. cit., pp. 89-91. 



