428 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



published in 1806, the additions to the collection have been so numerous, 

 and knowledge has advanced so much, that the book has been entirely 

 re-written by Dr. Arthur Smith Woodward, the Keeper of Geology. It 

 is an interesting and finely illustrated guide, useful even to those who 

 cannot follow it from case to case. 



Brain of the Chrysochloris.* — W. Leche describes the unique ap- 

 pearance of this brain, and compares it with that of other Insectivora. 

 Looked at from above the brain shows nothing of corpora quadrigemina, 

 cerebellum, or medulla oblongata ; all are hidden by the cerebral hemi- 

 spheres, the longitudinal axis of which is almost at right angles to that 

 of the other parts. This is associated with the peculiar position of the 

 foramen magnum and the peculiar direction of the axis of the basis 

 cranii. Of peculiar interest, as illustrating convergence, is the resem- 

 blance between the brain of Chrysochloris and that of Notoryctes. 



Comparative Osteology of the Accipitres.f — P. Suschkin con- 

 tributes a large memoir on this subject. He discusses the classification 

 of Accipitres in general and the characteristic modifications of the 

 skeletal and other systems in the chief subdivisions. His chief attention 

 has been given to the Falconidae, in which he recognises four sub- 

 families : — Falconinae, Poliohieracinse, Polyborinse, and (the most 

 primitive forms) Herpetotherinaj. 



Genera of Frogs. $ — J. Roux points out that in twenty-three years 

 the number of genera in the family Ranidaa has been doubled. It now 

 amounts to thirty-six. He gathers together the diagnoses of recent 

 additions to the list with bibliographic references, and gives a 

 diagnostic table of all the known genera up to the end of 11)04. 

 Following Boulenger's advice, he divides the family into two sections, 

 according to the presence or absence of an intercalary bone between the 

 two last phalanges, a point to which Peters first directed attention. 

 Another useful basis of classification is found in the state of the sternum 

 and the omosternum ; both may be cartilaginous, or both may be ossified, 

 or only the omosternum may be ossified. 



Arrhenoid Changes in a Fish.§ — E. Philippi reports an observation 

 on Glaridichthys caudimaculatus, one of the Cyprinodonts, in which a 

 female fish donned external masculine characters. 



Ichthyological Notes. || — L. Dan tan publishes a number of details 

 regarding the eggs and larval stages of Clupea pilchardus, C. harmgus, 

 Ammodytes tobianus, A. lanceolatus, Rhombus maximus, and Belone 

 vulgaris, which will be of service in the difficult work of identification of 

 fish-eggs and larva?. 



Action of Radium on Torpedo.f — M. Mendelssohn finds that the 

 application of radium to the electric organ either directly or through 



» Anat. Anzeig., xxvi. (1905) pp. 577-89 (13 figs.). 

 t Nuot. Mem. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, xvi. (1905) pp. 1-247 (4 pis.). 

 X Zool. Anzeig., xxviii. (1905) pp. 778-85. 

 § SB. Ges. Natur. Freunde Berlin (1904), pp. 196-7. 



| Arch. Zool. Exp. (Notes et Revue), No. 4, ser. 4, iii. (1905) pp. lxi.-lxxvii. 

 *j Coinptes Rendus, cxl. (1905) pp. 40:5-6. 



