ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 60 



At St. Taul the amblystoma first becomes terrestrial and then matures, 

 acquiring the spotted salamander-like coloration of the land form ; in 

 Colorado the animals mature in the water, and there also, at a later 

 stage, acquire the terrestrial characters ; in Mexico the terrestrial 

 characters are never acquired at all. But all three forms become truly 

 mature. Very careful measurements are given of the parts of the body 

 in the different forms, and they show that the terrestrial amblystoma 

 (" salamander " form) differs, especially as regards the shape of the 

 head, alike from the axolotl and from the metamorphosing siredon stage. 



Musculature of Urodela. * — Dr. L. Driiner has published a paper 

 on certain of the muscles of the anterior region in these Amphibia, 

 which, being entirely anatomical, is beyond our scope. But his results 

 have led him to the general conclusion that the ancestors of the Urodeles 

 must have had at least seven gill-arches between the hyoid and the 

 shoulder-girdle; that is, there cannot have been any Selachian-like 

 forms in the direct line of ancestry ; for the development of specifically 

 Urodele characters must have occurred at a much older phylogenetic 

 stage. Mention should be made of the very fine anatomical plates 

 accompanying the paper. 



Abnormalities in Veins of Salamander.f— Dr. H. Joseph describes 

 two interesting cases of abnormality in Salamandra maculosa. The first 

 recalls primitive conditions, — tho persistence of two separate symme- 

 trical hepatic veins (cf. Torpedo, &c), or the suppression of the hepatic 

 sinus anastomosis. This seemed to be due to an adhesion of the peri- 

 cardium to the anterior pole of the liver by means of stiff connective- 

 tissue exactly between the two large veins. In the second case there 

 was a defect in the anterior part of the inferior vena cava, and an 

 associated exaggeration of the left cardinal vein. But this is a commoner 

 occurrence. 



Abysmal Antarctic Fauna.^ — A. E. Shipley gives a summary account 

 of the characteristics of abysmal animals generally, with lists of the 

 forms found by the Challenger in the Antarctic region. 



Fauna of Switzerland and the Glacial Period. § — Prof. F. Zschokke 

 gives a concise account of the present fauna of Switzerland, particularly 

 of the animals of the Alpine lakes and streams, with the special object 

 of showing to what a large extent the peculiar forms are Arctic species, 

 and therefore relics of the glacial period. He lays special stress upon 

 the Salmonidte of the lakes, showing that the ancestors of the existing 

 species must have migrated from the north at the close of the glacial 

 period, but have remained isolated for a time long enough to permit 

 them to form new varieties or species. 



Deep -Sea Fauna. || — 0. Seeliger discusses in a popular style the 

 abysmal fauna, and the results of the German Deep-Sea Expedition (1898). 

 Attention is directed to the present-day methods of investigation and the 

 general biological importance of the study of the deep-sea. 



* Zool. Jahrb., xv. (1901) pp. 4.35-G22 (7 pis.). 



t Anat. Anzeis., xx. (1901) pp. 283-93 (4 figs.). 



% Antarctic Manual. London, 1901, pp. 241-75. 



§ Die Tierwelt der Schweiz in ihren Beziehimgen zur Eiszeit, Basel, 1901,69 pp. 



fl Tierleben der Tiefsee, Leipzig-, 1901, 8vo, 49 pp. and 1 coloured pi. 



D 2 



