Zoological Society. 67 



piceo fasciatis ; f route, genis, regionibus auricularibus plumisque 

 ad rostri basin prominentibus pallide umbrinis medio luteo-notatis ; 

 rostro albo, pedibus plumbeis. 



Upper surface sap-green, with a verdigris tinge on the wings ; 

 each feather marked in the middle with yellow, which is margined 

 on the sides with black, from which spring irregular transverse bands 

 of the same colour; the outer webs of the greater wing-coverts, 

 quills, secondaries and the entire tail, brownish buff, irregularly- 

 banded transversely with black ; between every alternate set lemon- 

 yellow ; the inner webs of quills and secondaries black, more or less 

 transversely banded with lemon-yellow. Under surface pale green- 

 ish yellow, tinged with lemon-yellow, more or less marked along the 

 shaft with pale yellow, which is narrowly margined with brownish 

 black; some of the feathers have transverse bands of the same 

 colour. 



The top of the head brownish black, margined outerly with sap- 

 green, tinged in some places with verdigris, and marked in the middle 

 with pale yellow ; the front, cheeks, ear- coverts and the projecting 

 feathers of the face pale umber, marked in the middle with yellowish 

 white. Bill white ; feet plumbeous black. 



Length, 2 feet 4 inches; bill, 1 inch 8 lines; wings, llj inches; 

 tail, 9 J inches; tarsi, If inch. 



May 11. — William Spence, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair. 

 The following paper was communicated to the Meeting : — 



On the Genera of the Family Chitonid^e. By J. E. Gray, 

 Esq., F.R.S., F.Z.S. etc 



This family now contains so many species, offering such varied 

 modifications of form and structure, that it becomes necessary to 

 separate it into several genera, for the purpose of more accurately 

 determining the species and showing their relations to each other. 



Most authors have regarded the family as a single genus, and even 

 M. De Blainville, who formed the family into a class under the name 

 of Polyplakiphora, so regarded them. He forms of this class and his 

 Nematopodes or Barnacles a subtype of the animal kingdom, which 

 he called Malentozoaria or Molluscarticulata ; but there is no suf- 

 ficient character to separate the Chitons from the other Mollusca, 

 and the Nematopodes are now known to be Crustacea, so that this 

 division or subtype of the animal kingdom has been erased from the 

 system by most succeeding authors. 



Dr. Leach in his MSS. proposed to divide this family into genera, 

 according to the form of the appendages which cover the upper sur- 

 face of the mantle ; and Risso, who was in constant correspondence 

 with Dr. Leach, has in his work published two of Dr. Leach's genera. 

 Mr. Guilding has formed some genera on the same principles in the 

 Zoological Journal, and I have added two others in the Synopsis of 

 the British Museum for 1841. 



I may remark that these appendages of the mantle form exceeding 

 good characters for the more minute division of the groups, but the 



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