Mr. G. R. Gray on the Soft-billed Duck of Latham. 369 



notatus, aliaque media aurantia. Elytra nigra fascia humerali 

 aurantia, secunda fere media, duabus maculis concoloribus fere ad 

 apicem positis. Intra humeralem fasciam et apicem totum discum 

 maculis minutis viridibus aspersum. Corpus infra viride, pectore 

 utrinque aurantio colore imbuto. 



The above elegant insect is named after Mr. Palin, an assiduous 

 collector of insects at Sierra Leone. 



Sp. 65. Sternodonta Princeps. Long. lin. 13 ; lat. lin. 6. Atro- 

 viridis, antennis pallidioribus, thorace 4 lineis transversis albidis 

 notato, elytris disco nigro binis fasciis obliquis variisque maculis 

 albido beryllinis insignitis. Corpus infra nigrum, segmentis abdo- 

 minis beryllino- viridibus. 

 Received from Ashantee in 1833. 



Sp. 66. Sternodonta amabilis. Long. lin. 1 2 ; lat. lin. 5. Affinis Stern. 

 Imperiali, at major. Viridis, corpore pulvere fulvo aurato, fere om- 

 nino tecto. Thorax medio aurantius, antice posticeque viridis. 

 Elytra laete beryllino-viridia, ad basem nigra fascia notata, maculis- 

 que variis aurantiis conspicua. Corpus infra lsete viride, pedibus 

 concoloribus. 

 The above insect is one of the most beautiful received from Africa. 



It was obtained from the country of the Ashantees. 



LI I. — Some remarks on the Soft-billed Duck of Latham. 

 By George Robert Gray, Esq. 



Among the ducks described by Latham in his e Synopsis' is 

 one that he denominated the Soft-billed Duck. It was first 

 noticed however by Cook and Forster in their Voyages, and 

 to them Dr. Latham was indebted for the information which 

 supplied the material for his description. A representation of 

 this curious and rare species of duck is given by G. Forster 

 among his drawings, tab. 74. Gmelin was the first to give a 

 scientific name, which he did by translating Latham's, as Anas 

 malacorhynchus. The specimens which have again brought it 

 into notice have recently been presented to the National Col- 

 lection by the New Zealand Company ; they are two in number, 

 and were brought from New Zealand by Dr. DiefTenbach ; it 

 is thus that the writer has had it in his power to examine it 

 and to compare it with the Australian soft-billed duck. He 

 soon discovered that Wagler was in error in considering it as 

 belonging to the same division. From the form of the hind 

 toe, the Australian species Js a true duck near the Shovellers ; 

 while the present bird is more properly placed with the lobed 

 hind-toed ducks, such as the Pochards, and partaking in some 

 measure of the form of the Goosanders. It should therefore 

 be placed in the subfamily Fuligulince between Camptolaimus 



