136 Royal Irish Academy, 



sionally appearing on the surface of the present earth, in the same 

 manner as they appear to have occurred at very distinct epochs in 

 the more ancient world*. 



Captain Portlock then cited the various authors who have men- 

 tioned this species of the pedunculated division of Lamarck's class 

 Cinhipeda, beginning with its first discoverer, Ellis, who figured and 

 briefly described it in his Natural History of Zoophytes, published in 

 178$. It is there stated to have been obtained in St. George's Chan- 

 nel. It was afterwards found on the western coast of England by Mr. 

 Brier and Mr. Montagu, but is still considered there (as stated by 

 Turton in his Conchological Dictionary) very rare. The Rev. Dr. 

 Fleming communicated to the Wernerian Society, between 181 1 and 

 J 8 14, his discovery of the species in considerable abundance on the 

 coast of the Zetland Islands. Lamarck formed his species vitrea 

 from a specimen obtained on the shore of Noirmantier, an island off 

 the coast of Poitou, apparently the first noticed in France. He had, 

 however, seen a specimen of the Lepas fascicularis, sent him by Mr. 

 [afterwards Dr.] Leach, and states his opinion that it is only a variety 

 of vitrea. A cluster of this species of Cirrhipedae having been sent 

 to Captain Portlock by one of the Ordnance Survey Collectors, from 

 the ncrth coast of Antrim in the autumn of the last year, he was in- 

 duced to make further inquiry as to its previously known existence in 

 Ireland, and having mentioned the circumstance to Mr. R. Ball, was 

 informed by him of four cases of its occurrence which he had recorded, 

 viz. on the coast of Youghal in 1819 ; coast of Clare, 1823 j coast 

 of Clare, 1828 ; coast of Antrim, 1834. These localities, therefore, 

 taken with his own, constitute a very wide range, and show that this 

 species, still considered as very rare on the coast of England, and 

 apparently equally so in France, has been traced round the western 

 shore from the north to the south of Ireland. Specimens of Anatifa 

 l&vis, Lamarck, (Lepas Anatifera, Linn.,) accompanied those of 

 vitrea. This is a common species all round the Irish coast. Captain 

 Portlock mentioned that Mr. Ball had either in possession, or a record 

 of, the following species of Cirrhipedge, as Irish : 



Anatifa sulcata, (Lepas sulcata, Mont.), Youghal j found also by 

 Mr. O'Kelly, near Kenmare. 



Anatifa striata, Lamarck, (Lepas Anserifera, Linn.,) Dublin Bay. 



Pollicipes scolpellum, Lamarck, (Lepas scalpellum, Mont.,) found 

 by Mr. W. H. Harvey in Dublin Bay. 



Cineras vittata, Leach, Lamarck, (Lepas membranacea, Turtonj) 

 attached to a plank cast on shore near Malahide. 



Otion Cuvieri, Leach, Lamarck, (Lepas aurita, Linn.,) attached 

 with a Cineras to a Balanus. The whole constituting a very large 

 proportion of the pedunculated Cirrhipedes at present known in. 

 Great Britain. 



Professor Lloyd exhibited to the Academy some modifications which 

 have been recently made in the construction of the Magneto-electric 

 machine. 



• We are glad to see the consideration of this almost neglected subject 

 thus brought forward in a definite manner. Its relations to the philosophy 

 of both zoology and geology appear to us to be very important. — Edit. 



