Notices and Analyses, #9 



The Magazine of Natural History ; conducted by J. C. Loudon, 

 F.L.G. and Z.S., &c. Published every two months, price 3s. 6d. 

 No. XVI. Nov. 1830. 



We are pleased to observe that the editor of this periodical, in conclud- 

 ing his third volume, has determined upon giving up a portion of that 

 trifling vi^hich has hitherto, for the most part, absorbed his pages j 

 and we do not hesitate to say, that if he will but dare to exercise a 

 little judgment in the selection of matter, we feel assured that this 

 work may contribute more than any similar production to the promo- 

 tion of the study of Natural History in Great Britain. The principal 

 papers in the present Number are a " Description of the Great 

 Bustard of India, with notices of some other India Bustards ;" 

 " Observations on the British willow wrens j" Yarrell's " Additions 

 to British Fishes ;" Professor Henslow on the specific identity of 

 . anagaUis arvensis, and ccerulea " Rev. L. Jenyns' " Remarks on the 



winter of 1829-30;" and Ainsworth's " Notes on the Pyrenees," 

 which, by the way, the editor seems to have copied almost verbatim 

 from vol. ii. p. 204, et seq. of this Journal, where Mr Ainsworth's 

 paper was originally published. We have no objection to Mr Loudon 

 appreciating the value of an excellent essay, but we believe it is 

 customary to acknowledge the source from which such long papers 

 have been obtained. 



Additions to the British Fauna ; Class, Fishes. By William 

 Yarrell, Esq. F.L.S.Z.S. &c.—Mag, of Nat. Hist, III. 521. 



Three distinct species of three-spined sticklebacks have been constantly 

 confounded under the name Gasterosteus aculeatus of Linnaeus. MM. 

 Cuvier and Valenciennes have distinguished them in the 4th vol. of 

 the Hist. Nat. des Poissons, p. 481, &c. by the names G. trachurus, 

 (in which the scales extend throughout the whole length of the side ;) 

 G. semiarmatus, (whose lateral scales extend no farther backward 

 than the line of the vent ;) and G. leiurus, (in which the lateral scales 

 extend no farther than the ends of the rays of the pectoral tin. ) The 

 fin-rays, and the disposition of the teeth, also differ in the three 

 species, but the general colours are the same. 



MM. Cuvier and Valenciennes are, however, somewhat doubtful as to 

 the specific distinction of G. aculeatus and G. semiarmatus ; but Mr 

 Yarrell has succeeded in taking both young and old of all three species 

 in the Thames near Woolwich ; and he states, that they are all 

 common in our rivers, though the G, aculeatus is most abundant. 



Why is not the engraver instructed to follow the drawings more carefully 

 in executing the wood-cuts ? We are sure Mr Yarrel did not deli- 

 neate the fin-rays so inaccurately as they are represented in the cuts. 



Note sur le Systeme nerveux des Crustaces, Notice respecting 

 the Nervous System of the Crustacea. By Messrs Audouin 

 and M. Edwards. — Ann, des Sciences Nat. XX. 181. 



The authors have arrived at the general conclusion, that the nervous 

 system of the Crustacea is originally composed of two chains of medul- 

 lary knots, or ganglia, equal in number to the locomotive or other 

 appendages ; and that all the modifications which are met with, either 

 at the different periods of incubation, or in different species, depend 

 for the most part upon the more or less complete approximation of 



