Scientific Intelligence — Zoology, 396 



this variety of the human species, which has been described by the 

 travellers Peyssonel, Bruce, and Shaw. ** It is quite certain," says 

 M. Guyon, " that in the Aures there are men having a white skin, 

 blue eyes, and fair hair. The son of the Sheik of the beautiful and 

 rich valley of Oued-Adji, a young man who was frequently in com- 

 munication with our camp at Bathna, situated at a short distance 

 from the foot of these mountains, presents a remarkable example of 

 this race. The Whites of the Aur^s do not form distinct tribes ; but, 

 while they predominate in certain tribes, are very rare in others. 

 They are very numerous in the small town of Menna, which is situ- 

 ated to the south of the valley of Sidi-Nadji, near the town of 

 Khanga, and still more so in the tribe of the Mouchavas, who speak 

 a language in which, according to some, certain Teutonic words can 

 be recognised. The Whites of the Aures are of a middle size ; they 

 form alliances with the Kabyles and the Arabs, although rarely ; and 

 they are considered as rather lukewarm observers of the Koran ; so 

 that, in this respect, the Arabs esteem them less than they do the 

 Kabyles. The latter say, that they have inhabited the country for a 

 very long time ; and that they maintained their position at a period 

 when others of their countrymen, who lived in the neighbouring parts 

 of Africa, were expelled. The Whites of the Aures are always pretty 

 numerous at Constantino ; and they there follow the trade of baker, of 

 butcher, or of bath-heater, just as the Mozabites, who are inhabitants 

 of Southern Algeria, do at Algiers. The notice of M. Guyon is con- 

 cluded by a disquisition on certain passages of ancient authors, upon 

 which some modern writers have supported the opinion, that the 

 Whites of the Aures are the remains of the Vandals who were 

 expelled by Belisarius. — {Comptes liendus, 1845, 2'^™° Semestre, 

 No. 25, 22d December, p. 1388.) 



40. Quadrupeds and Birds peculiar to Western Siberia. — M, 

 Flourens has submitted to the Academy of Sciences of Paris a printed 

 memoir, by M. F. Brandt, Member of the Academy of Sciences of 

 St Petersburg, on the vertebrate animals of Western Siberia. This 

 memoir is translated from the German by M. Tchihatcheff, and is 

 extracted from his Voyage Scientifique dans V Altai OAental et les 

 Parties adjacentes de la Frontiere de la Chine. The memoir by 

 M. Brandt is divided into several sections, of which the first presents 

 a sunmiary of the travels and the scientific investigations which have 

 most contributed to the knowledge of the Fauna of Siberia. The se- 

 cond section, in which the author gives a general coup d^(sil of the 

 different orders of the vertebrata, contains the following list of spe- 

 cies belonging exclusively to Western Siberia : — Quadrupeds : Sciu' 

 Tus (TamiasJ uthensis, Pall. ; Viverra aterrima^ Pall. ; Lagomys hy- 

 perboreusj Mus caraco ; to which we must probably add several spe- 

 cies of Sousliks, which have not yet been sufficiently examined. 

 Birds : Corvus cyaneus, Sturnus dauricus, Turdus ruficollis^ Einr 

 beiiza fuscataf Emberiza chrysophris, Emberiza spodocephala^ Emr 



