150 Excursion to Rickett's Point (Beaumaris). [vji"^xxxiv 



ovoid carapace. The occurrence of heavy minerals in the 

 marly beds of the cliff was pointed out, and samples were taken 

 home for detailed examination. The leader of the shore-life 

 party (Mr. J. Searle) was unable to secure a boat for tow-netting, 

 so the members turned their attention to the rock-pools left 

 by the receding tide. In these were found great numbers of 

 rotifers of the genus Synchaeta, shore-dwelling copepods such as 

 Idya fitrcata, small amphipods and isopods, and a few speci- 

 mens of living foraminifera. The rocks were covered with 

 winkles, limpets, chitons, and other molluscs, while in less- 

 exposed places anemones of large size were seen and admired. 

 On the sandy bottoms of some of the pools numerous prawns 

 were seen, and their fearless curiosity — which sometimes led 

 to their capture — demonstrated. Some of the party who were 

 taking their first lesson in shore-life were surprised when told 

 that the chitons were molluscs, so a few limpets and chitons 

 were detached from the rocks and their parts compared ; rough 

 dissection with a pocket knife showed the radula or lingual 

 ribbon in each, as well as other points of similarity. On a 

 jutting rock numerous clusters of the cirripedc, Ihla qitadri- 

 valvis, were found, and when our students were informed that 

 these were crustaceans tlieir wonder was increased. Tliey 

 could see no resemblance between these rough projections fixed 

 on the rock and the lively prawns in the pool lx4ow, but when 

 the life-history of the barnacles was explained their interest 

 in zoology increased, and the fact that cirripedes were crus- 

 taceans attached to the rock by tlieir heads, and that they 

 caught their food with their feet, will t^e a lasting impression. 

 When told that the Ascidians, on the rocks under their feet, 

 shapeless masses as they were, had in infancy possessed a 

 rudimentary backbone, a notochord, it was examined with 

 greater interest, and, as one of the ladies of the party held a 

 specimen at arm's length to sec it " squirt," the picture on the 

 title-page of the Onlooker was conjured up, and someone was 

 heard to say, " So that is evolution." Bottles were filled with 

 specimens for home study, and a very pleasant excursion 

 terminated. — F. Chapman, J. Searle. 



The Fleurieu Peninsula Rosella. — A fine coloured figure 

 of this parrot appears in the current numl)er of the E)nii. It 

 is a species, or perhaps variety, which is conhncd tu tht- neigh- 

 bourhood of Cape Jervis, South Australia, and is remarkable 

 for the lirilliancy of the red on tlie briast, i\:e. Tlie coloured 

 hgure is a splendid piece of work, for which the engraver and 

 the printer deserve great credit : unfortunately, however, 

 neither of their names appears on the plate. 



