136 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1899. 



GILL, Theodore N. — Continued. 



The tailless batrachians of Europe. 



Srlenrr (new series), VIII, Dec. 30, 189S, 

 pp. 932-938, with 13 figs. 



A review of "The Tailless Batrachians of 

 Europe, by G. A. Boulenger, F. R. S." The 

 work is highly commended and the illustra- 

 tions borrowed from it. 



A comparison is in.stituted between the 

 European and North American batrachians. 

 Dissent is expressed from previous investi- 

 gators respecting the affinities of Scaphiopus. 

 The families PelobatidK and Scaphiopidae of 

 Cope are declared to be inseparable. 



"Further, examination of the skeletons of 

 Pelodytes, Pelobatcs, and Sraphiopiis should 

 convince a competent observer that the dif- 

 ferences between Pdohates and Pelodytes are 

 much less than those between Pelobates and 

 Scajihiopus:" in fine, "if the family is to be 

 divided, the two European genera should be 

 combined and contrasted with the Amer- 

 ican." It is further urged that an arrange- 

 ment of the phaneroglossate forms into three 

 superfamilies of which the arciferous family 

 of Discoglossids is the most generalized, may 

 Be more acceptable to some; the superfami- 

 lies are Discoglossoidea, Bufonoidea, and 

 Ranoidea. 



.The generic names Pediocsetes and 



Poocsetes. 



Auk, XVI, Jan. , 1899, pp. 20-23. 

 Pediocxtes and Poocxles are formed on the 

 model of Ammocxtes, a misspelling of Amnw- 

 costes by Baird. The same author, however, 

 substituted for them and first published Pedi- 

 oecetes and Pocecetes, and those should be 

 adopted. Pocecetes graminea affinis is a new 

 combination. 



Suggestions for a new history of 



North American birds. 



Osprey, III, Feb. , 1899, pp. 88-94. 

 The suggestions are arranged under the fol- 

 lowing headings: Our predecessors; deficien- 

 cies [of previous works] ; a new work timely; 

 desirability of generized biographies; pro- 

 posals for publication; cla.ssification to be 

 adopted; avine orders; natural selection 

 among birds; oscine families; subspecies; 

 extra-limital species; synonymy; sequence 

 of data; general; historical; who shall write? 



Concerning Dr. Gill's proposed his- 

 tory. 



Osprey, III, Mar., 1899, p. 137. 

 A letter to the editor of the Osprey, inclos- 

 ing letters to the writer, with comments. 



Relative value of the different groups 



of animals from the faunistic stand- 

 point. 



Proc. Ent. Sue. Wny)i., IV, May 24, 1899, p. 

 194. 

 Report of remarks at meeting of May 13, 

 1897. 



GILL, Theodore N. — Continued. 



Larval stage of the eel. 



Science (new .series) , IX, June 9, 1899, p. 820. 

 It is deduced that "Inasmuch as (1) the 

 seagoing uels do not mature their ova till 

 the winter season, (2) the leptoeephalus 

 young are found from February to September, 

 or later, and (3) the transitional form be- 

 tween the leptoeephalus stage and the cylin- 

 drical stage has been found in January, it 

 appears tolerably certain that the elvers 

 which ascend the rivers in the early spring 

 are the progeny of eels that descended there- 

 from not later than winter of the penultimate 

 (and not last) season." 



The longevity of birds and other 



vertebrates. 



Osjwcy, III, June, 1899, pp. 157-160. 

 Comments on Mr. J. H. Gurney's article 

 "On the comparative ages to which birds 

 live," with remarks on the conclusions of 

 previous writers, and generalizations respect- 

 ing relation of growth to duration of life in 

 mammals, birds, and fishes. 



(Editor) Report, in part, of Samuel 



3Iitchill, M. D., professor of natural 

 history, etc., on the fishes of New 

 York. Washington: Printed for the 

 editor. 



8vo, pp. i-x, 1-30.— Publi-shed Dec. 7, 1898. 

 The editor remarks: "One of the rarest of 

 American contributions to ichthyology is a 

 little work published in 1814 — to be very pre- 

 cise, published 'January 1, 1814' — on the 

 fishes of New York; in brief, the 'Report, in 

 part, of Samuel L. Mitchill, M. D., profes.sor 

 of natural history, etc., on the fishes of New 

 York.' The only copies of whose exi.stence 

 in the United States the editor was able to 

 learn are three. It contains original and de- 

 tailed descriptions of 49 species, with a simple 

 catalogue of 21 more." Thirty-eight are 

 described or designated as new and 12 

 were really so at the time. Four genera al.so 

 are designated as new and 3 have been 

 adopted by recent authors. 



A small edition has been published with a 

 historical and critical introduction and iden- 

 tification of the species, as well as a concord- 

 ance of names with those by which the 

 species are known at the present day. 



GOODE, G. Brown. ^ Report upon the 

 condition and progress of the U. S. Na- 

 tional Museum during the year ending 

 June 30, 1896. 



Pep. Smithsonian Inst. (U. S. Nat. Mus.), 

 1890 (1899), pp. 1-284, pis. 1-4. 



GRINNELL, Joseph. Geographical 

 races of HarporhyncJvus redivinis. 



Auk. XV, No. 3, July, 1898, pp. 236, 237. 



1 Died September 6, 1890. 



