264 



December 15, 1847. 

 J. C. Warren, M. D. President, in the Chair. 



Dr. C. T. Jackson communicated a letter, addressed to 

 him by a committee of the French Institute, inviting the 

 cooperation of American Naturahsts in erecting a Monument 

 to the Memory of Geoffroy St. Hilaire. He advocated the 

 proposal ; and, after remarks by Dr. J. B. S. Jackson and 

 others, it was Voted, That the letter be submitted to a 

 committee of three, to consider and report thereon. The 

 President, and Drs. C. T. and J. B. S. Jackson vi^ere chosen 

 to constitute the committee. 



Dr. C. T. Jackson presented, on behalf of Mr. Joy, a 

 specimen of Coluber occipito-maculatus. 



Dr. Gould presented, on behalf of Mr. James Mitchell, of 

 Nantucket, a portion of the Cranium of a Ray. 



Mr. Ayres exhibited the Jaws of Carcharias ceruleus, 

 Dekay, showing that the teeth are serrated ; as Dr. Storer 

 had remarked at a previous meeting, that C. obscurus, Le 

 Sueur, was the only Shark known on the Massachusetts 

 coast with serrated teeth. He exhibited also the Jaws of 

 C. griseus. 



It may be doubted, whether this species can be retained in 

 the genus Carcharias. The teeth are very similar to those of 

 Scyllium ; but from that genus it is separated by the position of 

 the dorsal fins and by the absence of spiracles. The teeth of 

 Carcharias are hollow at the base ; in this specimen Mr. A. had 

 cut two of the teeth across, near the base, showing that they 

 were solid. 



Mr. Desor remarked, that the species might probably be in- 

 cluded in the genus Odontaspis of Agassiz. 



Mr. F. J. Bumstead was elected a member of the Society. 



