268 



Andinomys edax^ was allied to Phyllotis^ but had much larger, more compli- 

 cated, and highly hypsodont teeth; in general appearance it was like a large 

 Phyllotis^ such as Ph. Darwini. Its head and body measured 160 mm and its 

 tail 145 mm. — Mr. Oldfield Thomas also read a paper on some new Mam- 

 mals from Northern Nyasaland, which had been contributed to the National 

 Museum by Commissioner Alfred Sharpe, C.B., and Col. Manning. The 

 species described were 1) Colobus Sharpei^ coloured like C. palliatus, but with 

 larger skull and thicker fur; 2) Helogale varia, with the head dark grey, much 

 darker than the body, from Lake Mweru; 3) Helogale victorina, with buffy 

 yellow belly and feet, from the Victoria Nyanza; and 4) Funisciurus Yulei, 

 a Squirrel somewhat like F. cejmpi^ but with a pale tawny back and greyish- 

 white feet, from Lake Mweru. — Mr. Boulenger, F.R.S., made remarks 

 on the characters of the very young form of PolypteruSy connecting the early 

 stage recently discovered by Mr. Budge tt with the more advanced stages 

 described by Dr. Steindach ne r and himself. Characters were pointed out 

 by which the young of Polypteri Lapradii, congicus, Endlichen, Weeksii, sene- 

 galus, and palmas could be distinguished. Special attention was drawn to 

 young specimens of P. Lapradii from Nigeria, in which the external gills 

 measured up to one-third of the total length. — ^ Mr. Boulenger also drew 

 attention to a new Snake of the genus Psammophis, from Cape Colony, of 

 which a specimen had been presented to the British Museum by Dr. G. 

 Leighton. The name P. Leightoni was proposed for this new species. — 

 Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S., read a paper dealing with the tuft of vibrissae 

 commonly met with upon the wrist of mammals belonging to the orders 

 Lemuroidea, Carnivora, E-odentia, and Marsupialia. It was pointed out that 

 this structure was found in both sexes and in a large proportion of the 

 genera and species belonging to the mammalian groups mentioned. As to 

 other Orders of mammals, the only Ungulate in which they had been disco- 

 vered was stated to be Hyrax] of Edentates, the Armadillos alone possessed 

 these vibrissae upon the wrist. — P. L. S dater, Secretary. 



2. Naturvetenskapliga Studentsällskapet, Upsala. 



Zoologische Section. 

 Sitzung, den 31. Jan. 1902. 



S. P. Ekman, Phil. Cand., sprach über die Beziehungen der verschie- 

 denen Formen der Cladocere Bythotrephes longimanus zu einander und über 

 den localen Ursprang der Art. Ein Vergleich der in den nordschwedischen 

 Provinzen Jämtland und Lappland lebenden Formen dieser Art mit den- 

 jenigen aus der Schweiz zeigte, daß erstere in der Organisation des Auges, 

 des ersten Beinpaares und des Schwanzstachels der Gattung Polyphemus 

 näher kommen, also ursprünglicher gebaut sind als letztere. Da außerdem 

 eine beträchtlichere Größe der Thiere in den nördlichen Gegenden auf 

 günstigere Lebensbedingungen hindeutet, muß die phyletische Entwicklung 

 der Art in solchen subarktischen Gegenden stattgefunden haben. Die nörd- 

 lichen Formen leben in kleinen Wassersammlungen, und das Tiefleben der 

 schweizerischen Form ist als eine secundäre Abänderung zu bezeichen und 

 daraus zu erklären, daß unter den übrigens ungünstigen Lebensbedingungen 

 die tieferen Wasserschichten dem Lebensbedürfnisse der Thiere am besten 



