464 Transactions. 



I presume, on the analogy of Gehia, that the specimen bear- 

 ing the well-developed 1st and 2nd pleopods is a female, and 

 that the others are males, but I am unable to find any well- 

 marked external sexual characters to confirm this supposition. 

 The large chelipeds are found in both. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE XVL 



Fig. L Gallimiassa filholi : large cheliiJed (from left side of specimen) ; 

 X 21 



Fig. 2. Callianassa filholi : small cheliped (from right side of same speci- 

 men) ; X 2^. 



Pig. 3. Callianassa filholi : 1st pleopod (? of male) ; x about 7. 



Kg- 4. „ 1st pleopod (? of female) ; x about 7. 



Fig. 5. „ 2nd pleopod (? of female) ; x about 7. 



Art. XLI. — The Comparison of the Oceanic Languages. 

 \ \ By the Rev. C. E. Fox. 



[Read before the Auckland Institute, 'ird October, 190B.] 



The present paper is written with the object of drawing atten- 

 tion to the present state of our knowledge and the large field for 

 inquiry which lies open to us, not in order to ofEer anything 

 original. Many difficulties present themselves to any one who 

 tries to compare two Oceanic languages — for example, Maori 

 and Mota (Banks Islands). If he has been told that they both 

 belong to a common Oceanic stock he is surprised to find on 

 comparing their vocabularies how many words differ, and not 

 by any means only rare words, but in many cases the names of 

 common objects and actions. This difficulty may be met in 

 one of two ways. The shortest, and at first sight the simplest, 

 explanation is that there is really no common stock at all, but 

 that one language has borrowed a certain number of words 

 from the other — he would suppose either that Maori had 

 borrowed from Mota, or possibly Mota from Maori. But as his 

 knowledge of the two languages grew wider and deeper he would 

 soon begin to doubt whether the borrowing theory would not 

 raise more serious difficulties than before, and some knowledge 

 of Oceanic languages in general would confirm his suspicions. 

 Convinced that the best explanation after all was the origin 

 from a common stock, he would have to explain in some way 

 the diversity in the two vocabularies. Some suggestions by way 

 of explanation are here brought together. 



