1873.] F. Stoliczka— On the Passalidce. 113 



regarding their classification in a recent Monograph of the Passalidce. The 

 present communication is only preliminary to a more extensive monograph, 

 hut the author thought it desirable to put on record the results which he had 

 at present obtained, because he was shortly to proceed with the expedition to 

 Central Asia, which might last for nearly two years. 



There are 29 species enumerated in the paper. Regarding several of the 

 known ones, notes on distribution, etc., are given, and eight species are de- 

 scribed as new. All the species which are known to occur in India, includ- 

 ing Ceylon and Burma and the country extending southward to Singapore, 

 have been noticed. The arrangement of the groups and genera adopted 

 by Kaup in his recent monograph has been followed. The paper will be 

 published in the third number of the Journal. 



The author did not claim to be a supporter of the views of the philosophical 

 school of naturalists, but he spoke in a few general terms on the principles of 

 classification, adopted by Dr. Kaup, a classification of which Dr. Kaup may 

 almost be called the originator, and of which he certainly is the most im- 

 portant representative and the greatest supporter. The principle which the 

 philosophical school, as represented by Kaup, adopts, is briefly the following. 

 The naturalists say that we have to arrange our zoological specimens accord- 

 ing to three heads — first, according to the anatomical system ; secondly, ac- 

 cording to the organ of sense ; thirdly, according to the different parts of the 

 body ; these being the three chief constituents which make the animal 

 what it is. Arranging the different components of each of these according 

 to their value we obtain the following table. 



B. Sense. C\ Part of bod)/. 



eye head. 



ear chest. 



nose rump. 



tongue belly. 



sex sacral region. 



Now, to give an example — the class of animals in which the nervous sys- 

 tem, the eye and the head, in proportion to the body, become most highly 

 developed is undoubtedly the Mammalia. In the same way we get for 

 number II. the birds, as the type of respiration-animals, the third the Pep- 

 tiles (with the Amphibians), inclwdmg the most voluminous forms, the fourth 

 the Fishes with the belly most developed, and the fifth the Mollusca. These 

 five classes are regarded as the members of the first sub-kingdom. The 

 addition of the Mollusca to the other four does not look a very fortunate one, 

 and it would be perhaps more appropriate to separate the Amphibians from 

 the true Reptilians, as they are in reality two entirely different classes. 

 Again it does look very strange that in the fifth division the sexual system 

 is entered as corresponding to the eye and ear, and it is not apparent why 



