684 



July, August, September, and October, 1888, and called attention to the 

 acquisition of three specimens of Pallas's Sand-Grouse [Syrrhaptes paradoxus),. 

 captured out of the many flocks of this Asiatic bird that have lately visited 

 the British Islands. — A letter was read from Prof. J. B. Steere, C.M.Z.S., 

 giving a preliminary account of the ,,7a»?aron", a Bovine animal found in 

 the Island of Mindoro, Philippines, which he believed to be allied to the 

 Anoa of Celebes. — Mr. Edgar Thurston, C.M.Z.S., exhibited and made 

 remarks upon a collection of Corals from the Gulf of Manar, Madras Presi- 

 dency. — Mr. H. Seebohm exhibited and made remarks on a specimen of 

 a new species of Pheasant [Phasianus tarimensis) , obtained by General Prcze- 

 valsky at Lob Nor, Central Asia. — Mr. H. Seebohm also exhibited a spe- 

 cimen of a species of Plover new to the British Islands [Vanellus gregarius] , 

 which had been shot in Lancashire about 25 years ago, and had been previ- 

 ously supposed to be a Cream-coloured Courser. — Mr. J. W. Hulke, 

 F.R.S., F.Z.S., read a paper on the Skeletal Anatomy of the Mesosuchian 

 Crocodiles, based on fossil remains from the clays near Peterborough, in the 

 collection of A. Leids, Esq., of Eyebury. The author remarked that within 

 the primary divisions of the order the definition of species had, as Strauch 

 had remarked twenty years ago in his excellent , Synopsis of Extant Croco- 

 diles', ever been one of the more difficult tasks of the systematic herpeto- 

 logist. This he attributed largely to the mutability of the characters, chiefly 

 external, employed ; but principally to the inadequacy of the osteological 

 material then available for the purpose. This latter want was at the present 

 time scarcely less than when Strauch wrote, yet an exact and comprehensive 

 acquaintance with the anatomy of the Mesosuchia must constitute the only 

 secure and enduring basis of classification. In treating of extinct forms the 

 difficulty was much increased. The collection of Mr. Leids contained a large 

 series of crocodilian remains from the Oxford Clay in admirable preservation, 

 which illustrated many anatomical details not to be learned from the skeletons 

 embedded in slabs of rock contained in public museums. The author de- 

 scribed a selection of bones from Mr. Leids' s collection illustrative of the 

 two chief families into which Messrs. Deslongchamps (père et fils) had divided 

 the Teleosauria. The skeletal differences of the Teleosauria proper, and 

 Metriorhynchi , and those existing between both these and the Eusuchian 

 skeleton were pointed out ; and the morphology of certain bones was dis- 

 cussed. — Mr. Oldfield Thomas, F.Z.S., read a paper on a collection of 

 small Mammals obtained by Mr. William Taylor in Duval County, South 

 Texas. The collection contained examples of one new species and one new 

 geographical variety, besides adding no less than six species to the National 

 Collection of Mammalia. — A communication was read from M. L. Tacza- 

 nowski, C.M.Z.S., containing a supplementary list of the Birds collected 

 in Corea by Mr. Jean Kalinowski. — P. L. Sclater, Secretary. 



Berichtigung. 



In No. 291 Aufsatz von G. Baur ist zu corrigiren : 



p. 594, Zeile 25 V. c, Podocnemididae, statt Pelomedusidae, 

 p. 595, Anmerkung 10, D. M a tei, statt D. 3fauri, 

 p. 597, Zeile 3 v. c, <* + 5, statt t*, ^^ 



Druck von Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig. 



