THE HUMAN SKELETON. 45 
resembling those of man to be entitled to the term Homo, 
although not necessarily Homo sapiens. Doubtless all 
evolution is the result of the complex influences of environ- 
ment affecting all parts of the organism equally and simul- 
taneously, but the adaptability which stamps one animal 
as the “fittest” for survival proceeds in all probability from 
an advancing intelligence, which, however, is not always 
synonymous with a large brain or a great skull capacity. 
[The author desires to express his indebtedness to Sir Wm. Turner for a 
number of the lantern slides with which this paper was illustrated. ] 
ON SOME SURFACE DIATOMACEA FROM 
HONG-KONG HARBOUR. 
By Dr H. Scorr-LaupEr, R.N 
(Read 8rd November 1898.) 
WueEn I was stationed at Hong-Kong, some years ago, I 
noticed, while going to and fro between my ship and the 
shore, myriads of minute glistening points floating in the 
sea, flashing back the rays of the sun as they changed their 
position in the water, and glowing with iridescent colour. A 
few minutes with a muslin towing-net eave me a jelly-like 
mass, which I found to consist of a mixture of microscopic 
crustaceans and of diatoms of a great variety of form. 
As the family of the Chetocerex, or awn-bearing diatoms, is 
the most numerously represented and most characteristic of 
the Chinese gatherings, I shall notice them more particularly 
in this communication, 
Very few of the species of this family had hitherto been 
described, except from detached and mutilated fragments 
found in sedimentary deposits, guano, the stomachs of 
ascidians, ete. ; and as they were all new to me, I sent draw- 
ings and material to the late Mr J. Ralfs, of the Royal 
Microscopical Society of London, who was a well-known 
