FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB 189 



shells. Mr. Potter showed an insect he found in a decayed 

 gru-gru palm on the heights of Santa Cruz, which he said 

 resembled the Scutigera Lamarck. Mr. Urich showed a spider 

 belonging to the Attidce which almost exactly resembled an ant, 

 specimens of which were also shown for comparison. At 9.30 a 

 most interesting meeting came to a conclusion. 



CLUB PAPERS. 



ON THE FORMATION AND DISINTEGRATION OF 

 SEGMENTS OF CAUDAL APPENDAGE IN C. 

 HORRIDUS. 



By R. R. Mole. 



IN the Journal of February 1S9+, Mr. Urich and myself 

 published a short paper embodying our observations on a South 

 American Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridvs). A great deal more 

 importance has been attached to that article in Europe than ever 

 we ourselves credited it with and it has been translated into 

 many German scientific papers and magazines solely because of 

 certain references to the formation of the caudal appendage. 

 The paper in question was dated the loth of February 

 1894, just a year ago. The snake had then eight (8) 

 segments to the rattle having lost three on April 21st, 

 1893, when sloughing. At the present date he has eleven 

 (11) and the remains of the one which was number eight on Fe- 

 bruary 15th, last year. During the year the snake has cast his 

 skin on several occasions but a precise record has not been kept. 

 It has been noticed, however, that the portion (from an inch to 

 half an inch long) nearest the rattle does not come away so 

 readily as formerly and is only cast after a time — although turned 

 back (reversed) like the rest of the skin, the point of attachment 

 being the juncture of the tail with the rattle. At the moment 

 of writing there is still a ring of sloughed skin round the 

 base of the rattle left from the last sloughing, about a 

 fortnight ago. The snake is confined in a box with glass 

 sides and top which are protected from breakage on 

 the outside by galvanized wire netting. The ends are perforated 

 zinc. The wooden frames in which the glass is set have 

 squared and not rounded corners ; the bottom of the cage is 

 rough unplaned wood with two planed cross bars. There is 

 consequently very little to give rise to friction in the rattle, yet 

 the segment which was number eight on February 15 (1894) ha» 

 worn almost completely away, only the edges remain and in the 



