Imperial Institute of France. 38f 



explains in a way peculiar to himself the classes, orders 

 and genera ot" these innumerable animals: but as travellers 

 have since discovered niany new species and genera; as 

 anatomists have better developed their structure ; and lastly, 

 as the discrimination of M. de Lamarck has discovered se- 

 veral new relations between them, he has published an 

 abridged syllabus of his course according to this perfected 

 method, in which he contents himself with indicating the 

 characieis of the superior divisions, and meiely gives the 

 simple nominative enumeration of the genera. 



He follows in point of arrantrement, the order of the de- 

 grees of complication, commencing with the most simple 

 animals. Supposing that those which have no nerves ap- 

 parent, are moved only in virtue of their irritability, he de- 

 nominates them ap'ithic animah : he gives the name of 

 sensible animals to others without vertebrae, and reserves 

 that of intelligent animals for those with vertebra. To hir 

 old classes, which are already well known to naturalists, 

 he adds that of cinhipedes, which comprehends the sea 

 glands, and their analogous genera, and which he places 

 between these anelides and mollnsci ; that of epizoary or 

 intestinal worms, which he placi-s among his apaihic ani- 

 mals ; and that of the infusores, or microscopic animals 

 without mouths or apparent intestines. He leaves the 

 echino-dermes among the radiarii and the apathic animals, 

 and in a greater degree of simplicity than that in which he 

 places the intestinal worms. 



We regret that want of room does not admit of our 

 making known the other changes introduced by M. de 

 Lamarck in his orders, nor the numerous additions which 

 he has made to the li^t of s^nera : but naturalists will not 

 fail to examine them in the work itself. 



Notwithstanding the success of the anatomical researches 

 respecting animals without vertebrae for these few years 

 past, there still remained one of their families, the funda- 

 mental organs of which were not yet well known : these 

 are the echino-dermes, which comprehends the sea stars 

 and analogous genera. The Class having proposed a prize 

 lor the iinproveni'viits of thi^ branch oi comparative ana- 

 tomv, it was gained by Professor Tiedman of the University 

 of Landshut. 'Ihe memoir of this eminent anatomibt 

 makes known for the first time, with rare precisi<in, many 

 j)articularitics of organization peculiar to these singular 

 animals. A kind of circulation is easily perceived belweeu 

 their organs of digestion and of respiration, without pre- 

 senting however a cumpleie double circle : besides, the 

 Ij b 3 branches 



