Miscellaneous. 301 



black, except near the head, where the margin is white when viewed 

 under a lens. Length about 2 lines. Motion active. 



From the bodies of some individuals I have pressed about twenty 

 round, reddish -brown, capsulated ova. It will be seen, by a refer- 

 ence to Dr. Johnston's * Catalogue' (p. 16), that this species bears a 

 great resemblance to the T. (Planaria) prasina of Sir John Dalyell, 

 and differs almost solely in colour. I remain. Gentlemen, 



Your obedient Servant, 



"W. Houghton. 



Megaceros hibernicus in the Cambridgeshire Fens. 

 To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 



Gentlemen, — In reply to Mr. H. G. Seeley's letter in the 

 'Annals' for August 1867, on the Irish Elk, I beg to remark that 

 I was acquainted with the passage in Prof. Owen's ' British Fossil 

 Mammals' to which Mr. Seeley alludes ; but, as the bone to which 

 my note referred was found in Cambridgeshire, and as Megaceros 

 hibernicus is not common in the Fens, I supposed that its occurrence 

 was worth recording. I am, Gentlemen, 



Your obedient Servant, 



Dublin, Aug. 26, 1867- Norman Moore. 



Note on Ursus lasiotus, a hairy-eared Bear from North China. 

 By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. &c. 



The Zoological Society has recently received a bear from North 

 China. It belongs to the same group as the European bear (Ursus 

 arctos), the Grisly Bear (^U.ferox), and the Japanese bear, having 

 a broad head rounded above behind, a moderate broad nose, and 

 prominent ears. 



It differs from these species in having the ears covered externally 

 and, especially, internally with long soft hairs, those on the in- 

 side forming a tuft that nearly fills up and projects beyond the 

 cavity of the ear. The fur is longer than in the European and 

 Japanese bear at the same seasons ; and there is a large tuft of 

 longer hair on the back part of the throat, which is bent forwards 

 at the tips. It is nearly as black as the Japanese bear ; but it has 

 a brownish nose and no indications of the angular mark on tlie 

 chest usually found in that species, and it is of a larger size. 



These peculiarities induce me to believe that the Chinese hairy- 

 eared bear is a distinct species, for which I propose the name of 

 Ursus lasiotus. When we have an opportunity of examining the 

 skin and bones more particularly, I expect that more important 

 specific characters will be observed. It is very distinct from the 

 Syrian or Isabella bear of the mountains of Asia, which has a long 

 narrow head. 



Mr. Bartlett believed that it was a distinct species as soon as he 

 saw it on board the ship. It is probably the bear that the Chinese 

 lead about and teach to tumble, as shown in Chinese pictures, and as 

 the " bear-leaders " in my childhood's days used to exhil)it in London 

 the European brown bear. 



