Bibliographical Notices. 627 



connected with locusts and the birds which prey upon them will 

 also be found in this Report, in addition to the practical details of 

 distribution and prevention which form its main subjects. 



W. F. K. 



Fische der Siid-See. — Part IX. By Dr. Albert Gcnther. Being 



Heft xvii. of the 'Journal des Museum Godeffroy.' Hamburg 



(L. Friederichsen & Co.), 1910. 4to. 

 The history and scope of this work have been shortly outlined in a 

 notice in the 'Annals' for December 1909, together with a more 

 detailed account of Part VIII. The promise therein given of a 

 further contribution to our knowlege of the 'Fische der Siid-See' 

 during the present year has been fulfilled, and it is a matter for 

 congratulation to the author and to ichthyologists alike that with 

 the appearance of the ninth part this sumptuously illustrated mono- 

 graph now stands completed. And if, on the other hand, we must 

 regret that during the progress of the work the author should have 

 found the close examination of minute structure to be too trying 

 for his failing eyesight, we must be glad that he could avail him- 

 self of the valuable experience of Mr. Tate Regan, of the British 

 Museum. For this and for other help received thankful reference 

 is made in the Preface. 



The concluding part of the 'Fische der Siid-See ' is concerned with 

 the families of Murceni dee (with 81 species) and Pegasidce (2 species), 

 with the Lophobranchii (16 species), Plectognaihi (76 species), Sela- 

 choidei (20 species), and Batoidei (14 species). The distinction and 

 limitation of the species of some of the generic types, for instance of 

 the Muraenas, is exceedingly difficult, and can be successfully under- 

 taken only with the aid of long series of examples, such as are found 

 in the British Museum. The author urges repeatedly that certain 

 species inhabiting coral-reefs are especially subject to infinite 

 variation of colour : compare, for instance, the two plates of 

 M. undulaia (pis. 164 and 165). The dentition, too, usually so 

 trustworthy a taxonomic character, can, in the Mursenas, be em- 

 ployed with caution only ; for it not only undergoes changes with 

 age, but individuals of the same size and, presumably, similar age 

 may differ in respect of the number and arrangement of their teeth. 



TJnder such circumstances the compilation of the synonymy must 

 have been an unusually laborious task. Of llurcena meleagris not 

 less than 11 synonyms are enumerated, of which seven are intro- 

 duced in recent American literature. Under Murcena undidata 

 are 15 synonyms, of which 3 are due to Richardson, 3 to Bleeker, 

 and 5 to American authors. 



There is a wide field of research open to naturalists and travellers 

 who may have opportunities of studying the fishes of the Pacific Ocean 

 in their natural environments. Our knowledge of their develop- 

 ment and of the changes which they undergo with age is infini- 

 tesimal. In the case of one species only (Ostracion cornutus) has 

 the author been enabled to describe and figure a progressive series 

 of juvenile forms. 



