184 Miscellan eous . 



On the Appearance o/Danais Archippus in Auttralia. 

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



University of Melbourne, 

 19th May, 1873. 



Gentlemen, — Referring to the notice I sent you last month of the 

 sudden appearance of the American butterfly, Danais Archippus, over 

 a north and south area of ten miles about Melbourne, and my having 

 the year before recognized it as an abundant visitor over the north- 

 east part of the continent of Australia, I beg to say that I have since 

 received specimens in a letter from Mr. Eastwood, showing that it ap- 

 peared in abundance for the first time within the same week at Bel- 

 fast, about two hundred miles west of Melbourne. I have now a 

 letter showing that it appeared about a week later in the north of the 

 island of Tasmania, to the south. 



I have, &c, 



Frederick M'Coy. 



On the Habits of unequal Bivalve Shells. 

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



Burton-on-Trent, July 3, 1873. 

 Gentlemen, — Dr. Gray asks for information as to the habits of 

 unequal bivalve shells. 



In May last I found many specimens of Pandora incequivalvis, L., 

 in St. Aubin's Bay, Jersey. They were exposed at very low water, 

 and were lying in furrows of sand which were filled with water. 

 They lay indifferently on either valve, and were quite destitute of 

 byssus or any marks of attachment. The animals were all alive and 

 apparently healthy. 



Philip B. Mason, M.R.C.S., F.L.S. 



On the Skeleton of Kogia Macleayii. 

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



The British Museum has received two skeletons of this interesting 

 whale from Australia, of different ages. The skeletons have not 

 been mounted yet ; but the larger is about 9 feet long. The larger 

 skull is about 16 inches, and the smaller one 13^ inches long. 



The two skulls are very similar ; but the opening between the 

 upper surface of the intermaxillary bones is much wider in one than 

 in the other. The comparison of these two skulls with the very 

 young one figured as Physeter simus by Prof. Owen (Trans. Zool. 

 Soc. vi. 1. 12, 13, 14), obtained by Mr. Elliot on the coast of India, 

 shows that they are only different ages of the same species. The 

 young one chiefly differs in the sides of the frontal cavity being more 

 convex and swollen, becoming sharper in the older specimens. 

 The vomer is much more exposed below in the two young skulls 

 than in the more adult one, where it becomes partly covered by the 

 under inner edge of the intermaxillaries. The large ridge just over 

 the very large left blower is much higher and more convex in the older 

 specimens than in the middle-aged and young. 



