Zoological Society. 479 



catching on a supposititious shore, till he gets out of his depth in 

 the lapse " of a few thousands, or a few millions of years," and comes 

 back at last as a Polar Bear of "natural selection." Again he tries 

 his strength in the icy waters, this time in the mysterious form of 

 an unknown animal, and we find him floundering in the mid-sea of 

 a " much more difficult and complicated problem " — the origin of the 

 Walrus (p. 276). We do not well see how he gets out ; but next 

 we find him (p. 282) high and dry in South Africa, showing the re- 

 lation of rapid desiccation and local drought to the several kinds of 

 Antelopes inhabiting " the vast Kalihari Desert," and of which 

 " some do not drink above once in three or four days, and others are 

 never known to drink at all." As our author leaves " the discussion 

 of the subject to abler pens," we leave it too — with pleasure, and con- 

 clude by saying, that for the most part we have had much pleasure 

 in reading Mr. Lamont's lively book, full of facts, straightforward 

 and healthy in its tone. The book is well got up, and is illustrated 

 by some characteristic sketches of sporting scenes in Spitzbergen. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



January 22, 1861.— Dr. J. E. Gray, V.P., in the Chair. 



Descriptions of Two Species of Crustacea belonging 

 TO THE Families Callianassid^e and Squillid^. By 

 Adam White, Assistant Zool. Dep. Brit. Museum. 



The Callianassa here described is from the Camaroons River, W. 

 Africa, whence it was brought by the captain of an African trader to 

 J. Aspinall Turner, Esq., M.P., the well-known possessor of a very 

 fine collection of African insects. Mr. Turner liberally presented it 

 to the Museum, with the information, that this long-bodied Crusta- 

 cean appears periodically in the river in prodigious numbers, which 

 disappear in the course of ten days or a fortnight. The natives are 

 very fond of them, as they are delicious eating ; and as soon as they 

 make their appearance in the river, the men leave their usual pursuits 

 to catch them. 



Genus Callianassa, Leach. 



Callianassa Turnerana, n. s, 



C. processu rostraJi hreviter trispinoso ; digito superiore obtuse, 

 intus quadridentato ; abdominis segmentis tertio quarto quinto- 

 queplagis duabus pellucidis, pilis densis brunneis postice obsitis. 

 Long. unc. 6f. 



Hab. Africa occ. (Camaroons). 



Moveable finger of the large claw blunt at the end, the back gra- 

 dually curved, the base with three or four small tubercles arranged 

 longitudinally, and with indications of another row ; the inner edge 

 has four teeth, the two largest near the base, united so as to form one 



