436 Miscellaneous. 



The abdomen is of the usual proportions, but the surface is 

 more coarsely tubercled ; the telson and broad rami of the last 

 pair of feet are spined as in living species of Cambarus. It is 

 interesting to observe that this species is most nearly related to Cam- 

 barus affinis, which, as observed to me by Mr. P. 11. Uhler, who 

 kindly gave me some species for comparison, is the more gene- 

 ralized American species of the genus, and probably the oldest one. 

 It would be interesting to know whether this fossil form is actually 

 a Cambarus or an Astacus, and to ascertain which of these two 

 genera, now restricted, the latter to the Pacific slope of the Sierra 

 Nevada, the former to the Central and Eastern zoogeographical 

 provinces, was the first to obtain a foothold on our continent. 

 There is a probability that the present fossil form is a member 

 of the American genus Cambarus. The species may be called, 

 therefore, Cambarus privneevus. — American Naturalist, March 1880. 



On the Occurrence of Taehymenis vivax in Cyprus. 

 By Dr. A. Gunthek, F.E..S. 



Major-General E. Biddulph, C.B., has kindly placed in my hands a 

 6nake obtained on the Lapithos road in Cyprus, which proves to be 

 Taehymenis vivax, a species not contained in the collection described 

 by me in Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 741, and, indeed, as far as I can 

 see, new to the fauna of the island. The captor, Capt. Stevenson, 

 informed Gen. Biddulph that the natives call it "Kufi," and believe its 

 bite to be fatal to man ; the species, however, is entirely harmless, 

 and evidently owes its bad reputation to its singular resemblance 

 to a viperine snake, and more especially to the viper occurring in the 

 island, Vipera lebetina. This is a case of so-called mimicry which 

 would be very far from benefiting the species concerned. 



The Cyprian specimen differs from all the other specimens in the 

 British Museum (received from Xanthus, Syria, the Holy Land, and 

 Dalmatia) in having twenty-one longitudinal series of scales, the 

 typical form possessing nineteen only. It does not differ in other 

 respects. 



On Dana's Lysiosquilla inornata. 

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



Gentlemen, — Allow me to state that I think Mr. E. J. Miers is 

 perfectly right in referring (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 5, vol. v. 

 p. 8) the Squilla from La Guayra to Dana's Lysiosquilla inornata. 

 When I wrote my letter, published in P. Z. S. 1870, I had no access 

 to Dana's work ; but I was afterwards able to compare his description 

 with the specimen in our Museo Nacional ; so that another one was 

 given by me, in December 1877, under that name to Mr. William 

 Stiirup, Danish Consul-General in this city, who, I believe, sent it 

 to the Museum in Copenhagen. 



I am, yours very truly, 



Caracas, March 18, 1880. A. Eknst. 



