Miscellaiieoit.t. 2!).'{ 



On the White-toothed Americ<in Beai'er. 

 liy Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S. 



The British Museum lately received from Dr. 11. Brown tlirec 

 skulls of the Ameriean Beaver, which agree in nil particulars, and 

 cspeeiallj" in the form of the nasal Itones, with the usual Anieriean- 

 beavcr skulls; but they differ from them in having white cutting- 

 teeth, or with a more or less yellow tinge ; all other Anieiican 

 and Europeau beavers I have seen have dai'k red-bi-own cutting- 

 teeth. The variety may be catalogued as Castor canadensh leuco- 

 ffonta. I believe these skulls were procured on the north-west coast 

 of America ; but Dr. R. Brown did not state any special locality. 



On the Occurrence of Beania mirabilis and Labrus mixtus at East- 

 bou)me, Sussex. By F. C. S. Hopee, F.L.S. &c. 



To the Editors of the Annals and Mayazine of Natural Ilistonj. 



Gextlemex, — The beauty and variety of animal and vegetable 

 life on the rock-bound shores of oiu* south-western and northern 

 coasts, where every pool abounds with zoophytes, sponges, and algae 

 in profusion, has long made them favourite huntiTig-grounds for 

 all who are interested in these branches of natural history. Many 

 of the small and rare species of zoophytes are only recorded ns oc- 

 curring either on the coasts of Devou or Cornwall, of which the marine 

 zoology has been so well worked up by the labour's of Couch, Gosse, 

 and the Rev. T. Hincks. or on the shores of Yorkshire or Xorthum- 

 bcrland, by Bean, Johnston, and others. The south and south-eastern 

 coasts, where chalky, argillaceous, or sandy strata occur, are less 

 favourable to the growth of these productions, and, as a necessary 

 consequence, have not received the same amount of attention. At 

 the same time I have little doubt that a careful search would be 

 rewarded by the discovery of many species at present only knoMTi 

 as inhabitants of more favoured localities. As an instance of this, 

 I have to record the occurrence on the shore at Eastbourne of one 

 of the rarest of the Polyzoa noticed by Dr. Johnston, the Beania 

 mirahllis, which appears hitherto only to have been found at 

 Scarborough (by ilr. Bean, its discoverer), at Peterhead, on our 

 northern coasts, where it is said to be very rare, and at several 

 localities in Devon and Cornwall, where, according to the Rev. T. 

 Hincks's ' Catalogue of South-Devon and CornLsh Zoophytes.' it is 

 more abundant. The specimen I met with was growing at the base 

 of a mass of Flusfra foliacea thrown up on the shore by the late 

 heavy gales ; and, as Dr. Lands])orough observes, the species "is so 

 insignificant when seen by the naked eye. that it would easily be 

 passed over as undeserving of regard." The specimen I have is 

 i)arely one-fourth of an incli in length, with about <'ight of the pe- 

 culiar calycles attached standing up erect from the radicles, which 

 ramify over the lower part of the F/ustra. From its occurrence on 

 this zoophyte, it W(mld appear to be from deep water rather thuTi 

 from the immediate vicinity of the shore, and probably, by dredging, 

 might be procured in a living state. 



Aim. lO Mo(j. N. Hist. kScr. 4. Vol. iv. 21 



