Oct. 2, 1879] 



NATURE 



535 



stone being, at the great depths where they occur, 

 reduced to a minunum, and yet even at the greatest 

 depths they are found associated with Ophiurans, 

 which are by no means wanting in lime. Among the Eus- 

 patangia, Spatangus piirpurens occurred in the tropics 

 at a depth of 400 fathoms, and Echinocardium australe 

 ivas dredged at the great depth of 2,675 fathoms. In 

 Austraha it is a littoral zone species. Among the Brissina 

 two species of Hemiaster were obtained allied to H. 

 prunella, a new species of Rhinobrissus, and two new 

 ones of Schizaster. No better idea can be given of the 

 value of this extraordinary collection than by stating 

 that there are described in this list no less than forty-four 

 new species. At the time of the publication of Agassiz's 

 '•■ Revision of the Echini," there were scarcely oyer two 

 hundred species of Echini known, and since that time less 

 than fifty species have been added to the list. In the 

 specific diagnosis of the species only the principal 

 localities are given ; the full details are reserved for the 

 full report, which we believe is in good progress, many of 

 the requisite illustrations being already engraved. 



Atlaktic Stalk-Eved Crust aceaxs.— Mr. S. Jj: 

 Smith, of Yale College, publishes, in the Transactions o 

 the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences (vol. v 

 part l), an account of the stalk-eyed crustaceans of the 

 Atlantic Coast of North America. This account forms 

 part of the report in preparation for the United States 

 Commissioner of Fisheries. It embodies the study of 

 the extensive collections made during the past fourteen 

 years by Prof. Verrill and himself. In the present paper 

 only the species inhabiting the coast between Cape Cod 

 and Northern Labrador are given, and although the paper 

 has special reference to the geographical distribution of 

 the species, considerable matter is introduced in regard 

 to specific variation and specific characters, and under 

 some of the species, to the synonymy, especially where it 

 seemed necessary to the proper understanding of the 

 geographical distribution, or to show the propriety of the 

 nomenclature adopted, or where the species is not well 

 known. The total number of species recorded is 73, of 

 which 45 are Decapods, 11 Schizopods, and 17 Cumacea:, 

 one-half of which are also to be found in Europe, the 

 author concluding that there is not only a close relation- 

 ship between the marine fauna of Greenland and that of 

 Northern Europe, but a similar close one between that 

 of Greenland and of the coasts of the continent of North 

 America. 



Land-shells of Californian and Mexican 

 Islands. — In a short paper in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. of 

 Philadelphia for 1879 (p. 16), Mr. W. G. Binney gives 

 an important contribution to the geographical distribu- 

 tion of land-shells. The Mexican island of Guadelupe, 

 220 miles from San Diego, off the west coast of Lower 

 California, has been visited by Dr. E. Palmer, and he 

 found numerous fragments of snail-shells which had been 

 devoured by a species of mouse, the only land mammal 

 on the island. These appeared to belong to Arionta 

 rowelli (Newcomb), found in Lower California. A. facta 

 occurred, a variety with open umbilicus, like that found 

 fossil on San Nicolas Island, California. Living speci- 

 mens of liinneya notabilis were brought from Guadelupe, 

 found also on the Californian island of Santa Barbara ; 

 it is very nearly allied to if not synonymous with the 

 Mexican genus Xanthonyx. Thus it is supposed to have 

 been first distributed from Mexico, then to Guadelupe, 

 thence to Santa Barbara. 



New Genus of Fishes approximating to the 

 Mackerel. — In the San Francisco market a fish is often 

 exposed for sale, having a long body, with more than seven 

 finlcts behind dorsal and anal fins, the body having long 

 narrow scales on region behind the eye, on each side of 

 the dorsal outline, and on base of tail ; the rest of the 

 body is bare of scales. It has no corselet, and no teeth 



on vomer or palatines. There are fifteen dorsal spines, 

 very fragile and slender. The ventral fins are very 

 small, the colour is dark steel blue above, silvery below ; 

 and there are no streaks. The length of a specimen 

 described by Mr. Lockington {Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 

 Philadelphia, 1879, p. 136) was 21 inches to end of 

 middle rays of caudal, length of head 4;^ inches, greatest 

 depth of body \\ inches, length of pectoral fins 2f inches, 

 ventrals i inch. 



Hair- Worms. — Curious knotted masses of hair-worms 

 (Gorduis) are sometimes found in gutters after rain. 

 Prof. Leidy disentangled one such mass last winter, 

 containing fifty-two males and seven females ; the former 

 were from 8 to 25 centimetres long, and from one-half 

 to two-thirds of a millimetre in thickness ; the latter 

 from 14 to about 20 centimetres long and I millimetre 

 thick. These worms are very lively ; and when disen- 

 tangled soon become again aggregated with the heads 

 external and divergent. 



Prof. Marsh, when examining recently the Rocky 

 Mountain deposits known as the Atlantosaurus Beds, was 

 rewarded by the discovery of the lower jaw of a mammal, 

 a diminutive marsupial (somewhat smaller than a weasel), 

 differing widely from any living type. The remarkable 

 feature in the jaw is the series of premolar and molar 

 teeth. The nearest affinities of this mammal are with the 

 genus Stylodon, of Owen, from the Purbeck beds of Eng- 

 land. Prof. Marsh designates the new genus Stylacodon, 

 and the species represented S. gracilis. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



At the meetings of the International Geodetic Associa- 

 tion at Geneva the representatives of the various countries 

 present reported on the works executed by their govern- 

 ments. \Ve are pleased to learn of a resolution of the 

 French Ministry to proceed to a new levelling of 

 precision of the first order on a length of 17,000 kilo- 

 metres ; a levelling of the second order will follow on a 

 length of 800,000 kilometres. The operations to connect 

 Spain and Algeria, to which we have referred were also 

 described. The next meeting will be held at Munich in 

 the autumn of 1880. 



A telegram from Samarkand to the Russian papers, 

 informs us that the expedition for the tracing of a railway 

 from Karaturghel to Tashkend and Samarkand has 

 finished its explorations. It has explored the banks of 

 the Syr-daria in the neighbourhoods of Kara-Uzyak, the 

 coal-mines at Khojent, and the moving sands of Fergana, 

 as well as a part of the Surkhan river and the roads from 

 Samarkand through Djam-Karshee and Kitab-Shaar to 

 the Iron Gate, and thence to the ruins of Termez on the 

 Amu-daria. Throughout its route the expedition has 

 made astronomical, meteorological, geological, botanical, 

 and zoological researches ; now it is engaged in a hydro- 

 graphical description of the Amu-daria and of its delta. 



The Russian Government are actively pursuing the 

 exploration of the great rivers of Russia in Europe. 

 Thus, during the last three years the Volga was surveyed 

 on a length of 775 miles ; a thorough levelling is com- 

 pleted on 300 miles, and no less than 91,720 soundings 

 give the necessary data for preparing a detailed map of 

 the river. The Chussovaya river, one of the upper 

 branches of the Kama river, has been explored on 

 270 miles, and the Byelaya, the other branch, on 160 

 miles. The Vyatka river is thoroughly surveyed and 

 levelled. The description of the Vistula is quite com- 

 pleted. Extensive surveys and levellings were made on 

 the river systems of the Dneiper and Bug, as well as on 

 the Don, which is surveyed on a length of 560 miles. 

 New surveys were undertaken last year on the Northern 

 Drina and Sukhona, as well as in the basins of the Obi 

 and Venissei. Several stations were established for 



