BibUotjr(ij)hicnI Sot ice. l.'J.j 



I'LATK Vll. 

 All tij.'ures illustrate the varieties ol' Eiectra jti/ona, Linn. 



/'///. I. \>\r. Jicauniiiriii/iii, Moll. The tip of a coated stem from the 

 .''picimin wiiich wius proeurfd by Ueurj,--!- JJarlee. The jiunctate 

 wall will here be seen extended forward^s along the sides of the 

 an a. 



////. J. \ ar. ((irbasii/itniiis, Norman. Natural s^ize. 



/•'///. .). \ nr.JliistnYor/)tu, Norman. Form a. One of the broad brauchea 

 of the .-pcc-imeM fmm Batiildcn ; natural size. 



/■///. 4. \ i\r.Jli(strif(tr)nis, Norman. Form />. A jiortiou of the specimen 

 frmn Ihikken, Btrjrt-n Fiord ; natural .-iz*^. 



I'kj.'). \'i\v.j!ii.-<fnfijnins,'Sormim. Form r. A lra<»'ment of the specimen 

 from Fo.-se de Ca]) i'roton, IJav of IJiscay ; natural size. The 

 Central portion of this fra<.'mi'nt consi.-ts of the Electra coating a 

 seaweed ; the strap-like terminations are the Polyzoon in a free 

 state. 



I-'iij. <■>. \'ar. ci'Uariifonnk, Norman. A fragment of a specimen from 

 Floiii, Norway ; the rauiilications, which would naturally be all 

 erect, have been outspread for the purpose of more clear illus- 

 tration. Natural size. 



7'/'/. 7. \'ar. i/emel/ariifdintis, Norman. l*"loro, Norway. Natural size. 



J-'i;/. ^. \ay. eucrateifunnis, Norman. Florii, Norwav. Natural size. 



liIliLl()(illAPHICAL NOTICE. 



Lts CoijuiUes des Eaiuc donees el saiDiuUres de France. Par Arnould 

 Loc.\KD. Svo. Paris, 1893. 



Tins work in scope and method is similar to ' Les Coquilles marines 

 des Cotes de France' by the same author. In the ' Annals ' for 

 January 185)2 we offered some remarks upon that volume, which, 

 in a great measure, are applicable to the book before us. 



It consists of 327 pages of text, containing brief descriptions of 

 the families, genera, and the innumerable so-called species, and is 

 illustrated with about three hundred not very good figures. The 

 descriptions of the families and genera average about two lines each, 

 and contain no mention whatever of the soft parts or animals ; so 

 that their true value may readily be estimated. The specific {\) 

 descriptions in hundreds of cases are nothing more than mere 

 diagnoses of individual specimens or groups of specimens belonging 

 to one and the same species from different localities. 



The rate at which the number of species increases in France is 

 truly miraculous I Let us take two instances. M. Moquin-Tandon 

 in 1855 recognized only five indigenous AnodonUv ; in 1882 

 M. Locard enumerated lU9 species, but a decade later this number 

 has increased to 279. One author in 1882 was content with the 

 modest number of 31 species of Linina'a, btit now 127 are rc(|uiied 

 to satisfy him! Of this genus M. Moquin-Taudon recorded but 

 seven distinct forms. 



