Miscellaneous. 595 



C<il((hii/i/c of the Lepidvptera Phahvuce in (he British Museum. 

 Volume V. Catalogue of the Noctuidtc in the Collection of the 

 British Museum. By Sir Georue F. Hampsox, Bart, 8vo. 

 London : Published by Order of the Trustees, 1905. Pp. xvi, 

 034; pis. Ixxviii.-xcv. (coloured) and text-figures (plain) 172. 



The fifth of Sir George Hampson's biennial volumes contains the 

 classification of the Hadcninae, the second of the subfamilies into 

 which the autlior divides the great family Noctuida?. The Noctuidao 

 ■were commenced in vol. iv., which contained about 120;j species of 

 Agrotinie ; the Hadenina) are somewhat less numerous, 946 species 

 belonging to 78 genera being described in vol. v. The genus 

 Hadena itself is restricted to the small group called JS^euria by 

 Guenee, Noctua reticulata, Vill. { = sapona.rice, Esp.), being chosen 

 as the type, because it is the first species included by Schrank under 

 Hadena. The classification of the Noctuidte has altered very much 

 of late years, and Sir George includes many genera formerly placed 

 in separate sections, such as Leucania, Ochs., in the Hadeninae. 

 Several genera, such as Folia, Walk., are given a very wide exten- 

 sion, no less than 216 species being described under Folia. In 

 such a case it is safe to predict that the genus will probably be 

 subdivided later on. The arrangement of the present volume is 

 similar to those which have preceded it, and Mr. Horace Knight's 

 plates are deserving of high praise. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



On a Modification of the Tentacular Apparatus in certain Species 

 o/Madrepora. By Akmand Krempf. 



A CURIOUS arrangement presented by a species of the genus Madre- 

 2^ora (M. Durvillei) was noticed by Fowler in 1866. I have found 

 it in three species of the same genus from the Gulf of Tadjoura. 

 ]Sot one of these three forms appears to me to be capable of 

 identification with that which formed the subject of Fowler's 

 investigations. 



1 note that it is a questioYi of a certain dimorphism affecting a 

 third of the colony examined, and consisting, according to this 

 observer, in a marked hypertrophy of the endodermic epithelium of 

 the upper part of six macrenteric mesenteries of the animal. Tlie 

 formation is traversed in its whole length by a sagittal U-shaped 

 canal on the ectodermic walls, terminating in the pharynx in two 

 distinct superposed orifices. 



My observations have led me to an altogether different interpre- 

 tation of the morphological value of these prolongations and of their 

 U-shaped canal. Contrary to all appearance, they do not belong to 

 the mesenteries ; they only prolong these superiorly: they are in 

 eff'ect tentacles deformed by important modifications. As for the 

 ectodermic canal which they contain in their median plane, it 

 represents a portion of the buccal disc which a fusion of two tentacles 



Iv 



