Prof. H. Fol on the Family TIntinnodea. 237 



Catocala ohscurata^ Oberth. = C. untcuha, Walk. 



I see tliat M. Oberthiir has united the genera Chrysori- 

 thrum and Bolina ! After this nothing will surprise me ; for I 

 do not think two genera of Noctuites less alike could easily 

 be found. 



Capnodes Janhowskiij Oberth. 



Madopa flavomacvla^ Oberth. 



Thus finishes M. Oberthiir's first part of his Memoir on 

 Lepidoptera of the Island of Askold. It is sincerely to be 

 hoped that his next will be an improvement upon it, as it is 

 impossible to overestimate the injury, through waste of time, 

 which is occasioned to workers by the publication of duplicate 

 names for the same species — a fault which, of all men, I had 

 believed my friend M. Oberthiir one of the most anxious to 

 avoid. 



XXI. — Contribution to the Knowledge of the Family Tin- 

 tinnodea. By Hermann Fol, Professor in the University 

 of Geneva*. 



[Plate XVU. figs. 1-6.] 



Throughout the still imperfectly known class of the Infusoria 

 there is perhaps no group of which the structure, classification, 

 and synonymy are so obscm*e as those of the family of the Tin- 

 tinni. This is because most authors have thrown pell-mell 

 into this family very diverse forms, characterized so insuffi- 

 ciently that one does not know what to make of such proble- 

 matical types. Or, again, we have seen authors who only knew 

 a small number of forms belonging to a different group, take 

 these forms as the type of the family, and, upon this erroneous 

 basis, upset the diagnosis of the latter. 



But, before seeking to establish the zoological position of 

 our Infusoria, it will be well to cast a glance at the organiza- 

 tion of the forms that I have observed, so as to be able to 

 compare my results with those of other authors. 



The Tintinnodea are very abundant in the roads of Ville- 

 franche, but all belong to a few species which I shall describe 

 hereafter. These species, moreover, will be divided into three 

 distinct genera, taking as the basis of the classification the 

 form of the test. Nevertheless the structure of the animals 

 presents a remarkable uniformity. 



* Translated by W. S. Dallas, F.L.S., from the ' Bibliotheque Univer- 

 selle : Archives des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles,' '6^ p^riode, tome v. 

 pp. 5-24, January 15, 1881. The writings of previous authors are 

 referred to by numbers, which are explained in a bibliogTaphical list at 

 the end of the memoir. 



