Miscellaneous. 425 



Todaro, Engelmann, Loven, and Schwalbe it seems to us difficult 

 not to regard the cyatliiform bodies of fishes as gustatory papillae. 

 Their structure and their situation in the epidermis separate them 

 completely from the tactile corpuscles, such as we commonly see in 

 birds and mammals. 



The sense of taste thus acquires in fishes an importance which 

 may appear exaggerated, but which seems to us accounted for by 

 the nature of the medium in which these animals live. The search 

 for food in these creatures must be guided especially by sensitive 

 terminations more particularly destined to the reception of gustatory 

 emanations ; and this explains the distribution of the cyathiform 

 bodies upon external organs, explorating- apparatus, the situation of 

 which has deceived observers, but which need no more surprise us 

 than the existence of well-formed otocysts, far from the head, upon 

 the last segments of the M^ sides. — Comjptes Rendus, March 21, 

 1881, p. 743. 



0)1 the Pteroclida3. By Modest Bogdanow. 



From anatomical data Elliot (" Study of the Pteroclidse, or Family 

 of the Sand-Grouse ") arrived at the conclusion that the Pteroclidse 

 should be placed between the Columba3 and the Rasores, a position 

 which had been indicated for them even before Elliot's work, and 

 as to the correctness of which the author thinks there can be no doubt. 

 He regards it, however, as a more rational course not to refer the 

 Sand-Grouse cither to the Columba^ or to the Rasores, but to raise 

 them into a distinct order, as many peculiarities of organization, as 

 well as the mode of life, separate them sharply from the Rasores. 

 Thus the form of the wings and feet is by no means gallinaceous ; the 

 coloration and the mode of life are quite peculiar ; further the eggs 

 resemble those of the pigeons, but possess a special coloration, and 

 the layings of the Pteroclidse consist normally of only three eggs, 

 whilst in the Gallina) they are much more numerous. Finallj', in 

 the Pteroclidie the young after exclusion are covered with a down of 

 ver}' peculiar coloration, and are not blind, although they are unable 

 to run about. All these characters, with many others, induce the 

 author to propose to raise the Pteroclidae to the rank of an order, 

 standing between the Columbte and Rasores, and for which he sug- 

 gests the name Heteroclit.15. 



Besides the Pteroclidae the Thinocoridae must be referred to this 

 order in accordance with the views of C. L. Bonaparte. The agree- 

 ment between Attagis and Pterodes is so striking that one cannot 

 understand how the Thinocoridae have been referred to the Gralla- 

 tores. The two genera just mentioned not only resemble each other 

 in external characters, in the form of the beak, wings, and feet, in 

 the plumage, &c., but even in the character of their dwelling-places 

 they offer a very remarkable agreement. The species of Pterodes 

 inhabit deserts and are always companions of the camel ; the 

 species of Attagis live on the alpine meadows of the Andes and are 

 associated with the llamas. 



