36 THE NAUTILUS. 
order, for convenience of reference, no doubt, for Mr. Call has else- 
where acknowledged and used the natural system of placing allied 
forms in groups. A number of the species, especially those of La- 
mark, are illustrated by carefully drawn wood cuts, the original and 
additional descriptions are given. 
Lamarck’s types were only briefly described by him in the 
Animaux sans Vertébres, and were not figured, and as he had but a 
limited amount of material on which to base these descriptions, and 
many of his localities were erroneous much of his work naturally rests 
under a cloud. Lea examined most of what were believed to be his 
types of Naiades, and it is on his testimony that our identifications 
of the species of the great French Naturalist, for the most part, rest. 
The determinations of the Lamarekian species given in this paper 
agree with those of Lea. 
Mr. Call has long been known as an extensive collector and a 
eareful student of the North American Unionide, and is deservingly 
considered a high authority on the subject. The only criticism on 
his paper that occurs to the writer of this review is that one or two 
errors are made in identification, and that he has placed rather too 
many species in the synonymy. Unio brevidens is not the male of 
what Lea afterwards described as U. arceformis, for although closely 
allied it is perfectly distinct. The former in its younger stages is 
more compressed, and the remarkable swelling in the posterior region 
of the female is always full and distinct, projecting below the base 
of the shell. . arceformis is always greatly inflated, is more 
strongly angled posteriorly, and the swelling of the female shell is 
not so distinct, nor does it usually project below the ventral line. 
It is not colored like U. brevidens. 
Unio venustus Lea is a solid shell, with broad, distinct, green rays, 
and is probably only a heavy form of U. spatulatus, while U. pleast 
Marsh, is more delicate, and has indistinet, wavy hair-line radiations 
of dull green, and a general reddish tint thoughout the shell. 
In general the synonymy is quite correct, and Mr. Call has made 
a good move in the direction of cheekiug the enormous multiplica- 
tion of specific names that are founded on mere variations or insuf- 
ficient material. The paper is a valuable and welcome addition to 
the literature of the North American Unionide.—C. T. Smrpson. 
At a special meeting of the trustees of the Detroit Museum of 
Art, held June 25th, a bronze medal was presented to Mr. Frederick 
Stearns, in recognition of his valuable gifts and untiring efforts on 
behalf of the Museum during the past twelve years. 
