Nuva Acta Academics Naturce Curiosorum. -179 



The last communication which offers a particular interest to the 

 entomologist, relates to ihe " Ixodes ophiophilus, eine neue Zecken-art, 

 " auf einer Schlansce s;efunden und beschrieben von Dr. Johannes 

 " Miiller." It contains a full description, accompanied by figures, of 

 a new tick, found imbedded in the skin of the nose of a species of 

 Dipsas, and closely resembling the figure given by Seba of a similar 

 parasite observed by him insinuated between the scales of an American 

 snake. That other reptiles are equally infested with parasitic ticks, 

 apparently belonging to the same genus, Ixodes, is manifest from 

 Hermann's having found similar specimens on the Testudo Grteca, Spar- 

 mann on an African species of Tortoise, Pallas on Crocodiles and Iguanas, 

 and Fabricius on animals of the last named genus. Dr. Miiller 

 compares his species with the descriptions given by each of these authours, 

 and points out the differences by which they are distinguished from it, 

 and from each other. His generic character of the group is slightly 

 modified from that given by Latreille. Incidentally he mentions that, of 

 sixty colubrine snakes examined by him among the duplicates of the 

 Bonn Museum, five specimens (belonging to four different species) were 

 furnished with the grooved posterior teeth described by Schlegal, in his 

 paper on that subject, published in the previous volume of the Transactions 

 of the Academy, and noticed at page 378 of our present volume. 



Only one other paper connected with recent zoology remains to be 

 noticed : it is from the pen of Dr. Tilesius, and is entitled " Beitrage 

 zur Naturgeschichte der Medusen." The present section is limited to 

 some general observations on the structure and relations of the Medusce 

 in general, to an indication of the principles which influence their natural 

 distribution into families, and to a detailed description of several species 

 of Cassiopea ; but the learned authour proposes to follow up his subject 

 by a series of papers treating of each of the other groups in succession. 

 He considers them as the representatives of a large class of marine 

 animals, to which he applies the common term, borrowed from Forskahl, 

 of " Animalia siphonizantia," their predominating character consisting 

 in the inhalation and expulsion of the water in which they live, by a 

 more or less powerful, more or less regular, and more or less complete 



