398 Mr. J. Blackwall on a neio Species o/^Epeira. 



tons of fishes in the Museum of the Royal College of Sur- 

 geons ; but the search for any display or representation of the 

 new bones in that great collection proved equally fruitless. 



On the 4th of November succeeding, Mr. James Flower, 

 the eminent articulator, kindly showed me dissections which, 

 in consequence of my having submitted the new bones to his 

 examination on the 4th of August preceding, he had recently 

 made of the skull of the codfish. And I was gratified to learn 

 that he had thus not only confirmed my discovery but added 

 to it the discovery of other and similar bones. They are all 

 of the squamous kind, and shaped something like small and 

 deep limpet-shells, and occur, as before said, connected with 

 the postfrontals and also with the squamosals or mastoids 

 and the epiotics or paroccipitals ; so that, on each side of the 

 head, there is a short chain of the new bones sloping back- 

 wards from the postfrontal to the epiotic. 



Provisionally, the postfrontal ossicles, one of which ^is now 

 figured, may be called, from their situation and for conve- 

 nience, expostfrontals. 



A correct understanding of " the bones which enter into the 

 composition of the skull of the fish " is said to be " the key 

 to the composition of the skull of all Vertebrata." But now 

 it seems that all these bones or pieces in fishes have not 

 hitherto been recognized, much less understood ; while it is 

 obvious that, until every part of their skull has been estimated 

 at its true value separately, as well as with its connexions in 

 the species and homologies as regards other Vertebrata, no 

 complete view can be given of this important part of osteo- 

 logy- 



And, no doubt, now the profound practical knowledge of 

 Mr. James Flower, to whom this science is so much indebted, 

 has been directed to the facts, they will be so displayed in our 

 national museum of anatomy as to afford, under the care of 

 the excellent professor and conservator, every facility for fur- 

 ther investigations. 



Canterbury, Nov. 9, 1869. 



XLVIII. — Description of a new Species o/'Epeira. 

 By John Blackwall, F.L.S. 



Epeira Mengii. 



Length of the female -^ of an inch ; length of the cephalo- 

 thorax VVj breadth -^ ; breadth of the abdomen \ ; length of 

 an anterior leg -t>-^ ; length of a leg of the third pair i. 



The cephalothorax is convex, glossy, compressed before. 



