76 Miscellaneous. 



three crocodilians occurring in Senegal — an olive and a black crocodile, 

 and a false gavial. There are constantly received from the Gambia 

 and various parts of the west coast of Africa only three species of 

 crocodilians, viz. : — 1. Crocodtlus vulgaris, which is olive ; 2. G.fron- 

 tatus, which is black, and is known, on the coast, by the name of the 

 Black Crocodile, or Black Alligator ; and 3. a ga vial-like crocodile 

 (C. cataphr actus, Cuvier). 



If the " Crocodile noire" is not C. frontatus, then Adanson, one of 

 the most intellectual and advanced naturalists of the last century, 

 must have entirely overlooked the latter, and have given the name 

 of the black crocodile and the false gavial to G. cataphractus, which 

 is more like a gavial than a crocodile. 



Dr. Strauch's Essay is a very elaborate and careful compilation, 

 stating many things as positive which he could not have verified by 

 the examination of specimens; for, unfortunately, the collection 

 under his care is very small, and consists chiefly of very yoimg spe- 

 cimens, and he does not appear to have visited other European or 

 American collections : in fact the materials are not sufficient to be 

 the basis of a monograph of crocodilians of any authority or origi- 

 nality. 



Rare British Sharks. 

 The British Museum has lately received from Mr. WiUiam Laughrin, 

 of Polperro, a specimen of the spinous shark (Echinorhinv^ spinosus), 

 7 feet long, and of the six-giUed shark {Hexanchus griseus), 6 feet 

 long. These fish have each been recorded only once before as having 

 occurred on the British coast. — J. E. Geat. 



The Australian Bepresentative of Cynthia cardui. 

 To the Editors of the Annals and 2Iagazine of Natural History. 



Gentlemen, — In most works referring to the distribution of the 

 English Cynthia cardui, or Painted-Lady Butterfly, it is said to be 

 common in AustraHa. There is in abundance, about Melbourne and 

 in many other parts of Australia, a Cynthia with the general ap- 

 pearance and habit of the C. cardui so closely represented that every 

 entomologist I know refers it to that species. The Australian spe- 

 cies differs from the European one constantly, however, in having 

 the centres of the three lower round spots on the posterior wings 

 bright blue, and having two other blue spots on the posterior angles 

 of the same wings, the corresponding parts of the European form 

 being black. 



As the collector I employ for the museum here, Mr. "W". Kershaw, 

 mentioned this to me six or seven years ago, and I have found the 

 character constant in all the specimens I have examined since, I 

 should wish to draw attention to the fact by naming the Australian 

 insect Cynthia Kershatvi. 



I have, &c., 



Frederick M'Cor. 



