9558 Fishes — Mollusks. 



characterize sixteen new Amazonian species, whereby the total numbei' of described 

 species is advanced to 140. Forlj-seren species of Afjra and Agridia are recorded as 

 occurring in the Amazons region; of ihese forty-two were found by Mr. Bates, and 

 ibirty-one of them were new to Science. 



The employment by Mr. Bates of the two furms Ciirabici and Carabidic to denote 

 the same group of insects evuked from the President a strong protest agiiinst the in- 

 discriminate application of two names to the same thing; he insisted also upon the 

 desirability — to prevent confusion, amounting to a necessity — of having one uniform 

 termination for the names of groups of co-ordinate value and importance; and 

 further, tliat the proper termination for the name of a f.imily was -ida, the form 

 almost invariably adopted by English entomologist'*, and which was now being adopted 

 also by the Frencii. Prof. Weslwood also expressed himself in favour of the nomen- 

 clature introduced by Kirhy, and the employment of -id<B as the termination of 

 the name of a family or of a group of insects corresponding to one of the old Linnean 



genera. 



New Pari of the ' Tian suctions.' 



A new Part of the 'Transactions' (Third Series, Vol. ii. Part 4) was on the tabic. 

 —J. W. D. 



Note on the Wolf Fish. — This fish very rarely comes amongst us: I was, therefore, 

 glad to secure a hair-grown specimen at a fish-stall ; it measured 3 feet 2 inches. To 

 my great disgust, barbarous hands had been laid upon it — it was gutted. Even in 

 this condition, however, 1 can recommend it to any ichtliyologicul friends who may 

 come across it. Its cranial anatomy is very interesting: more especially striking is its 

 formidable dental apparatus, with its broad crushing molars, forming a most effi'ctive 

 whelk-mill, while the strong sharp grapplers in front of the mouih must render this 

 powerful fish a dangerous neighbour to its scaly cousins. — Charles IV. Devis. 



Lump Sucker at the Land's End. — I have just had brought to me a specimen of 

 the lump fish or lump sucker. It was alive, and was a female, and had, I think, 

 recently spawned. Its colours were very dull ; in fact, a mere dark blue over the 

 head, hack and sides, and a dusky wh-te on the belly. It measured over all 

 24 inches clear, and from eye to fork 18^ inches clear. Both Yarrell and Couch 

 figure the fish exceedingly well, and the only addition I have to make to their 

 descriptions is that, in this specimen, the ventrab were obliterated without junction, 

 or rather were lost in the membrane by which the sucker was enclosed. Probably the 

 great size of the specimen will account for this. The fish was remarkably heavy for its 

 size : it will be stuflfed for our Museum here. I do not know that the fish is uncom- 

 mon, except in this neighbourhood. — Thomas Cornish; Penzance, April 1, 1865. 



Oslrea viryinica, a new British Oyster, at Tenby. — Last year I made a collection 

 of shells in the Bay of Cadiz, where I obtained many specimens of Ostrea virgiuica, 

 which abounds there, particularly in the tidal portion of the River Guadalete, and 

 grows to a great size, often more than ten and twelve inches in length. These oysters 

 were hitherto unknown or unnoticed in Britain; but, from the many fragments of the 

 shells found by me on the Tenby coast, I was led to suppose that they existed here 



