PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 63 
Mr. A. G. H. Doran communicated, through Prof. Flower, an extensive 
memoir on the small ear-bones, or ossicula auditus, of the Mammalia, 
the specimens referred to being deposited in the Osteological Gallery of 
the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. While dealing with 
these usually diminutive bones in extenso, the author more particularly 
confined himself to summarising the most noteworthy facts relative to 
those of the Insectivora, Cheiroptera, Cetacea, Sirenia, Edentata, Mar- 
supialia, and Monotremata. In the first of these groups, the three 
little bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) present no positive or marked 
characteristic. Among the Bats there is a resemblance to what obtains 
in the Shrews, except in the genus Pteropus, where the malleus or 
hammer is of a lower type. Of Whales, Balena has the most generalized 
type; the Dolphins have relatively stout stirrup arches and other marked 
features ; the Gangetic Dolphin (Platanista) has slightly modified ossicula. 
Those of the Manatee group (Sirenia) are at once known and distinguished 
by their relatively great weight and their shape. The Edentata not only 
differ as a whole, but among the Armadillos-distinctions of the ossicula 
exist, and Sloths and Ant-Eaters are known by special characters of their 
own. The Pouched Mammalia (Mursupialia) show a low grade in their 
small ear-bones; and a still lower form, approaching to that of birds 
and some reptiles, is evinced in the Echidna and Duck-billed Platypus 
(Ornithorhynchus paradowus). The author's investigations and comparisons 
lead him to believe that even in such parts as these inner ear appur- 
tenances generic and family characters are apparent, and that these are 
of some value when considered in connection with other features of a more 
distinctive character. 
Two botanical papers were read, of which we need only append the titles, 
namely, a “ Note on the Uses of a Commercial Cane termed ‘ Whangee,’ a 
Species of Phyllostachys,” by Mr. Jobn R. Jackson, of Kew; and “Some 
Morphological Notes on certain Species of Thunbergia,” by Mr. Marcus 
Hartog, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon. 
ZooLoeicaL Society oF Lonpon. 
January 2, 1877.—Prof. Newron, F.B.S., Vice-President, in the chair. 
The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the 
Society’s Menagerie during the month of December, and called attention to 
a Snowy Owl captured in Ireland, presented by Mr. John Kendall, and to 
the recent abundance of specimens of this bird. 
Prof. Newton exhibited and made remarks on a specimen of a variety of 
the Guillemot (Alca troile), with yellow bill and legs, which had been lately 
shot by Mr. T. M. Pike on the coast of Dorset. 
