652 DR. A. GiJNTHER ON NEW FISHES [Nov. 21, 



Cayenne. Mr. Sclater remarked that this gave a still wider extent 

 of range to this Spider Monkey than had heen indicated by himself 

 and Mr. E. Bartlett in recent remarks upon this species*. 



A communication was read from Professor Owen, F.R.S., contain- 

 ing the third of a series of memoirs on the osteology of the Marsu- 

 pials. In this communication Professor Owen entered at full length 

 into the modifications observable in the cranium of the three known 

 species of Wombats (Phascolom.ys). 



This paper will be published in the Society's 'Transactions.' 



The following papers were read : — 



1. Report on several Collections of Fishes recently obtained 

 for the British Museum. By Dr. Albert Gunther, 

 F.R.S., F.Z.S. 



[Eeceived Oetober 27, 1871. J 



(Plates LIII-LXX.) 



In the course of the present year several important collections of 

 Fishes have been obtained by the Trustees of the British Museum : — 



1. A collection of 255 examples from the Museum of Hr. Caesar 

 Godeffroy of Hamburg. The majority of the species represented in 

 this collection were desiderata to the British Museum, whilst the 

 remainder of the specimens had been obtained at localities hitherto 

 ichthyologically unknown, and consequently important for our know- 

 ledge of the geographical distribution of the species. Thus we have 

 received the first examples from the Ellice, Cook's, and Pelew 

 Islands, further considerable additions to the fauna of the Tonga 

 and Samoa Islands, and several new species from localities on the 

 north coast of New Holland. This collection contained also several 

 desiderata from the coasts and fresh waters of California, Chile, and 

 the Chincha Islands. 



2. Dr. A. Bernhard Meyer, immediately after his safe arrival at 

 Manado, proceeded to despatch some very extensive collections, and 

 sent several thousands of examples of fishes alone. Of these about 

 200 were selected for the British Museum, which had scarcely any 

 fishes from the Island of Celebes. We might have expected that 

 but few novelties would be contained in a collection made at a place 

 to which Dr. Bleeker's attention had been directed for a number of 

 years, and from which he has enumerated some 760 species. Yet 

 Dr. Meyer's researches have been rewarded by the discovery of a 

 relatively considerable number of interesting forms, among which is 

 a true Gadoid; the occurrence of a representative of this family in 

 the East-Indian archipelago (see p. 669) is a most important fact. 



* See antea, pp. 217 et 224. 



