81 REPORT 1865. 



Notes on the Voracity of Chiasmodus. By Dr. Carte. 



Dr. E. Perceval Wright exhibited for Dr. Carte a specimen of Chiasmodus niger, 

 Johnson, which had b?en sent to the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society by 

 Capt. Sir Leopold M L Cliutock, R.N. The fish had been found by Dr. Imery floating 

 on the surface of the sea near Barbadoes, with a species of the genus Scojjelas in 

 its stomach. The swallowed fish was nearly twice the size of the swallower, and 

 the tegumentary covering of the abdomen of the latter was stretched as thin as 

 goldbeater's leaf. A drawing of the specimen by Mr. N. Walsh of Dublin was also 

 exhibited, showing the position of the Scopelus in the abdomen of the Chiasmodus. 



On the Relative Weight of the Brain, and on the External Form of this Ore/an, 

 in relation to the Intelligence of the Animal. By Edwards Cri.sp, M.D. 



Dr. Crisp illustrated his paper with 126 casts in wax and plaster-of-paris of the 

 brains of different species of animals taken by himself; among these, were the 

 casts of the brain of the Chimpanzee, Orang, Gorilla, and of two species of Gibbon, 

 and the cast of the brain of the Irish Elk (Megaceros Iiibernicus), made by filling 

 the skulls with plaster-of-paris ; but many of the casts were from the brains 

 themselves. The author thought that much error prevailed respecting the belief 

 that the amount of intelligence corresponded to that of the number of the convo- 

 lutions; he found that some animals with but few or no convolutions, as the 

 Marmot, Rat, and man}' species of birds, had a large amount of intelligence ; 

 whilst many others, as the Ruminants, with abundant convolutions, were com- 

 paratively deficient in intelligence. The paper was further illustrated by a Table of 

 226 different species of animals, the bodies and brains of which (witli a few ex- 

 ceptions as regards the body) were weighed by the author. As was well known, 

 the brain of man averaged about 48 ozs. in weight, that of a woman 4 or 5 ozs. less, 

 forming a proportion of about «^ to jV °f tae body ; but on looking over the Table, 

 a great many animals among the Quadrumana, Rodentia, and Ave3 had relatively 

 larger brains than man, but then it should be remembered that the brain in small 

 animals, like most of the organs, was proportionately large. 



The weights of the brains of a few animals dissected and weighed by the author, 

 were as follows : — Young Chimpanzee (S. troglodytes), body 19| lbs., "brain 12 ozs. 

 Young Orang (S. satgrus), body 20 lbs. 3 ozs., brain 10| ozs. In a young Rhesus 

 Monkey (M. rhesus), at birth, the body weighed 11 ozs., the brain 2 ozs. 20grs. 

 In a foetal Yervet Monkey (C. pggerythrus), body 8 ozs., brain 1 oz. 80 grs. In a 

 foetal Hybrid Monkey, body G ozs. 325 grs., brain 500 grs. In a fcetal Green 

 Monkey {C. callltrichus), body 2 ozs. 184 grs., brain 190 grs. Chacma Baboon 

 (C. porcarius), body 40 lbs., brain ozs. 170 grs. Spider Monkey (A. ater), body 

 oy lbs., brain 2 ozs. 10 grs. Cebus apeUa, body 2 lbs. 5 ozs., brain 2 ozs. 10 grs. 

 Marmoset (//. vulgaris), body Gozs., brain 166 grs. Yampire (Desmodus), body 

 8 ozs. 200 grs., brain 90 grs. Brown Bear* (U. arctos), body about 500 lbs., brain 

 13 J ozs. Lioness (F leo), body 268 lbs., brain 7 ozs. Sea Otter (31. lutris ), body 

 about 30 lbs., brain 3 ozs. 160* grs. Porpoise (D. pbocccna), body 60 lbs., brain 

 15 ozs. Seal (P. vltulina), body 40 lbs., brain 12 ozs. Capybara (II. capybara), 

 body 45 lbs., brain 2 ozs. Harvest Mouse (M. messorius), body 111 grs., brain 

 6 grs. Armadillo (D. sc.vcinctus), 7 lbs., brain 295 grs. Young Tapir (T. ame- 

 ricunus), body 14Slbs., brain 7 ozs. 380 grs. Elephant (E. indicus), body about 

 6720 lbs., brain 12 lbs. Giraffe (C. giraffa), body about 1790 lbs., brain 15 ozs. 

 Ilarte Beest (B. caama), body about 336 lbs., brain 9 ozs. Aves : — Golden Ea<*lo 

 (A. chrysaetos), body 7 J lbs., brain 260 grs. Raven (C. corax), 31b3. 2 ozs., brain 

 193 grs. Yellow Hammer (E. citrinella), body 420 grs., brain 8 grs. Gold Crest 

 (R. cristatus), body 81 grs., brain 6 grs. Magpie (P. caudata), body 9 ozs., brain 96 lis. 

 Heron (A. cinerea), body 4 lbs. 10 ozs., brain 138 grs. Maribou Stork (C. mariboti). 

 body about 1G lbs., brain 145 grs. Toucan (R. toco), body 8 ozs., brain 48 grs. Brush 

 Turkey (T. Lathami), body 4 lbs. 11 ozs., brain 45 grs. Young Ostrich (S. ca- 

 melus), body about 60 lbs., brain 473 grs. Reptilia : — Hawk's-bill Turtle ( T. caretia), 

 body 12 lbs., brain 45 grs. Sand Lizard (L. agilis), body 113 grs., brain ] gr. 



* This Bear was for many years at the Regent's Park Garden?, and I believe it was the 

 largest ever seen. 



