279 
him by Mr. F. W. Ramsden, H.M.’s Consul at St. Jago de Cuba. The well- 
known division of the hepatic lobes into minute lobules in ©. pilorides from 
the same island was shown not to exist in ©. melanurus, which otherwise 
closely resembled the former species, and this character could therefore no 
longer be considered a generie one. — P. L. Sclater, Secretary. 
3. Linnean Society of London. 
3th April 1884. — Mr. R. Morton Middleton showed a Jackdaw 
(Corvus monedula) with such albinism of the scapular and wing feathers as to 
give the bird a very considerable resemblance to a Magpie (Pica caudata). 
The Jackdaw had been watched for some time at Castle Eden, Durham, prior 
to its death from an injury. — Prof. P. M. Duncan gave a Revision of 
the Families and Genera of the Sclerodermic Zooantharla, the Rugosa excep- 
ted. He stated that there having been no systematic work written on the 
Madreporaria recent and fossil since that of M.M. Milne Edwards and Jules 
Haime 1857—60, and a great number of genera having been founded since 
that date there now arises a necessity for a fresh revision of the classification. 
This necessity is emphasized in consequence of the important morphological 
researches of Dana, L. Agassiz, Verrill and H. N. Moseley. The old 
sections of the Zooantharia suborder must be modified and added to. In the 
new revision the sections Aporosa and Perforata remain shorn of some 
genera, the old family Fungidae becomes a section with three families two 
of which are transitional between the sections just mentioned. The section 
Tabulata disappears, some genera being placed in the Aporosa and the others 
are relegated to the Hydrozoa according to Moseley. The Tubulosa cease to 
be Madreporarians. Hence the sections treated are Madreporaria-Aporosa, 
M.-Fungida and M. perforata. The nature of the hard and soft parts of 
these forms is considered in their relation to classification, and an appeal is 
made to naturalists to agree to the abolition of many genera, the author him- 
self having sacrificed many of his own founding. The criticism of the 467 
genera permits 336 to remain good, and as a moderate number (36) of sub- 
genera are allowed to continue, the diminution is altogether about 100. The 
genera are grouped in alliances, and the plan seems to be useful. The 
number of alliances in a family differs. The object of the classification is to 
simplify, and many old artificial divisions are necessarily dispensed with. 
There is a great destruction of genera amongst the simple forms of Aporosa, 
and a most important addition is made to the Fungida. The genera Sider- 
astraea and Thamnastraea are types of the family Plesiofungidae and Miero- 
solenia and Cyclohies are types of the family Plestoporitidae. The family Fun- 
gidae and that of the Lophoseridae add many genera to the great Section Fun- 
gida. There is not much alteration in respect of the Madreporaria perforata, 
but the subfamily Eupsamminae are promoted to a family position as the 
Eupsammidae. — A paper was read of Mr. Francis J. Briant. On the © 
Anatomy and Functions of the Tongue of the Bee (Worker). ‘The author 
after referring to the structures of the more conspicuous parts of the endo- 
skeleton and relations of the tongue thereto treats specially of the manner in 
which the Bee takes up the honey by its tongue. It appears that upon the 
nature and function of the organ in question authorities are by no means 
agreed. Kirby and Spence supported by Huxley and partly Newport, aver 
that the Bee Simply laps up its food; while Hermann Müller and others 
