Upon the head the yellow colour is most prevalent. The under fur 

 is thick and of a pale brown colour. The hair is about the same 

 length or rather shorter than in the domestic cat, and much harsher 

 to the touch. The hind feet are black beneath from the heel to the 

 toes, and there is a streak of black about an inch and a half in 

 length, passing upwards from the front paw on the outer side. The 

 hair of the tail is long and bushy ; the legs thick and moderately 

 long; the general form is slender; the head small in proportion to 

 the body, and considerably arched above. The region of the ante- 

 rior angle of the eye is black, with a yellowish white spot immedi- 

 ately above it. The eyes are very small; the ears short, broad, and 

 obtusely pointed, thickly covered with hair, which on the outside is 

 of a similar colour to that on the top of the head, excepting at the 

 tip, where it is margined with black. Inside the ears the hair is of 

 a paler hue. The under parts of the body are of the same general 

 hue as the sides. The tail is of the same general colour as the body, 

 but the hairs become gradually less annulated towards the tip, their 

 basal portions being brown and the apices black ; the under side is 

 of a somewhat paler hue than the upper. The lips and nose are 

 black. 



Mr. Martin remarked, that there was some reason for supposing two 

 species were confounded under the same name, for he was aware of 

 the existence of a cat with a shorter tail, agreeing very closely with 

 Azara's description of the Yagourondi. Without, however, being in 

 possession of more ample materials he did not like to characterize 

 the present specimen as a new species, but in the event of its ulti- 

 mately being considered distinct, he proposed that it should be called 

 Felis Darwinii. 



Mr. James Reid read some notes on several quadrupeds, also from 

 the collection of Mr. Darwin, including a new species of Opossum, 

 which he characterized as Didelphis hortensis*. He also noticed a 

 very young specimen of the Viscache, Lagostomus trichodactylus of 

 Brooks. This example, not much larger than our common Rat, dif- 

 fers from the adult in wanting the ridge of stiff black hairs over the 

 eyes so conspicuous in old specimens, and in wanting also the 

 grooves on the teeth. 



Mr. Gould exhibited from Mr. Darwin's collection of Birds, a 

 series of Ground Finches, so peculiar in form that he was induced to 

 regard them as constituting an entirely new group, containing 14 

 species, and appearing to be strictly confined to the Galapagos 

 Islands. Mr. Gould believed the whole of these Birds to be un- 

 described, and remarked that their principal peculiarity consisted in 

 ■ the bill presenting several distinct modifications of form, while the 

 general contour of the species closely assimilated. He proposed to 

 characterize them under the separate generic appellations of Geo- 

 spiza, Camarhynchus, Cactornis, and Certhidea. 



* The characters of species newly described which have not yet been 

 furnished by the respective authors, andare the refore necessarily omitted, 

 will be inserted, if subsequent! 5' sent in, at the termination of the volume. 



