24 
like blood-red feathers. It was brought from the western coast of 
Africa, but the precise locality was unknown. 
For this new species Mr. Gould proposed the name of Musophaga 
Rossie, in honour of its amiable owner. A perfect skin of this bird 
has since been sent to England, and a full description of it, accom- 
panied by a figure, will be given in the Transactions of the Society. 
January 24, 1854. 
Dr. Gray, Vice-President, in the Chair. 
The following papers were read :— 
1. ON THE SIZE OF THE RED CORPUSCLES OF THE BLOOD OF 
THE GREAT ANTEATER (MyRMECOPHAGA JUBATA). 
By Grorce Gutuiver, F.R.S. 
These have the usual form, but differ in their comparatively large 
size from those of most other Mammalia. Their average diameter 
is g7sgth of an English inch, varying between the extremes of 
serath and 35';,th of an inch. 
All observers had come to the conclusion that there is no con- 
nection between the size of an animal and that of its blood-cor- 
puscles, when I ascertained that in any truly natural family there 
is really such connection, however it may be in animals of such dif- 
ferent orders as those to which the mouse and horse belong. The 
Great Anteater has larger blood-corpuscles than any yet examined 
in the other and smaller Edentata, though they are remarkably large 
in the Two-toed Sloth; and the Capybara has the largest ever seen 
among the Rodentia. Indeed, as this last order is characterized by 
a comparatively large size of blood-corpuscle, it might be supposed 
that in the great extinct species the corpuscles were larger than any 
ever measured in the Mammalia; and if any gigantic species allied 
to the Anteater should be found, its red corpuscles may be expected 
to be alike remarkable for comparative magnitude. 
In the present species they are about the same size as in the Ele- 
phant, and are certainly, excepting those of this great pachyderma- 
tous animal, the largest yet observed in the Mammalia, as may be 
seen by reference to the copious Tables of Measurements which I 
have appended to the English version of Gerber’s Anatomy, and to 
my edition of Hewson’s Works, published for the Sydenham Society. 
With the exception just mentioned, it is still a very interesting fact, 
that a simple examination of less than one hundredth of a grain of 
its dried blood would suffice to distinguish the Anteater from any 
other animal in the Society’s Menagerie. 
