50 
the bank. He had observed the freshwater fish similarly killed in 
a pond near Beddington, Surrey. 
Mr. Gould exhibited a small collection of birds from Scinde, being 
the first of his son’s contributions to Indian ornithology, and _re- 
marked, that although there was nothing new among them, still they 
comprised several species which are of interest from the circumstance 
of their being rare both in India and in the collections of Europe. 
The following is a list of the species :— 
Cypselus affinis, Gray. 
Suya lepida, Blyth. 
Certhilauda dumetorum, Stanley. 
Galerida Chendoola, Blyth. 
Calandrella brachydactyla, Blyth. 
Sazicola atrogularis, Blyth. 
Sazicola picata, Blyth. 
Pratincola indica, Blyth. 
Malacocercus caudatus, Dum. 
Ploceus Manyar, Horsf. 
Actitis hypoleuca, Linn. 
Sterna ? like S. minuta. 
The following papers were then read :— 
1. OBSERVATIONS ON THE SpecIES OF VOLUTES,—VOLUTID. 
By Dr. J. E. Gray, F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., P.B.S. erc. 
In the following observations I shall confine myself to the genera 
of Volutes which form the tribe of Volutina; they are particularly 
characterized by having the sides of the base of the siphon furnished 
with an auricle ; the tentacula far apart, united together by a broad 
veil, forming a hood over the head; and the eyes situated far back, 
behind the base of the small tentacles. 
Iam induced to make these observations, founded on the mag- 
nificent collection of specimens in the British Museum collection, 
because, though Professor Schumacher, and Messrs. Swainson and 
A. and H. Adams have arranged the species of the family, the 
genera ‘they have used have not been founded on any consi- 
deration of the modifications of the animal, but solely on the ex- 
ternal conformation of the shells themselves. I have considered 
this revision the more necessary, as in more than one instance these 
authors have regarded as belonging to different genera, shells which I 
am inclined to believe are only varieties of the same species. 
I. The animals of the greater part of these genera have broad 
teeth, with a more or less lunate base, and with three large acute 
lobes at the apex. 
1. Some of these animals are viviparous. The shell of the very 
young animal has a very large irregular callous tip, which forms 
a permanent nucleus to the shell. The foot is large, and without 
any operculum. 
