596 MB. G. A. BOULENGEB ON [May 16, 



Four Masked Hawfinches {Coccothraustes personatus) from Japan, 

 purchased April 7th, new to the JSoL-iety's Collection. 



Three female Ostriches of the Northern form (Struthio camelus), 

 presented April 25th by Gr. lanshawe Abadie, Esq., by whom 

 they were brought home from the Niger, Mr. Abadie kindly 

 informs me that these Ostriches were obtained from Sokoto, but 

 were stated to have been captured in a district adjoining the 

 eastern shores of Lake Tchad. 



The Secretary read extracts from letters addressed to him by 

 Mr. J. S. Budgett, F.Z.S., on the Society's Scientific Mission to 

 the Gambia Colony. They were dated from M'Carthy's Island, 

 March 22nd and April 18th last. The natives reported that as 

 soon as the rains began on the upper river and the w^ater 

 to rise, the creeks and swamps would be flooded and pregnant 

 Polypteri would enter them in swarms. Lung-fishes {Protopterus) 

 would be found at this period of the year in similar situations. 

 So far Mr. Budgett had only seen examples of two species of 

 Antelope, which he believed to be a Gazelle and a Bushbok 

 {Tracjelaphus scriptus). Mr. Budgett had made various short 

 excursions to Demfai, on the boundary of the British and French 

 territories, and Alimaka in Kunchan Creek. At the latter place 

 he had been very successful in fishing and had obtained examples 

 of a very curious Mormyrid, with a cylindrical w^hip-hke caudal 

 appendage. 



Mr. Budgett felt quite confident that he would obtain examples 

 of the early stages of development of Polypterus by the end of 

 June, and hoped to be at home in July. The unhealthy season 

 did not begin till August. 



Mr. G. A. Bouleuger exhibited a specimen of the Bornean 

 Lizard Lanthanotus horneensis, belonging to the Sarawak Museum, 

 for the loan of which he was indebted to the kindness of H. H. 

 the Eajah of Sarawak. 



Mr. Bouleuger pointed out that, since the description of this 

 curious type of Lizards by Steindachner in 1878, no second speci- 

 men was known to have reached Europe, and that, owing to the 

 fact that the original description had been confined to the external 

 characters, the exact systematic position of Lanthanotus had not 

 been ascertained. The original describer had proposed to regard 

 the genus as the type of a distinct family, Lanihanotidce, near the 

 Helodermatidce, whilst the author of the ' Catalogue of Lizards ' 

 had placed it provisionally under the latter family. 



By means of the Eontgen rays, thanks to the kind assistance of 

 Messrs. Gardiner & Green, the principal osteological characters 

 had been ascertained without cutting into the specimen now 

 exhibited, with the result that the afiinity of LantJumotus to the 

 Helodermatidce was fully confirmed. The structure of the skull, 

 characterized by the presence of a postorbital arch combined with 



