24 



that they shoxild be regarded as alternate »normals« rather than as imperfect 

 reproductions of the congenital normal structures. In the case investigated 

 in detail there was evidence that the process of ecdysis involved reconstruc- 

 tion of the soft parts as well as of the cuticle of the appendage. — Mr. W.P. 

 Py craft read the second part of his »Contributions to the Osteology of 

 Birds«, which dealt with the Penguins (Impennes). The author found it 

 necessary to divide this order into six genera. Of these Etiàyptula appeared 

 to represent the least specialized form of the whole group, and probably came 

 nearest to the ancestral stock. The Impennes, as a whole, appeared to be 

 most nearly related to the Tubinares. It did not seem possible to distinguish 

 the skeleton of Catarractes pachyrhynchus from that of C. chrysocome. — One 

 of the most important features of this paper related to the »secto-pterygoid«, 

 which the author described at some length. It was the meso-pterygoid of 

 W. K. Parker, and represented the anterior end of the pterygoid proper. 

 It was found only in embryos and in very young nestlings, fusing later on 

 with the palatines, at the posterior end of which a joint was formed by seg- 

 mentation of the pterygoid, the anterior segment forming the »secto-pterygoid«. 

 — Mr. W. L. H. Duckworth read a note, illustrated with lanternslides, on 

 a specimen of a female anthropoid Ape which had been received from the 

 Gaboon early in the present year, and as to which he was unable to decide 

 Avhether it was a Gorilla or a Chimpanzee. — Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner, 

 M. A., read a report on the Turbinolid and Oculinoid Corals collected during 

 his recent expedition to the South Pacific. Nine species were treated of in 

 the paper, of which four were described as new. — Mr. L. A. Borradaile, 

 F.Z.S., read the third instalment of a paper on Crustaceans from the South 

 Pacific. This part contained an account of the Macrura collected in the is- 

 lands of Funafuti, Rotuma, and VitiLevu by Mr. J.Stanley Gardiner. Four- 

 teen species from Funafuti, 15 from Rotuma, and 5 from Viti Levu were 

 enumerated, and the new species (five in number) were described. — Dr. G. 

 H. Fowler contributed the seventh of a series of papers on our knowledge 

 of the Plankton of the Faeroe Channel. It dealt with the Station-data of 

 depth, temperature, &c. of the hauls of H.M.S. 'Research' in 1896 andl897, 

 and with the chief Protozoa and Medusae of the collections. — P.L.Sclater, 

 Secretary. 



III. Personal -Notizen. 



Necrolog. 



Am 24. November starb in Ardmore, Parkstone, Dorset, Dr. George J. 

 Al Iman, von 1855 bis 1870 Professor der Zoologie in Edinburg. Er war 

 1812 in Cork geboren. Bekannt sind seine vorzüglichen Untersuchungen 

 über Hydroiden. 



Am 22. December starb in Berlin Dr. Wilhelm Barnim Dames, ord. 

 Professor der Geologie, nach schwerem Leiden im 56. Lebensjahre. 



Druck von Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig. 



