554 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. 1., No. 19. 



spring from a creeping root. The medusa has a veil, 

 well-developed marginal sense-organs, radial and'cir- 

 cular ehymiferous tubes, and large reproductive or- 

 gans, but it lias no mouth, stomach, or tentacles. It 

 discharges its reproductive elements within twenty- 

 four hours after its liberation, and it lives only about 

 thirty-six hours. — (Zool. anz., Api'il 16.) w. k. b. 



[1091 



Monograph of the Caprellidae. — In the sixth of 

 tlie series of beautiful zoological and botanical mono- 

 graphs published by Dr. Dohrn's station at Naples, 

 Dr. Paul Mayer treats of the bizarre crustaceans be- 

 longing to the family Caprellidae. The systematic 

 part of the work (pp. 16-90) is the most important, 

 being not barely descriptions of the species found in 

 the Bay of Naples and its neighborhood, but a revision 

 of all the laiown species of the world. The syste- 

 matic part is followed by an account of the anatomy, 

 histology, and habits. The few pages (165-168) de- 

 voted to development do not add much to the little 

 previously known through the studies of Gamroth. 

 Mayer concludes that the families Cyamidae and 

 Caprellidae are closely related, and form a natural 

 group, Laemodipoda; that the Cyamidae are a later 

 group than the Caprellidae, and are derived from a 

 genus very near Caprella ; that tlie Laemodipoda form 

 a group of the Amphipoda, and are most closely re- 

 lated to the gammaroid Amphipoda. The author's 

 conception of the relationship of the eight known 

 t;enera of Caprellidae is expressed in the following 

 genealogical tree. 



Cyamidae. 



Procaprellid. 



As notliing is known of the paleontological history 

 of these animals, and but little of the development, 

 this phylogeny is founded almost exclusively upon 

 the adult structure. The species found in the Bay of 

 Naples, together with anatomical and histological 

 details, are figured on ten lithographic and photo- 

 lithographic plates. ^ (Fauna it. flora golfes Neapel, 

 vi. 1882.) w. F. [1092 



Insects. 



Color-preferences of insects. — Miiller gives a 

 general resume of the results so far readied, with a 

 brief account of the literature. — {Biolog. centralbl., 

 1883, no. 4. ) w. t. [1093 



Illustrations of American butterflies. — In llie 

 eleventh part of his Butterflies of Nortli America, 

 Mr. W. H. Edwards furnislies plates of more than . 

 usual interest, and of a fidelity to nature which we 

 have come to expect from tliis source. Tliey have, 

 indeed, never been surpassed, and it would be diffi- 

 cult to jioint out an error of delineation. The plates 

 of this particular number do not show such a wealth 



of varietal illustration as some of the previous ones ; 

 but each of them presents new biological features. 

 The first represents four species of Pieris, with larva 

 and chrysalis of two of them (Sisymbri and Beckeri) 

 from drawings made in soutliern California by Mead; 

 the egg of the former is also given. The second 

 plate is entirely given to Limenitis Eros, and illus- 

 trations are given of every stage of the larva (seven 

 figures), of the egg and clirysalis, besides enlarged 

 drawings of the details of structure in the larva. 

 Considerable space is given to the natural history of 

 the insect, largely from the observations of Wittfeld 

 in Florida; its relations to L. Disippus are also dis- 

 cussed, as far as the preparatory stages are concerned. 



The third plate has the highest interest, because 

 we are for the first time introduced to the natural 

 history of any of our native erycinid butterflies. 

 Through the efforts of Mr. Doll at Tucson, Arizona, 

 Mr. Edwards has been able to trace and figure the 

 entire history of one and the earliest stages of an- 

 other species of Lemonias, feeding naturally on mes- ' 

 quite (Prosopis juliflora), but which he managed to 

 raise in West Virginia on wild phim, after repeated 

 failures on other plants. Of L. Nais, three figures 

 are given of the egg, or parts of the egg, seven of the 

 four stages of tlie larva, besides four plain figures 

 of structural details, two of the chrysalis, and four of 

 tlie butterfly; of L. Palmerii, the egg, young larva, 

 and butterfly are figured. These figures sliow the 

 larva to liave a head scarcely smaller than the body 

 behind it, partially covered by, but not, as in lycaenid 

 butterflies, retractile within, the segment following; 

 to be clothed, wlien just from tlie egg, witli long 

 sweeping hairs, and in after life by clusters of short 

 spreading hairs arranged in longitudinal rows, con- 

 tinuous without deviation over thoracic and abdom- 

 inal segments. Neitlier egg nor chrysalis shows any 

 difference of importance from lycaenids. Another 

 number will complete the second series (or volume) 

 of this excellent iconograpliy. [1094 



Fossil insects from Greenland. — Heer describes 

 and figures a fragment of a large elytron from the 

 cretaceous beds of Ivnangnit, besides a small series 

 of tertiary insects from Atanekerdluk and Haseninsel. 

 Five of these are elytra of Coleoptera of various fami- 

 lies, one a Locusta compared to L. viridissiraa of 

 Europe, and one a fragmentary Phryganea. Two oth- 

 er new fossil Phryganeae are also figured from Par- 

 sclilug and from Aix, and a Helops from the Molasse 

 of Lausanne. The number of tertiary insects so far 

 found in Greenland is recorded as thirteen. — [Heer's 

 Florafoas. groenl., ii. 143, pi. 109.) [1095 



VERTEBRATES. 



Fish, 

 Neiw southern marine fish. — Descriptions of 

 twenty-five new fish from tlie southern United States 

 have been published by Messrs. G. B. Goode and 

 T. H. Bean. The new generic forms are of special 

 interest. loglossus is a Gobiid allied to the Chinese 

 Oxymetopon of Bleeker, although apparently not so 

 ' closely ' as supposed by the authors. It is mucli less 

 compressed than Oxymetopon, lias no keel on the 

 head, and almost all the scales are cycloid. The indi- 

 viduals described were obtained at Pensacola, Fla. 

 Chriodorus is a Hemirhanipliine closely related to 

 Arrhamphus, — so closely, indeed, that the differences 

 between the two (if any) remain to be shown. The 

 two have not been compared by the authors. The 

 new type, C. atherinoides, was obtained at Key West, 

 Fla. Letharchus is a new Ophisurid nearly related 

 to Sphagebranclius, but differing externally by the 



