320 MR. p. E. BEDBARD OX THE [Nov. 18, 



No other member of the Tragelaphince, except the Eland, had 

 horns in the female ; and it was on this character that it was 

 thought that the Bongo should constitute a genus — Boocerciis ^ — 

 distinct from Tragelaphtis, in which the females were hornless. 



It still remained to be verified that the true Bongo of West 

 Africa had also horns in the female, no members of that sex 

 having as yet come to Europe. But the males from the two 

 localities were so similar that it seemed highly improbable that 

 the females should differ in so important a character. 



Mr. 0. Thomas, F.R.S., exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Lydekker 

 (who was unable to attend), the mounted skin of an adult male 

 of the Peking Deer [Cervus [Fseudaxis^ hortulorum), recently 

 presented by the Pi-esident and the Duchess of Bedford to the 

 British Museum. Mr. Lydekker believed that an adult specimen 

 of this fine stag had not hithei'to been figvired, and he therefore 

 thought that a figvire of the example now exhibited would be 

 desirable in the Society's ' Pi'oceedings.' The specimen was in the 

 summer dress. 



Dr. A, Smith Woodward, F.R.S., gave an account of some exca- 

 vations for the discovery of early Pliocene mammalian remains 

 which he had recently made near Concud, in the province of 

 Teruel, Spain. The bones had proved to be very abundant in a 

 bed of freshwater marl, but they were in a much more frag- 

 mentary condition than those found at Pikermi, in Greece. He 

 had discovered evidence of the former existence of species of the 

 genera ]Iip2jarion, Rhinoceros, and Mastodon, and of several small 

 antelopes, and exhibited some jaws of the first of these genera. 



Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S., remarked as follows upon the birth 

 of an Indian Elephant in the Society's Gardens : — 



The birth of an Elephant in a menagerie is so rare an event 

 that some notice of the circumstances attending the birth of an 

 Indian Elephant in the Society's Gardens in August last may 

 prove acceptable to the Fellows. During the history of the 

 Society there has been no other instance of an Elephant having 

 been born in the Gai-dens ; and in other menageries such 

 occurrences are extremely rare. A note in the ' Field ' newspaper 

 of Oct. 25th last sums up the few births in menageries which 

 have been recorded, and they are only two. The Elephant, which 

 has lately given birth to a calf, was deposited in the Gardens on 

 Sept. 19th, 1901, by Messrs. John Sanger & Sons. The Elephant 

 was believed to be in young ; but the exact date of impregnation 

 was not known. There were i-easons for believing that this took 

 place in April 1900, and in that case the birth might have been 

 expected to have occurred in January or February 1902. Mr. 

 Ai'thur Thomson, the Society's Assistant Superintendent, reports 

 ^ Enri/cerns Gray nee Lesson. 



