38 



Mr. E. T. Newton, "F.R.S., F.Z.S., exhibited two horns of 

 the Sabre-horned Antelope [Oryx leucoryx), and remarked on 

 cei'tain peculiarities presented by them. 



Mr. R. I. PococK, F.R.S., F.L.S., F.Z.S., Curator of Mammals, 

 read a paper on the feet, scent-glands, and other external cha- 

 racters of the Paradoxurine Yiverrids, belonging to the genera 

 Po/racloxitrus, Arctogcdidia, Arctictis, and Nandinia, showing how 

 these may be distinguished collectively from the Viverrine genera 

 {Genetta, Viverra, etc.) and also how they may be difierentiated 

 fi-om each other in the characters discvissed. 



Dr. A. Smith Woodward, F.R.S., V.P.Z.S., read a paper on 

 the skull of an extinct mammal related to Aelitropus, obtained 

 from a cave at the ruby mines, Mogok, Upper Burma, which he 

 described as the type of a new genus and species. 



Miss K. M. Parker, B.Sc, communicated a paper on " The 

 Early Development of the Heart and Anterior Vessels in 

 Marsupials, with Special Reference to Perameles.''' 



In Marsupials, as in Eutheria, the pleuro-pericardial canals 

 become continuous at an early stage, forming a horseshoe- 

 shaped cavity lying round the anterior end of the embryo. The 

 lateral endothelial tubes first arise in the hind brain-region and 

 grow forwards. The anterior portion of the pleuro-pericardial 

 cavity now increases rapidly in extent and its crescentic posterior 

 wall, which forms the lip of the anterior intestinal portal, moves 

 backwards as a whole, a process which brings about the length- 

 ening of the foregut, so that the heart-primordia come to lie 

 ventral to the closed gut. The heai-t-tubes are brought into 

 contact with each other by the growth of the pericai'dium, which 

 increases rapidly in antero-posterior length without any compen- 

 satory growth in width. 



In the succeeding stages, the heart-primordia increase in 

 length, and undergo curvature and diflerentiation into ventri- 

 cular and auricular limbs. Complete fusion of the endothelial 

 tvibes does not occur till a relatively late stage, and proceeds in 

 the antero-posterior direction. 



The development of the aortic arches is typical, while the 

 cardinal veins are derived partly from a vessel which lies close 

 against the neural tube throughout its length and partly from 

 more laterally situated capillaries. 



Lieut. R. Broom, M.D., D.Sc, R.A.M.C., C.M.Z.S.,sentapaper 

 dealing with certain Triassic Stegocephalians. Restorations are 

 given of the skulls of Br achy ops laticeps Owen and Bothriceps 

 australis Huxley, which are i-egarded as forming, with Batracho- 

 suchibs hroivni Broom, a distinct family, Brachyopidee. Bothriceps 

 huxleyi Lydekker is shown to differ from Bothriceps aitstralis 



