1910.] AND INVERTEBRATES OF ST. HELENA. 89 



feet, so that there is little room for shore-collecting. One of the 

 most characteristic features is the absence of Fucus, Laminaria, 

 and all other large seaweeds ; the surface of the rock is covered 

 in the rock-pools with green Viva and Enteromor-pha, and a 

 reddish calcareous alga. There is also another alga, dirty brown 

 in colour, and of small size. Almost everywhere the surface of 

 the rock is closely studded with the holes inhabited by the 

 black boring sea-urchin Echinometra subangularis, and on the 

 underside of overhanging ledges the large dark-coloured anemone 

 Phymactis sanctce helence is very common. 



I did not pay special attention to the terrestrial fauna, but it 

 may be worthy of record here that frogs have been introduced into 

 the island. There were none in 1875 when Melliss' book was 

 published, but at the time of my visit they were abundant in the 

 neighbourhood of the Government House at Plantation and in 

 the stream that runs down the Jamestown Valley, as far as the 

 boundary of the town. The species has been identified by 

 Mr. Boulenger from the specimens which I brought home as 

 Rana grayi Smith. This is one of the most abundant species in 

 South Africa, and is common in the neighbourhood of Cape Town, 

 whence specimens were brought to St. Helena some years ago by 

 Miss Moss, a member of one of the resident families, in order 

 that they might furnish a supply of food for ducks. My attention 

 was first drawn to these frogs by hearing their voices in 

 the neighbourhood of Government House. The sound suddenly 

 became audible a little before sunset when it began to rain ; it 

 seemed to me like the musical clink produced by tapping glass with 

 a metal rod, in fact it rather suggested numbers of fairy anvils, 

 and was unlike anything I had previously associated with frogs. 



There is one species of lizard in the island, doubtless the 

 Hemidactylus frenatus Schleg. mentioned by Melliss. I saw one 

 specimen on the veranda of the house where I lodged ; it ran 

 into the sitting-room and disappeared into a hole in the wainscot. 

 Two or three large turtles were caught by fishermen and brought 

 to market during my stay ; I was informed that they are caught 

 when in the act of copulation, the male and female remaining 

 connected for several clays, and when they are in this condition a 

 boat can be brought close to them and one or both of the 

 animals can be easily captured. The method of capture is to 

 seize the animal with a gaff by one of the legs and then to 

 pass a rope round the limb, and so either hoist the turtle into the 

 boat or tow it from the stern. I myself saw a couple of turtles 

 at the surface of the water when I was in a boat rowing down the 

 leeward coast, and we rowed up to the animals, but having no 

 gaff on board were unable to capture them. There are no sandy 

 beaches at St. Helena as at Ascension, and I never heard of any 

 turtles going ashore to lay eggs at the former island. I saw the 

 two giairt tortoises which live at Plantation ; they are mentioned 

 by Melliss as having been there a century or more in 1875, but the 

 exact date of their introduction is unknown. They came in 



