1901.] ON BATEACHIANS AND EBPTILBS I-ROM SOMAIILAND. 47 



von einandei* zu trennen, bis sie endlich in eine mehr blatterigte 

 als fa^erigte, feste und hornartige homogene, ein paar Linien dicke 

 Schicht verschmelzen, die dann noch mit einer diinuen, aber ihr 

 ahnlicben Oberhantschicbt bedeckt ist." And Leydig \ from whose 

 papei" the above extract is quoted, himself observes : — " Betraohtet 

 man endlich die freie Flache der Hornschicht vom Wallfisch, so 

 unterscheidet das unbewaffnete Auge kleine scharf abgegrenzte 

 Flecken, die mikroskopisch angesehen sich als besonders geartete 

 Epidermispartien knnd geben, indem sie von den gewohnlichen 

 Epidermiszellen genau nmschriebene Haufen eigenthiimlicher 

 rundlicher, mit concentrischen Eingen versehener Zellen darstellen. 

 So viel ich gesehen habe, entsprechen diese Flecken den Stellen, wo 

 die Spitzen der Lederhautpapillen liegen." 



The " bonnet " of the Southern Eight Whale would thus appear 

 to be but a circumscribed tract of skin, where, for some reason not 

 yet apparent, the cornified layers fail to rub off at their normal rate, 

 but remain and accumulate to produce a hard mass, projecting 

 above the general surface of the epidermis as a kind of corn. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE VI. 



Fig. 1. Upper surface of the horny excrescence or " bonnet " of the Southern 



Eight Whale {Balmna cmsfralis). Two-sevenths natural size. 

 Fig. 2. Side view of the same structure. 

 Fig. 3. Section of the same structure, taken parallel to the cutaneous surface 



and at right angles to the cuticular fibres. (x30.) 

 Fig. 4. Section of the nasal horn of Rhinoceros indicus, taken at right angles to 



the axis and about halfway up the horn. (X 16.) 

 Fig. 5. Section of the front part of the hoof of the Horse, taken halfway up 



and at right angles to the cuticular striations. ( X 30.) 

 Fig. 6. Section of one of the baleen-plates of the Southern Eight Whale {Balmna 



australis), taken at right angles to the axis and about one-fourth of the 



total length from the point. ( X 16.) 



3. A List of the Batrachians and Reptiles obtained by 

 Dr. Donaldson Smith in Somaliland in 1899. By 

 G. A. BOULENGER, F.R.S. 



[Eeceived December 23, 1900.] 



(Plate VII ^) 



The following list refers to a small collection made by Dr. 

 Donaldson Smith on behalf of H.H. the Gaikwar of Baroda, to 

 whose generosity the British Museum is indebted for a selected 

 series of specimens, including the types of the new species here 

 described. The specimens were obtained in January and February 

 at three localities south and south-west of Berbera : — Biji, Ania, and 

 Gan Lebar (altitude 5900 feet). 



1 L. c. p. 681. 



* For an explanation of the Plate see p. 4 



