59 

 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



(limited to works received by the society's librarian). 



Catalogue of the Fossil Cephalopoda in the Department of Geology, British 

 Museum (Natural History). Part 3. Bactritidas, and part of Ammonoidea ; 

 by A. H. Foord and G. C. Crick. London, 1897. 



The present catalogue is a welcome contribution to our knowledge of a group 

 of Mollusca which attained a considerable development in palaeozoic times. The 

 study of the Goniatites which are here chiefly dealt with, is so beset with difficul- 

 ties that thorough workers have been few, and most collections of any repute will 

 be found to include specimens which have not been identified by their owners. 

 Neither the word Goniatites, as a genus, nor Goniatitidse, as a family, occur in the 

 catalogue, being replaced by the much later and less familiar Glyphioceras and 

 Glyphioceratidce. Apart from these changes, the catalogue will prove a most use- 

 ful help to students of the palaeozoic mollusca, by reason of the fact that practically 

 all known British species of the various genera are described. Further, the suture 

 line is figured, which will certainly lead to a speedy addition of new species and a 

 better knowledge of the ranges of all. 



The main features of the catalogue we take to be these : — (1), A uniform plan of 

 description throughout, which is explained on p. 18 ; (2), Careful definition of 

 terms ; (3), Peripheral and side views of many species with a drawing of the suture 

 line in many cases ; (4), A careful bibliography ; (5), Descriptions of new species. 

 The figures are incorporated in the text in immediate relation to the description, 

 and are from carefully executed blocks. 



The bibliography in many cases is a study in itself, thirty-seven references, for 

 instance, being given to Glyphioceras {Goniatites) spheriens. The work is a monu- 

 ment of thought and care, and Messrs. Foord and Crick are to be congratulated 

 upon the completion of a well-executed and difficult task. 



"Catalogue of Tertiary Mollusca" in the Department of Geology, British 

 Museum (Natural History) Part I. : The Australian tertiary mollusca; by G. F. 

 Harris. London, 1897. 



This volume is the first of a new series of catalogues which are intended to 

 describe the fossil Mollusca of different parts of the world. Dr. Woodward has 

 been fortunate in having induced Mr. Harris to undertake the preparation of this 

 volume, for it is no mere catalogue in the ordinary sense — a mere list of names and 

 synonyms. The method of its preparation is thoroughly comparative and special 

 pains have been taken to ascertain, wherever it was possible, what characteristics 

 were to be regarded as stages in the development of the individual and what as stages 

 in the phylogeny of the group. It is also shown that many differences which have 

 been relied upon for the separation of genera and species are either indicative of 

 stages of growth or are merely individual variations. In Conns enspidatns the 

 elevation of the spire belongs to the latter category. The author as the result of 

 these enquiries arrives at the rule that when the scheme of ornament appears early in 

 the course of individual development it is a criterion for the discrimination of species, 

 but when it does not appear till later life it merely characterises the individual. 

 This is, in short, a book which should be studied by every philosophical conchologist. 

 The Nautilus, vol. 11, nos. 8-10, Dec.-Feb.. 1897-98. 



"New West American shells," by W. H. Dall \Sigaretus oldroydi, Pecten 

 3 n.spp.]. " Note on two species of Helicina" by C. F. Axcey \_H. rabei Pilsb. 

 = H. rufocallosa Anc. ]. " Oxychona unmasked," by H. A. PiLSBRY [Oxychona 

 ~Drymatis\ "A new plicate Unio," by B. H. Wright \U. walkeri n.sp.]. 

 il Polygyra ferrissi n.sp.," by H. A. Pilsbry [Tenn. and N.C.], "A classified 



