1892.] ON THE BODY-CAVITY IN SNAKES. 477 



Mr. Sclater read some extracts from a letter addressed to him by- 

 Mr. H. H. Johnston, C.B., F.Z.S., dated the Residency, Zomba, 

 British Central Africa, March 27th, 1892, announcing the despatch 

 of a large consignment of Natural History specimens illustrative of the 

 Fauna and Flora of the Shire Highlands, a good proportion of which 

 were from altitudes of from 4000 to 8000 feet on Mount Zomba and 

 Mount Milanji. Mr. Johnston requested Mr. Sclater to place these 

 specimens in the hands of competent naturalists for examination. 



Mr. Sclater stated that one box containing 150 bird-skins and 

 6 mammal-skins had already arrived, and that he proposed to ask 

 Mr. Oldfield Thomas to undertake the examination of the latter and 

 Captain Shelley to determine the birds. The first complete set 

 of everything vpas to be deposited in the British Museum. 



Mr. W. Saville Kent, F.Z.S., exhibited and made remarks on 

 some photographs of a species of the genus Podargus (P. strigoides), 

 showing the strange attitudes of these birds in a living state. 



Mr. J. W. Gregory, F.Z.S., gave an account of his researches on 

 the British Paleogene Bryozoa, of which he recognized 30 species, 

 represented in the National Collection by about 750 specimens. 



This paper will be published entire in the Society's* Transactions.' 



The following papers were read : — 



1. On the Subdivision of the Body-cavity in Snakes. 

 By Gerard W. Butler, B.A., F.Z.S. 



[Eeceived May 14, 1892.] 

 (Plate XXVIII.) 



Contents. 



I. Introductory 478 



II. Bibliography 478 



III. List of Snakes examined 481 



IV. On the Subdivision of the Body-cavity in the Adult Snake. 



(0) Preliminary, and as to certain extra-peritoneal lymph- 

 spaces 482 



(i.) The single posterior peritoneal space 483 



(ii.) The unpaired gastric peritoneal space of the left side ... 486 



(iii.) The paired peritoneaHi yer-sacs 487 



(iv.) The unpaired " omental" or " lesser pei'itoneal " space of 



therightside 487 



V. Explanation of the List of Snakes in § III 489 



VI. The Developmental History of the Pleuroperitoneal Cavity of 



Snakes 490 



(i.) Early embryos of Tropidonotus, &c 490 



(ii.) Embryos of Elaphis 1 1 cm. long 491 



(iii.) Embryo of Mfljjte 15 cm. long 492 



VII. The Subdivisions of the Body-cavity of Snakes compared with 



those of other Sauropsida 494 



VIIL Conclusions 496 



IX. Explanation of Plate XXVIII 497 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1892, No. XXXIII. 33 



