550 MR. R. STAPLES-BROWNE ON [DeC. 12, 



Heunion, ought to be regarded as a, probably local, variety of 

 Pal. lar Fabr. 



Tlie male from Christmas Island bears a. close resemblance, 

 indeed, to Pal. altifrons Hend. from British India (Delhi, River 

 Jumna, Lahore), described and figured in Trans. Linnean Soc, 

 2nd ser. Zool. vol. v. 1893, p. 444, pi. 40. figs. 4-6. The carapace 

 of Pal. altifrons is, however, sliglitly scabriculate anteriorly, and 

 the rostrum appears considerably higher above the lateial carina 

 than below it and than in the specimens from Christmas Island ; 

 the carpus of the 2nd legs, finally, has also a less stout shape. 



EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 



Plate XVII. 



Pig. 1. Ftiiclwgnatlius pusillus Heller, male from Christmas Island, X 2. Fig. 2. 

 Front, epistome &c., viewed from before, X 3. Fig. .3. External maxil- 

 lipede ot the right side, X 3. Fig. 4. Abdomen, X 3. Fig. 5. Chela 

 viewed from the onter side, X 3. 

 6. Ftychofinatlms harhatvs A. M.-Edw., male from Atjeh, the cephalothorax 

 of which is 10'2 mm. broad ; anterior half of the upper surface, X 3. 



Plate XVIII. 



Fig. 7. Palamon (JSiipalcemon) lar Fabr. var. ?, rostrum of the male from Christmas 

 Island, X 2. Fig. 8, left, fig. 9, right leg of the 2nd pair of the male, 

 X 2. Fig. 10. Toothing of the fingers of the left leg, X 8. Fig. 11. 

 Leg of the 3rd pair of the male, X 2. Fig. 12. Rostrum of the female 

 from Christmas Island, X 2. Fig. 13. Left leg of the 2nd pair of this 

 female, X 2. Pig. 14. Toothing of same leg, X 17. Fig. 15. Leg of 

 the 3rd pair of the female, X 4. 

 16. raleemon (Jilupalcemo'n) lar Fabr., rostrum of the male from the River 

 Palopo, Celebes, X 2. Fig. 17. Leg of the 2nd pair of the male, X 2. 

 Fig. 18. Toothing of the fingers of same leg, X 17 (the dactylus is a little 

 loose). Fig. 19. "Leg of the 3rd pair, X 2." 



7. Note on Heredity in Pigeons. 

 By Richard Staples-Browne, F.Z.S. 



[Received November 8, 1905.] 



I. The Webbed Foot. 



I received in 1902 a Pigeon with webbed feet, and, thinking it 

 would be interesting to investigate the inheritance of this 

 character, I made the following experiments with it. 



There is no established strain of web-footed Pigeons, but 

 specimens so webbed are occasionally met with among domestic 

 birds. The character has been found in the Dove-cot Pigeon 

 and "Working Homer, also in the Show Homer, Dragon, Magpie, 

 Tippler, Tumbler, Jacobin, and Pouter. I have myself bred birds 

 in the F. 4 generation of a cross between a Barb and a Fantail, 

 which showed this character to a considerable extent. 



So far as I can at present jndge from specimens recorded by 

 breeders, the most common type is a v/eb between tw^o digits 



