869 A. E. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. A547 
However, the “ Pupa chrysalis” may be the same as the “ Pupa, 
an inch in length” recorded by Jones (Visitor’s Guide, p. 89, 1876), 
as found by Rey. J. B. Freer, in 1861, near Gibb’s Light. 
How so many errors could have been made it is impossible to say, 
but some may have been due to superficial resemblances between 
certain Bermuda species and those figured in foreign works. Others 
may have been due to the fact that foreign shells are continually 
brought to Bermuda by sailors and disposed of as native species, even 
to this day. The lists of marine shells, ete., are quite as erroneous. 
Godet’s list of terrestrial mammals is peculiar. He names three 
“indigenous species” of the rat family. Ist, the “water-rat, Mus 
amphibius,” “a little larger than the common rat.” This is, with- 
out doubt, the common gray rat. 2d, “ Arvicola alliarius Des.” (4 
inches long, ash-colored above, white beneath, ears large, almost 
naked). This is doubtless the common wood-rat. See above, pp. 
712-717. 3d, “ Arvicola socialis Des., Mus gregarius L. ;” with 
“fur pale gray above, white underneath ; ears short, broad, almost 
naked. About 24 inches long ; tail, 1 inch:” 
If the last were correctly described it would indicate a species not 
recognized by later writers. I suspect, however, that the descrip- 
tion was copied from some book describing the original foreign A. 
socialis, and that the Bermuda mouse, so-called, was only the house- 
mouse, which often runs wild in the woods there. At any rate, no 
short-tailed mouse is now known in Bermuda. 
The scientific names of the birds in his list (pp. 193-5) are often 
erroneous or badly misspelled, but the species can usually be deter- 
mined by their common names. Thus the Cat-bird is called Zurdus 
merula ; the White-eyed Vireo, Virco | Vireo] musicus ; the Tropic- 
bird, Pheton Athenus [cthereus|. No novel observations on the 
birds are given and his list might have been much improved had he 
consulted those of his colleagues who were collecting and studying the 
Bermuda birds at the same time, or the lists previously published.* 
He mentions (p. 252) two species of lizards. One of these, called 
“ Scincus nusciatus Holb.” | fasciatus|, is doubtless the well-known 
Eumeces longirostris Cope. (See above, pp. 697, 698.) The other, 
which he calls “ Seineus ocellatus Da.” is entirely problematical, for 
* Lists of the birds had been published by Jardine, 1849, 1850; by Tristram, 
1850 ; by Hurdis, in Bermuda P. Almanac, 1851. (See above, p. 725.) Hurdis 
and several others were collecting birds in Bermuda a number of years (1846- 
1855) before Godet’s book was written. J. M. Jones collected there from 1855 
to 1860, and later, and published his ‘‘ Naturalist in Bermuda” in 1859, which, 
in Natural History, is far better than Godet’s work. Why Godet did not utilize 
these available sources of information does not appear. 
