SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



303 



Bulletin de L'Academie Imperiale des 

 Sciences (St. Petersburg, 1895). Part 1 contains: 

 " On Molecular Force and Elasticity of Molecules," 

 by Prince B. Galitzin ; " The Distribution of Wind 

 over the Surface of the Russian Empire." 



Il Naturalista Siciliano (Palermo, July- 

 September, 1895). All malacologists who have had 

 occasion to consult Benoit's Monograph " Illus- 

 trazione Systematica critica iconografrica de 

 Testacei estramarini della Sicilia," a work which 

 appears to be somewhat rare in this country, will 

 be grateful to M. A. de Gregorio for contributing 

 some critical notes and corrections upon this 

 standard book, together with new records of 

 localities, and some new species and varieties ; 

 the conclusion of a note upon " The Primal Larval 

 Forms of Anguilla vulgaris (eel)," by Dr. Luigi 

 Facciola ; an article by M. Filippo Silvestri on " The 

 Origin of the Copulative Organs of the Callipodidas," 

 with figures in the text ; and the conclusion of " A 

 Catalogue of the Hymenoptera of Sicily " are all 

 important contributions. A third note on " Some 

 Living and Fossil Mediterranean Shells," byM. A. 

 de Gregorio, and a paper by Dr. G. Riggio on " The 

 finding of some new Crustacea," with plate, will be 

 found of interest. 



Annaes de Sciencias Naturaes (Oporto, 

 January, 1896). " Mollusca and Brachiopoda of 

 Portugal," by'Augusto Nobre. This is a first 

 instalment of what promises to be an important 

 and meritorious contribution to malacology. In 

 the introduction the author informs his readers 

 that it will consist of an enumeration of all 

 the species found in the Portuguese seas, the 

 citation of several works, and information res- 

 pecting the habitat of the species in question. 

 The classification adopted is that of Dr. P. Fischer 

 in his " Manuel de Conchyliologie." A paper on 

 the same lines is contributed by Drs. de Oliveira 

 and Lopes Vieira, entitled " Catalogue of the 

 Mammals of Portugal," in addition to the synonyms, 

 citations of various works in which the species 

 are described and figured, and habitats, the 

 vernacular names are also given. The " Catalogue 

 of Hemiptera of Portugal " is continued by Dr. 

 de Oliveira. The "Floral Calendar" by Mr. 

 Edwin J. Johnston, and the " Birds of Portugal" 

 by Mr. W. C. Tait, are already well-known features 

 of the magazine. E. Schmitz gives a list, with 

 notes, on the "Ants of Madeira," in which ten 

 species are enumerated. 



Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de 

 France (Paris, December, 1S95). Dr. R. Koehler 

 contributes a preliminary note on the Echinoidea 

 collected during the excursions of the Hirondelle, in 

 which the species taken are enumerated and one 

 new species is described. The results of the 

 scientific expedition of the Prince of Monaco 

 in his now famous vessel have already proved of 

 great interest and importance. The author makes 

 one or two remarks to which we must shortly 

 allude. The collections of Echinodermata brought 

 heme by the Hirondelle considered as a whole have 



brought to light one fact which is somewhat 

 astonishing, the Echinoidea producing only one 

 new species, while the other groups have con- 

 tributed more or less numerous new types. A 

 similar observation holds good with regard to the 

 dredgings of the TravaiUeur and the Talisman, 

 the Stelleridea containing numerous new species, 

 amongst them many remarkable forms, while the 

 list of Echinoidea, published by Mr. Bernard, 

 contains but one species. These results contrast 

 singularly with those brought to light by the first 

 explorations of the deep seas. The expeditions of 

 the Challenger and the Blake nave produced a great 

 number of new forms of Echinoidea, the greater 

 part of which were of the first importance on 

 account of their relation with ancient genera ; they 

 revealed a fauna which was believed extinct. It 

 was hoped that the successive expeditions would 

 continue to augment in the same proportions our 

 knowledge on the Echinoidea, but it has turned 

 out to be quite otherwise, which is certainly very 

 singular. Just recently the author, in his report 

 on the Echinodermata collected on board the 

 Caiidan by himself, in the Bay of Biscay, has 

 established a similar fact ; while four other 

 groups contributed some fifteen new types, the 

 Echinoidea offered not a single new species. 

 The same author has another preliminary note 

 on the Echinoidea of the first expeditions of the 

 Princesse Alice, which is credited with one new 

 genus and new species. Mr. A. Pettit discourses 

 on the " Supra-renal Capsules in Reptiles," and 

 Dr. de Magalhaes, of Rio de Janeiro, contributes 

 a fourth note on the " Helminthologie of Brazil," 

 the subject being Filaria mansoni. 



Feuilles des Jeunes Naturalistes (Paris, 

 February, 1896). M. Charles Oberthiir, in an 

 article on " Mimicry in Insects," enumerates and 

 explains several well-known instances of pro- 

 tective resemblance. Ornithologists will find some 

 interesting observations on the Lammergeier, or 

 bearded vulture (Gypaetes barbatus), by M. Emile 

 Anfrie ; two woodcuts of male specimens, one 

 from Algeria, the other from the Alps, accompany 

 the text. M. Mathieu Mieg concludes his article 

 on "Geological Excursions in Alsace." M. Galien 

 Mingaud records the capture of Platypsyllus castoris, 

 a beetle parasitic on the beaver. This appears 

 to be the third time its occurrence has been 

 recorded in France. The specimens taken in 

 Germany, Holland and North America are stated 

 to pertain to the same species. 



BOLLETTINO DEI MUSEI DI ZoOLOGIA ED 



Anatomia Comparata Della R. Universita di 

 Torino (Turin, 1895). Among the articles con- 

 tained in the latest batch to hand, we may mention 

 the following as of special interest ; want of space 

 forbids us to give more than their titles. — Dr. Achille 

 Griffini, "A New Blattid collected in the Island 

 of Candia " ; by the same author, " Note on some 

 Ditiscidas from Argentina and Paraguay." Dr. M. 

 G. Peracca on " Reptiles and Amphibia " ; Mr. G. 

 A. Boulenger on "Fishes," the last two from the 

 same source as the previous ; Dr. Fr. Sacco on 

 " Tertiary Mollusca of Piedmont and Liguria," 

 part xvii. and xviii. ; Dr. M. G. Peracca on "A 

 New Species of Lepidosternum from Brazil " ; Dr. 

 A. Borcelli on " Freshwater Planaria from Argen- 

 tina and Paraguay " ; Dr. Daniele Rosa on " Oligo- 

 chaeta," from the same source as the last ; the 

 same author on "A New European Lumbricid, 

 Allobophora dugesii " ; Signor Tommaso Salvadorion 

 " Birds Collected in Paraguay." 



