Iviii PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOCxICAL SOCIETY. 



The Crustacea are now 291 ; in 1843, they were 159. This is an 

 enormous advance, and curious, since in great part it has arisen 

 from additions to the list of palaeozoic species. It marks, moreover, 

 not merely an advance of names, but one of knowledge, as may be 

 judged from an inspection of the changes in the generic list. The 

 Trilooites have u.ndergone a complete revision, and the number of 

 species of those singular animals is vastly increased, thanks more 

 especially to the work done by Salter and by M'Coy. The Cytheridee 

 and Cyprididse have become a feature in the catalogue, mainly in con- 

 sequence of the researches of Rupert Jones. Professor M'Coy has 

 largely added also to the list of these tribes, and to the catalogue of 

 the higher crustacea from our mesozoic and lower tertiary strata. 



The additions to the list of fossil insects more than double this 

 portion of the catalogue. They are due to the Rev. P. Brodie, and 

 are entirely derived from mesozoic strata, chiefly from the Purbecks 

 and Lias. In this department there is a considerable amount of un- 

 published materials existing in collections. 



The number of Brachiopoda has swollen from 459 to 668, an 

 addition of more than 200 species ! In the mean time they have 

 been undergoing complete and thorough revision. Mr. Davidson, 

 whose appearance among us as a British palaeontologist has taken 

 place in the interval between the two editions, is foremost among the 

 workers in this department, one greatly increased also by the labours 

 of King, M'Coy, and Salter. Some very interesting contributions 

 have come from Mr, D. Sharpe, and Mr. C. Moore of Ilminster. 

 The important discovery of Liassic species of Leptsena and Thecidium 

 in Britain is due to the last-named observer. 



The catalogue included 318 Monomyarian Bivalves in 1843 ; in the 

 new edition 577 are recorded. The additions in this instance come 

 from numerous sources. Both in this and the following group we 

 owe much to the labours of Mr. Morris and Mr. Lycett among the 

 Oolites. 



The lists of the remaining groups of fossil animals will, when com- 

 pleted, show a comparable increase in almost every section. In the 

 highest, a large accession as well as a revision of species, will give a 

 new value to the catalogue ; many of the researches of Professor 

 Owen among the reptiles and the warm-blooded Vertebrata, and of Sir 

 Philip Egerton among the Fishes, having been given to the world in 

 the interval. Indeed, scarcely a month now passes without the 

 appearance of some published contribution to British palaeontology. 



The volume, or rather fasciculus of volumes, for the year 1853 

 issued by the Palaeontographical Society is, in respect of richness of 

 illustration and value of matter, one of the finest productions of this 

 useful union. In its distinctive features it differs somewhat from its 

 predecessors, inasmuch as a considerable portion of it is occupied by 

 a series of elaborate treatises on the anatomy, microscopic structure, 

 and systematic arrangement of the Brachiopoda, respectively con- 

 tributed by Professor Owen, Dr. Carpenter, and Mr. Davidson. 

 The anatomical plates attached to this memoir arc, without excep- 

 tion, the most beautiful engravings that ever illuminated a natural- 



