32 PBESIDENTIAL ADDEESS. 



found in Teneriffe. In some respects these birds recall the 

 large fruit-eating genus of Indian Pigeons {Treron), but their 

 coloration is quite peculiar. 



Mammals and ophidians are absent, with the exception of in- 

 troduced species of the former, while lizards are most abundant, 

 all of them, with the exception of one black, fruit-eating species, 

 which is peculiar, being common to the Mediterranean countries. 

 To these must now be added a very large species recently dis- 

 covered, Lacerta Simoni^ confined to an isolated rock off the 

 west coast of Hierro, the most distant and isolated of the group. 

 This lizard, which attains a length of three feet, and lives on 

 crabs and sea weed, was probably once common on the shores of 

 the island, but has been exterminated by man for food. It is 

 remarkable that the Salmono Eock, on which it is found, is the 

 only rock in the Canaries, at any distance from the shores, while 

 the aborigines, the Guanches, did not possess any boats. Three 

 specimens which I succeeded in sending home alive, the only 

 ones which have ever reached Europe, are now in the Zoological 

 Gardens of London. 



Of the insects, the Ehopalocera, excepting the introduced 

 species, are all identical with, or allied to, the ordinary species 

 of Southern Europe, while the Coleoptera, equally distinct, are 

 allied for the most part to those of South Africa. 



The botany, which is wonderfully rich and most peculiar, is, 

 on the contrary, rather African than European in its affinities, 

 while possessing many gigantic forms belonging to familiar 

 Mediterranean genera. The extraordinary Dragon Tree is too 

 well known to need further description, and the Euphorbias 

 attain an unusual development on this volcanic soil. 



How these various anomalies are to be solved I do not pre- 

 sume to guess. I only attempt to collect and tabulate the facts, 

 as within the province of the field naturalist. I can only con- 

 clude by expressing my hope that the excursions and meetings 

 of the Tyneside Field Club may stimulate and quicken our in- 

 terest in the observation of the works of God in Nature, and 

 that wherever we travel, whether on land or sea, we may find 

 that there is still much for us to observe, to note, and to learn. 



