'286 Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal 



descriptions of the species of Chelonian reptiles : the distribution of 

 the Saurians into their families and genera ; an essay on their or- 

 ganization and habits ; and a similar list of the books which treat 

 of them. 



The general observations are written by M. Dumeril ; while 

 every thing relative to the description and determination of the spe- 

 cies and their synonyms, has been left to M. Bibron, now his as- 

 sistant in the museum, and formerly the animal preserver of the de- 

 partment.* 



It is much to be regretted that M. Bibron, with the characteris- 

 tic inconsiderateness of a young naturalist, has deemed it necessary 

 to change capriciously many of the established family, generic and 

 specific names ; but in so doing he follows many of the modern 

 French authors, who thus affect to give a national character to their 

 works. Thus he has named anew all the families of the Chelonian 

 reptiles ; he has changed the name of the genus Chelydra of 

 Schweiger, which Fleming also had called Chelonura, to Emysaura ! 

 Trionyx of Geoffroy, which is the same as Aspidonectes of Wagler, 

 must now be called Gymnopsus ; and Emyda of Gray becomes the 

 Crypt opus of M. Bibron ! 



M. Bibron has followed the arrangement of the Chelonians pub- 

 lished by Mr Gray in his Synopsis Reptilium. He has given a very 

 extensive list of synonyms, copied in a great measure from the ela- 

 borate paper on the synonyms of these animals written by the 

 unfortunate Schweiger : and to those is added a very verbose de- 

 scription of the species. — J. E. G. 



Transactions and Periodicals. — British. 



The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. Conducted by Pro- 

 fessor Jameson. April to July 1836. Edinburgh. A. & C. Black. 

 (Part 1st of Vol. xxi.) 8vo. (Continued from p. 99.) 



I. Zoology. 

 Dr Graves of Dublin, " Observations on the Sense of Touch, including an 

 analysis of Weber's works on that subject," copied from the March number of 



the Dublin Medical Journal, p. 67 John Graham Dalyell, Esq. " Farther 



illustrations of the propagation of Scottish Zoophytes." p. 88. Additions to a 

 communication read before the British Association in 1834, and published in a 

 previous number of the Ed. Phil. Journal. The remarks refer to the propaga- 

 tion of " Actinia, Alcyonum, Sertularia?, Hydra tuba, Tubularia polyceps, and 

 Cristatellas." Mr John Shaw, " An acount of some experiments and observa- 

 tions on the Parr, and on the ova of the Salmon proving the parr to be the young 

 of the Salmon," p. 99. Interesting experiments plainly detailed, but not " prov- 



* Discour. Prelim, p. x. 



