296 Chronicles of Science. [April, 



The Fishes of Central America, among which are some very- 

 remarkable forms, and various new fishes in the British Museum, 

 have formed the subjects of communications from Dr. Giinther. 



Mr. A. <3r. Butler, who is the rising Lepidopterist of the day, has 

 described several new forms of these insects at various meetings of 

 the Society, illustrated by most finished drawings from his own 

 pencil. One of his most complete papers is entitled "A Mono- 

 graph of the Genus Euptychia, a numerous race of Butterflies 

 belonging to the family Satyridae, with Descriptions of Sixty 

 Species new to Science, and Notes on their Affinities." The 

 Coleoptera of the island of Penang have formed the subject of com- 

 munications from Mr. F. Pascoe, while Mr. F. Moore has con- 

 tributed a monograph on the Lepidoptera of Bengal. 



The Mollusca collected by Mr. E. Bartlett on the Upper 

 Amazons and in Eastern Peru, have been described by Mr. Henry 

 Adams. The genus Opisthostoma, of which a new species has been 

 discovered at Bombay, has been discussed by Mr. Blandford ; and 

 several new Australian land-shells have been described by Dr. J. 

 Cox ; and thirty-two new marine species of Mollusca from the same 

 part of the world have been described by Mr. Angus. 



The extraordinary Glass-Kope animal has been the subject of 

 great controversy between Dr. J. E. Gray and Dr. Bowerbank, the 

 former maintaining that it is a coral, the latter that it is a sponge. It 

 appears that there are three views current with regard to this marine 

 organism. It is regarded as a coral, having a sponge parasitic upon 

 it ; or as a sponge, having a coral parasitic upon it ; or as altogether 

 a sponge, there being no parasite in the case. Dr. Gray is of the 

 first opinion, Professor Max Schultze of the second, and Dr. Bower- 

 bank of the third. Dr. Bower bank's position is clearly untenable, 

 and the question really lies between the views of Dr. Gray and 

 Professor Schultze. Dr. Gray has described and exhibited a speci- 

 men which was said to come from the coast of Portugal, the other 

 known specimens all being obtained from Japan. It appears very 

 doubtful as to whether this Lusitanian Hyalonema is not an im- 

 position played off by the sailor who said that he dredged it up ; 

 this is the view taken by Professor Schultze, but Dr. Gray believes 

 firmly in the species. 



