448 Chronicles of Science. [July, 



the lower extremities, which at last ended in his death. He was in 

 his fifty-fourth year. Dr. Wm. Turner, who was for many years 

 demonstrator and assistant-professor, has heen elected to the Pro- 

 fessorship, and has already given hopes, by his anatomical and 

 literary labours, of being no unworthy successor to his great 

 master. 



Proceedings of the Zoological Society. 



The papers read at this Society during the past quarter have 

 been as varied and interesting as usual. 



Kelating to Mammalia, Mr. Thomson sent a communication on 

 a deformity of the lower jaw of the sperm whale (Physeter macro- 

 cephalus), and Dr. Macalister has given some details on the 

 anatomy of a cetacean (Globiocephalus) recently stranded on the 

 coast of Ireland. 



Mr. St. George Mivart, who is making himself a good name as 

 an osteologist (vide his paper on the " Osteology of the Insectivora," 

 in the ' Journal of Anatomy and Physiology,') has read a paper 

 " On the Structure of the Skull of the Propithecus diadema of 

 Bennett ; " and Dr. J. E. Gray has furnished an important essay 

 on the skulls of the Felidae, in which he has carefully pointed out 

 the variations which occur in this part of the structure of the 

 different members of this group of animals. Professor Allman, 

 who recently described to the Society the details of structure of 

 the Potamogale velox of M. P. B. du Chaillu, in which he showed 

 that it was an Insectivor, and defended M. du Chaillu's claim to its 

 discovery, has communicated some further supplementary observ- 

 ations on this highly interesting animal. 



Kelating to Birds, we have some papers of more than usual 

 value. Professor Huxley, who has been working at .this class in 

 connection with his Hunterian lectures, has put forward quite a 

 new classification of these animals based upon their cranial struc- 

 tures. The classification is mainly founded upon the characters 

 presented by the bones of the palate. It was proposed to divide 

 the class Aves primarily into three divisions : — 1st, the Saururae, 

 containing only the fossil Archaeojpteryx ; 2nd, the Katitae, contain- 

 ing the struthious birds; 3rd, the Carinatae, containing all the 

 other birds. The Carinatae were subdivided into four great groups, 

 distinguishable by cranial characters, and denominated Dro- 

 meognathae, Schizognathae, Desmognathae, and (Egithognathae. 

 These contained altogether sixteen alliances, which were further 

 divisible into families. Dr. J. E. Gray, who was in the chair when 

 this paper was read, remarked at its conclusion that he con- 

 sidered internal characters as of but very little use in classifying 



