1853.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 589 



7th. From John Barlow, Esq., Secretary Royal Institution, Lon- 

 don, acknowledging receipt of the Catalogue of Birds. 



8th. From H. Piddington, Esq., Curator, Museum of Economic 

 Geology, submitting a note on Nepalite, believed to be a new miner- 

 al from the neighbourhood of Kathmandoo. 



The Curators and the Librarian submitted reports of additions 

 made to their respective departments during the past month. 



Thanks having been voted for the above donations and communi- 

 cations, the meeting adjourned. 



Read and confirmed, 



(Signed) J. W. Colyile. 



JVov. 2nd, 1853. 



Report of Zoological Curator for September Meeting. 



At the last meeting of the Society, it was mentioned by the President 

 that Dr. A. Campbell of Darjiling had forwarded some skins for our 

 museum, of mammalia from Tibet. These have since come to hand, and 

 two of them seem to pertain to species hitherto undescribed. 



One is an imperfect skin of a Bear, termed by Dr. Campbell the " Blue 

 Bear of Tibet. The people assure me," he writes, " that it is not an 

 accidental colour, but that it is a well known species, distinct from tibe- 

 tanus, and from the white one or Arctic species" (qu. isabellinus, men- 

 tioned subsequently by Dr. Campbell). "lam trying to get a skull, and 

 a perfect skin for the Society." This Bear has a fine coat, of longer and 

 softer fur than in cis-Himalayan tibetanus, but not so long nor shaggy as 

 in fine specimens of isabellinus : the colour black, with hoary or light 

 brown tips which impart a very characteristic appearance ; hence prui- 

 nosus would be an appropriate name, if it prove to be a distinct species. 

 The hoary tips to the fur disappear upon the limbs, which are wholly black 

 (so much of them at least as are shewn in the specimen) ; and there is the 

 same narrow white V-like mark on the breast as in the Himalayan Bear 

 known as U. tibetanus, — of which my impression is that this Tibetan animal 

 will prove to be a trans-nivean variety, and that the name tibetanus, 

 therefore, is more correctly applicable to the species than has been sup- 



Two Badger skins are sent, evidently of distinct species and even 

 genera. One is the Taxidea leucurus described and figured by Mr. 

 Hodgson in J. A. S. XVI, 763. The other is a true Meles affined to the 

 European Badger, but which I adjudge to be distinct because it has a 



