620 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (VoL. XXXIII. 
vided with ostia and is placed in a pericardial sinus, but the ostia in 
Peripatus can be explained by the disappearance of the transverse 
vessels, while the pericardium is merely a blood sinus, the result of 
the atrophy of true circulatory tubes, these having degenerated as a 
consequence of the development of tracheæ. In regard to trachea, 
Boas points out that trachez of different kinds can exist, and that 
it has yet to be proved that those of Peripatus and those of the 
“ Tracheata”’ are homologous; with the bulk of the evidence against 
the view. It is further emphasized that if Peripatus be a stem form 
for the “ Tracheates,” then, of necessity, the Arthropoda must form 
‘a polyphyletic group — in other words, the Arthropoda must go, 
for we cannot conceive how the Crustacea could have descended 
from insectan or myriapod ancestors. In this connection, see this 
journal, Vol. XXVIII, p. 230, 1894, and Natural Science, Vol. X, 
pp. 97 ff., 1897. 
New York Amphibia.'— The Linnzan Society of New York has 
been issuing a series of bulletins on the local fauna of the surround- 
ings of New York City. This work is one strongly to be commended. 
The Naturalist believes thoroughly in the importance of the study of 
local faunas. The present list describes 11 species: 1 Bufo, 1 Scaphi- 
opus, 4 Hyladæ, and 5 Rana. Statements are also made concerning 
distribution, habitat, note, and egg-laying habits. The pamphlet 
will be valuable to teachers of zodlogy, as well as to investigators. 
Adaptive Modifications in Respiratory Organs of the water-inhab- 
iting mammals, especially the cetaceans, in response to their changed 
environment, have been investigated by O. Müller.” In most pro- 
nounced cases the trunk of the animal assumes the form of a spindle 
to accelerate movement through the water. The thorax is somewhat 
flattened dorso-ventrally, and the lungs, in which the lobes have been 
lost by fusion, are more extensively developed dorsally than ventrally. 
This is especially well seen in the bronchial branches, which, instead 
of being exclusively ventral, are often dorsal. The thoracic muscles 
are strong. The trachea is provided with complete cartilage rings 
instead of incomplete ones, as in most mammals, and the shortening 
1 Sherwood, W. L. The. Frogs and Toads Found in the Vicinity of New York 
City, Proc. Linn. Soc., New York, No. 10, 27 pp., 18 
2 Miiller, O. Untersuchungen iiber die dain ee cin welche die Respira- 
tionsorgane der Säugetiere durch die Anpassung an das Leben im Wasser erlitten 
haben, Jena. Zeitschr., Bd. xxxii, pp. 95-230, Taf. iii-vi, 1898. 
