230 Recent Literature. [March, 



flight of flying fishes ; the affinities of the fossil Platysomidce and 

 PalceoniscidcE, and of Pleurae anthus ; and the sexes of eels. Among 

 new discoveries are noted two species of Pleuronectida? (in the 

 sense given to the term by Dr. Gill) without pectorals upon the 

 blind side ; the genera Icosteus and Icichthys, curious soft-boned 

 California fishes, which have been constituted a " family" by Pro- 

 fessor Jordan ; Lopholatihis, a new economical fish ; the Rock-fish 

 of California, and a deep-sea Sebastes found off Inosima. Japan. 



The activity of ornithologists has produced numerous faunistic 

 works, notably upon the birds of Papua and the adjacent islands, 

 and several families have been monographed. After notes upon 

 the Odontornithes, Archaeopteryx, and the extinct parrot of 

 Bourbon, Dr. Gill turns to the mammals, commencing, as in other 

 groups, by enumerating the features of progress. Then follow a 

 condensation of the views of various naturalists on the progeni- 

 tors of mammals ; a synopsis of Marsh's work on Jurassic Mam- 

 mals ; notes on the discovery of new Monotremes and Marsupials 

 in New Guinea ; on a plague of rats which occurs in Parana 

 (Brazil) at intervals of thirty years ; on the habitat of Lopkumys 

 imhausi; on the gestation of the elephant and length of life of 

 the hippopotamus ; and lastly, a short account of Professor Cope's 

 articles upon the extinct cat-like animals of America 2nd the 

 relations of the horizons of extinct Vertebrata in Europe and 

 in North America. 



Dr. Gill utters a warning, by no means without reason, against 

 the use of the word *' order " to define groups which have less 

 value than the sub-orders of mammals, and is especially severe 

 upon Dr. Sclater for the recognition of two sub-classes and twenty- 

 six orders in the homogeneous class of Birds. It would be well 

 for all systematists to remember the warning, and to remember 

 also that -the same criticisms apply to the undue multiplication of 

 families and genera. Nor does our author neglect the opportu- 

 nity of throwing another stone at Dr. Giinther for the mistaken 

 conservatism which impels that excellent ichthyologist to retain 

 the Cuverian orders of the Teleosts, to include sharks and Chi- 

 meroids in the same order, and in various other ways to ignore 

 broad morphological facts. 



Thorell's Spiders of Malaysia and Papua. 1 — A third 

 part of this extensive work has just been received. It forms a 

 bulky and handsomely printed work of 720 pages, but without any 

 plates. It forms volume xvn. of the Annals of the Civic Museum 

 at Genoa, one of the most active scientific societies in Europe, 

 and is another evidence of the scientific awakening now pervading 

 the kingdom of Italy, and which is undoubtedly due largely to 

 the freedom and political progress of the Italian nation resulting 

 from the loss of the temporal power of the Pope. The collections 

 which form the base of the present descriptions were those made 



*St*Ji sui Regni Mated e Papuani. Fer T. Thorell. III. Genoa, 1881. 8vo. 



