No. 382.] REVIEWS OF RECENT LITERATURE. 811 
PALEONTOLOGY. 
Fossil Cephalopods in the British Museum. — Lists of published 
material in museums are a valuable aid to investigators, and such 
lists are welcomed by museum men. The present list’ comprises 
about nine hundred and fifty entries of types and figured speci- 
mens, presenting a graphic testimonial to the richness of the collec- 
tions of cephalopods in the British Museum. The list is arranged 
alphabetically by genera ; in the index the arrangement is alphabet- 
ical by Species, so that any given form is readily found. This is an 
excellent system for such a list. Frequent critical notes give special 
information in regard to specimens or published figures. Specimens 
are listed under their names, as originally described in the publications 
cited. It would have been desirable in addition to have included in 
brackets, or otherwise, the current generic names where they differ. 
A defect in the list is the fact that types are not indicated as 
such. A type is the specimen or specimens from which a new 
species or genus was described, and as such should be distinguished 
from other published material. ‘“ Orthocera” and “ Orthoceras ” are 
listed separately as if they were two genera. Both names are the 
same word, the difference being insufficient for generic distinction. 
By the system adopted, the same species in a genus become separated 
in an artificial way, as in the case of “ Orthocera politum” and 
“ Orthoceras politum” The species might have been listed under 
Orthoceras, indicating the original spelling where necessary. A few, 
specimens are included, which, as the author says, have been errone- - 
ously referred to the Cephalopods, such as “ He/icoceras elegans . 
a Gastropod.” A recent Nautilus pompilius is also listed. In a cata- 
logue of fossil Cephalopods, it would have been better to have put 
these associated forms at the end of the list, rather than in the body 
of the text. R T]. 
PETROGRAPHY AND MINERALOGY. 
Basic Rocks in Italy. 
Baitea in Italy, is a small area of basic eruptive rocks that have 
recently been studied by Van Horn.’ The principal type is a norite. 
1 Crick, G. C. List of Types and Figured Specimens of Fossil Cephalopods in 
the British Museum (Natural History). London, 1898. 
2 Min. u. Petrog. Mitth., Ba. xvii. 
