1895.] Zoology. 1109 
described and figured before, and then goes on to say that “ the bone 
which Cope has called squamosal in the Ceecilians is quite differently 
located, being directed forwards and inwards in such a manner as to 
form part of the orbit, and, therefore, deserves the name of quadrato- 
jugal, as some authors have already called it.” » It is at least amusing 
to learn that to contribute to the orbit is characteristic of the quadrato- 
jugal bone. That is exactly what it never does; and, moreover, thé 
squamosal does not do so in Ceecilia. That the element in question is 
the bone which is called in Batrachia generally by modern authors 
the squamosal, there can be no doubt; I prefer however, at present, to 
call it supratemporal. Mr. Davison’s osteology is here seriously at 
fault. 
On page 383 the author states that “doing the past six months I 
have searched carefully for a description, or even a few words of intro- 
duction to the muscular system of this strange animal, but have been 
able to find only a very terse discussion of the subject.” He then refers 
to Bronn, who gives he says “only a few words to the muscles of the 
head.” It is evident that this search was not very careful, or Mr. 
Davison would not have missed so important a work as Fischer’s 
Anatomische Abhandlungen ueber die Peremibranchiaten und Dero- 
tremen 1864, where much space is devoted to the muscular system. 
On p. 390 we read “ Cope has greatly erred in saying that the lungs 
are subequal.” I find on reexamination of adult specimens that the 
left lung is only one-tenth shorter than the right. 
On p. 395 is another error, which would suggest animus, were not the 
author’s capacity for blundering so exceptionally developed. He says 
“Cope has asserted that Amphiuma has only one testis, but I find 
paired testes extending half way from the liver to the vent.” It does 
not appear to have occurred to Mr. Davison that I was describing one 
side only, and that I stated it to be single in order to distinguish it 
from that of Siren, where there are two on each side. 
On page 403 we have a discussion of the phylogeny of Amphiuma. 
He gives my table of the Urodela from the “ Batrachia of N. America,” 
and then remarks. ‘It is evident to all phylogenists that this table 
presents an absurdity, since representatives of each of the five families 
in the direct line of descent are existing at the present time.” On the 
contrary this naive observation shows that Mr. Davison is a tyro in 
phylogeny. He does not seem to be aware that families of many ver- 
tebrata, and especially of the lower classes, often have had a long dura- 
tion in geologic time. Thus in the American Oligocene occur genera 
of the existing families of lizards, Gerrhonotide and Amphisbaenide, 
