464 General. Notes. 
REPRODUCTION oF Lost PARTS IN THE LossTER.—Mr. 
George Brook (Proc. Roy. Phys. Socy. Edinb., ix.) after a historical 
résumé of the results of others, details the results of his own obser- 
vations on the reproduction of lost legs and antenne in three lob- 
sters which he kept in confinement. He concludes that in the 
lobster at least—contrary to Reaumur—the new appendage, which 
is formed beneath a thin pellicle soon after the loss, is only set free 
at the time of molting. The antennal rudiment is at first conical, 
then becomes coiled in a spiral, and at the first molt this is set free, 
but the normal size is not reached until three or four molts. The 
large claws also required a similar period, becoming as large as their 
fellow. In one instance the right claw was lost when the pincer of 
the left side was three inches long. At the next molt the new right 
pincer was 23 inches long, while its fellow had increased to 3% 
inches; at the second molt the difference between them was reduced 
to 4 inch, while the third molt reduced the disparity to } inch. 
The ambulatory limbs, on the contrary, regain their full size in a 
single molt, an observation at variance with Chantran’s account of 
the reproduction of lost parts in Astacus. 
THE OssicuLA AUDITUS OF THE BATRACHIA.—The follow- 
ing is an abstract of a paper read before the United States National 
Academy of Sciences at its meeting in Washington on April 18th, 
1888. The conclusions reached are the following: 
as to the origin of the genus Siren. This is to the effect that Siren 
is an animal which is descended from a land salamander, and its 
immediate ancestor became aquatic again at a comparatively late 
period of geological time. My opinion was at first suggested by the 
condition of the branchie in very young animals, where they are 
functionally abortive, and do not become respiratory organs uD 
later in life, the largest animals having the best developed gills. 
The characters of the stapes confirm this view, since they are those 
of land salamanders, as distinguished from those of aquatic habitat. 
Secondly.—There are three types of relation between the cera- 
tohyal arch and the skull. In the one there is no connection be- 
tween the two, as in the Pseudophidia. Secondly the connection 18 
ligamentous. This is seen in Proteida, Trachystomata, and all Pseu- 
dosauria except the Amblystomide and Plethodontide. The last two 
1 American Naturalist, 1885, p. 1226. 
