1883.] Recent Literature. 629 
by the author. Probably no two naturalists could be found who 
would agree on the systematic place or relations of all the forms 
of Arctic Buccinidze which have been described. But we have not 
seen any discussion of them with which we felt a more general 
accordance than that in Mr. Friele’s work. In regard to the gen- 
eral relations of the group we feel that the limits of Troschel in 
this, as in many other cases, are too narrow, and his distinctions for 
family rank too refined and too exclusive. In dental, as in other 
characters, the time is at hand for naturalists, who may not yet 
ave done so, to realize that easy transitions from one group to 
another exist in a majority of cases and may be found by sufficient 
search. The genus Jumala of Friele, bears somewhat such a re- 
lation to Strombella Gray, as Liomesus Stimpson, does to some 
forms of Sipho. The median plate of the radula is edentulous, 
In this it agrees with Beringius Dall (1879), and a doubt arises as 
to their distinctness from each other. The type of Beringius is 
Chrysodomus crebricostatus Dall, from Alaska. The only criti- 
cism which occurs to us relates to one of the figures. We 
doubt extremely whether the odtheca figured as belonging to 
Buccinum terra-nove Beck (PI. 111, f. 16, 2-4), does not rather apper- 
tain to a Neptunea, as it resembles precisely that of several small 
forms of Neptunea allied to despecta, familiar to us in the north- 
ern seas, while we have never met with odtheca of such form be- 
longing to a true Buccinum.—I. H. Dail 
caand Mexico, though almost purely descriptive in its character, is 
of high value both from the carefully prepared text and well exe- 
Sive, at the conclusion of the work, an introductory volume, 
wherein the physical features of the country will be described and 
illustrated with maps. 
e mammalia have been enumerated and described by the late 
E. R. Alston, and the text occupies portions of the first seven 
numbers, and is illustrated with eighteen chromo-lithograph plates, 
— by Wolf, Smit and Keulemans, a guarantee of their excel- 
ncy. Mr. Alston has brought together what little is known of the 
ia Centrali-Americana; or, Contributions to the Knowledge of the Fauna 
Oumar e Mexico and Central America. Edited by F. DUCANE neen any 
1882. VIN. Zodlogy, parts 1-1 5. Botany, parts 1-12. 4to. London, 1879- 
