180 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
Zoologischer Anzeigey of September, 1882, five months betore Mr, 
Bourne’s communication to the Linnean Society was read. What- 
ever credit, therefore, is due to priority of the discovery rests 
unmistakeably with me, and not with Mr. Bourne, and his note 
on the subject is calculated to convey an erroneous impression. 
Mr. Haswell also read a note on the claspers of Heptanchus. 
Sydney, 28th May, 1884.—Professor W. J. Stephens, M.A., 
F.G.S., in the chair. 
New Members—G. G. Edelfelt, Esq., and Dr. M. T. O’Connor. 
Papers—(1) ‘“‘New Australian Fishes in the Queensland 
Museum,” by Charles W. D. Vis, M.A. 
This, the first of a series of papers descriptive of rare and new 
fishes in the Queensland Museum, is confined to the Percide only. 
Twenty-three new species are described and four new genera, 
viz.:—Herops, allied to Priacanthus. Homodemus, a fresh water fish 
approaching Dules. Aumristhes, of doubtful affinity, and Hephestus, a 
tresh water vegetable feeding fish resembling Lobotes, 
(2) ‘‘ The Hydromeduse of Australia,” Part III, by R. von Len- 
denfeld, Ph.D. 
The Australian Hydromeduse are here described which be- 
long to the author’s family Blastopolypide. To the species described 
by tormer authors, which are enumerated with references, several 
new ones are added, some of which are of greater morvhological 
interest, particularly Diphosia symmetrica nov. sp., which produces 
perfectly bilateral symmetrical female gonangia. The number of 
species is exceedingly great. As far as some of the sub-families 
of this group are concerned, no other shore is inhabited by any- 
thing like such a number and diversity of forms as ours. 
(3) “On the Geographical Distribution of the Australian 
Meduse,” by R. von Lendenfeld, Ph.D. 
The distribution of the Medusz, or at all events of the large 
Rhizostomes, is shown in this paper to be entirely controlled by 
the oceau currents. Consequently where the currents are per- 
manent, the range of a species can only extend in one direction. 
(4) ‘“‘ The Digestion of Sponges, Ectodermal and Endodermal ?” 
by R. von Lendenfeld, Ph. D. 
The earlier experiments, which were made to ascertain where 
the digestive organ of the sponge is situated, showed-such different 
results, that the author made a series of experiments on the sub- 
ject two years ago in Melbourne, and was, by the help of these, 
enabled not only to show with a large degree of probability where 
and how the digestion was effected in the sponge which he ex- 
perimented on, but he was alsoenabled by these experiments to find 
out the cause of the great difference in the results attained by 
former observers. 
The experiments were carried on with Carmine powder, mixed: 
with the water of the Aquarium in which the sponge was kept. 
The results the author arrived at were taken up by the recent 
authors on sponges at Home; and the second part of the question, 
viz., to which Embryonic layer the Epithelia belonged which, ac- 
cording to the author’s researches, absorbed the food, was exten- 
sively discussed. The present paper gives an abstract of this in- 
