180 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
REV ee wi 
“CATALOGUE OF THE AUSTRALIAN STALK- AND SESSILE- 
EYED CRUSTACEA,” by William A. Haswell, M.A., B. Sc. 
It is not many years ago since the remark used frequently to 
be made in this Colony that the Australians were much behind 
hand in the matter of scientific work. Leaving out of account 
the excellent work done by those who had scientific appoint- 
ments under Governments or endowed boards, it was certainly a 
matter of comment that comparatively little was done in the 
same line by private individuals. The idea here was that the 
Australian climate was too hot for most people, and that all the 
superfluous energy and enthusiasm were distilled out of them. 
Whether the reproach ever justly attached or not, it cannot be 
affirmed atall now. There has been of late an extraordinary 
increase of scientific activity in all the Australian Colonies, and 
wide as the field to be worked out is, it will not be many years 
—at the present rate of things—before the zoology and botany 
of the great island-continent are well known. 
One of the latest and most important contributions to this 
knowledge has just been made by the publication of Mr. Has- 
well’s catalogue of the Australian Crustacea-Malacostraca, by 
the trustees of the Australian Museum. It is essentially a 
compilation of all the known literature on the subject, and 
includes all Mr. Haswell’s recent additions, already contributed 
by him to the “ Transactions of the Linnean Society of New 
South Wales.” The work is similar in general appearance and 
get-up to “Mier’s Catalogue of New Zealand Crustacea,” but 
forms a much bulkier volume. It is illustrated by four litho- 
graphed plates, with figures of new species. A very excellent 
feature is an introductory chapter explaining the structure of 
typical animals of the various groups, and this is illustrated very 
clearly by fairly-well-executed woodcuts. By means of these 
the merest tyro may make himself acquainted with the external 
structure of these animals. 
A glance over the contents of the volume shows that 5 38 species 
have been catalogued and described. Of these some 335 have 
been previously described, chiefly in the scientific records of 
voyages, while no less than 203 have been added to the list by 
Mr. Haswell’s industry as a systematist. Ofthis last number 53 
belong. to the Grachyura or True Crabs, 17 to the Axomoura 
(Hermit, Porcelain Crabs, etc.), and 12 to the Macroura or Prawn 
family. These three orders, forming (with the Stomatopoda) the 
large division of Podophthalmata or Stalk-eyed Crustaceans—are 
now probably fairly-well known as far as the eastern portions of 
Australia are concerned. The division includes all the large 
Crustaceans which were naturally collected by voyagers and 
travellers, while the smaller forms were comparatively neglected 
and were consequently but little known until very recently. 
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