Bibliographical Notices, 



499 



friends. Three new genera are described, viz. Maillea, to receive 

 the Phalaris crypsoides of D'Urville and Kunth ; Avellina, founded 

 upon the Bromus Michelii of Savi, which has been considered as a 

 Festuca by Kunth and Bertoloni, a Kceleria by DeCandolle, an 

 Avena by Gussone, Trisetum by Trinius and Tenore, and a Vulpia by 

 Reichenbach ; and Serrafalcus, intended to include the Bromi se- 

 calini of Bertoloni and Koch, the B. genuini and B.festucacei of those 

 authors being retained as the genus Bromus. As it is a point of con- 

 siderable interest to English botanists, it may be as well to point out 

 the difference between the proposed new genus and Bromus, namely, 

 Bromus, lower glume 1 -nerved, upper 3 — 5 -nerved; florets lanceo- 

 late, compressed; spikelets broader upwards; — Serrafalcus (Pari.), 

 lower glume 3 — 5 -nerved, upper 7 — 9 -nerved ; florets oblong, tur- 

 gid ; spikelets narrower upwards. As these characters are founded 

 upon differences of considerable value in this natural order, and the 

 group thus formed is a very natural one, it is probable that the ge- 

 nus ought to be adopted, in which case the following British Bromi 

 will become species of Serrafalcus, viz. mollis (including racemosus), 

 commutatus, secalinus, velutinus (probably a variety of the preceding), 

 arvensis (a very doubtful native), and squarrosus. It would take far 

 more space than we can afford to record all the new species here de- 

 scribed, and we will only take the liberty in conclusion of expressing 

 a hope, that other botanists who publish their observations in journals 

 which rarely pass the boundaries of the countries in which they are 

 published, will follow the excellent example that has now been set 

 by Prof. Parlatore. 



Journals of two Expeditions of Discovery in North-west and Western 

 Australia. By George Grey, Esq., Governor of South Australia. 

 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1841. 



We wish to call the attention of our zoological readers to the Ap- 

 pendix to this highly interesting work, which contains the following 

 articles : — 



C. Contributions towards the geographical distribution of the Mam- 

 malia of Australia, with notes on some recently discovered species ; 

 by J. E. Gray, F.R.S., &c. 



This contains, 1st, a valuable table of all the species discovered 

 on the Australian continent or its adjacent islands, pointing out their 

 respective localities, and containing 96 species ; 2ndly, a description 

 of 12 new species. 



D. A List of the Birds of the Western Coast ; by John Gould, F.L.S. 



E. A Catalogue of the Reptiles and Amphibia hitherto described as 

 inhabiting Australia, with a description of some new species from 

 Western Australia, and some remarks on their geographical dis- 

 tribution; by J. E. Gray, F.R.S., &c. 



This contains, 1st, a list of 107 species, with their localities ; 

 2nd, observations on the more obscure and hitherto unknown ge- 

 nera and species, with figures of the following, viz. Ronia catenulata, 

 Aprasia pulchella, Delma Fraseri, Moloch horridus, Elaps Gouldii, E. 

 coronatus, Calamaria Diadema, Liatris Burtonii, Soridia lineata, Hy- 



