oct. — dec. 1856.] and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society, 119 



ing net, on his voyage from England round the Cape in the Ameri- 

 can Clipper Blue Jacket. Mr. Traill is known as an accomplished 

 Malacologist. During the former period of his service he success- 

 fully investigated the Conchology of the Straits, and since his re- 

 turn to India he has classified and named the shells in the Govern- 

 ment Central Museum. The paper was accompanied by drawings 

 of the different species obtained during the voyage and by a chart 

 exhibiting the localities at which they were captured. 



After some general observations on the classification of Pelagian 

 Shells and on the means employed for catching them, Mr. Traill 

 proceeds to notice the different specimens, in the order in which 

 they were found, giving incidentally such notices of their peculiar 

 habits and forms as occurred to him, and referring to the figures. 

 It is to be regretted that he has not added a synoptical descriptive 

 list of all the species, naming such as have not been hitherto de- 

 scribed. This desideratum, it is hoped, may still be supplied. 



The specimens more particularly noticed in the paper belong to 

 the division of Encephalous Molluscs, and include examples of 

 all the great families, the Pteropods, Gasteropods and Cepiia- 

 lopods, by far the largest number appertaining to the first, which 

 are essentially oceanic in their habits. 



Of the Cephalopods a single species only was obtained of a 

 diminutive Argonaut apparently new to Science, of which two spe- 

 cimens were captured alive. Mr. Traill gives an interesting des- 

 cription of its locomotive habits and shows that it differs from the 

 common Paper Nautilus. 



Individuals were captured belonging to two genera of Gastro- 

 pods, viz. three species of Ianthina and r two of Atalanta. The 

 Author remarks on the singular fact of finding Molluscs belonging 

 to a group which is characterized by the possession of a crawling 

 foot among the inhabitants of the deep sea, where such an organ 

 is useless. But the Ianthinas are fitted for this peculiarity of ha- 

 bit by the possession of their vascular float, while the foot of the 

 Atalanta is divided into two lobes which it uses for purposes of 

 progression after the manner of fins. Mr. Traill was enabled to 

 make some minute observations on the organs of sight possessed 



Q 



