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smelling than of hearing, to enable the males to smell out the females. He 
has observed the same organs in the lamella of the antennae of the carrion 
beetles, which undoubtedly depend more on the sense of smell than that of 
touch or hearing to find stinking carcasses in which to place their eggs. 
Professor Thomson's Holtenia. — In the u Philosophical Transactions” (Part 
II., 1869) appears a paper by Professor W. Thomson u on Holtenia , a genus 
of vitreous sponges,” accompanied with beautiful illustrations. The genus, 
however, appears to Professor Leidy, who writes in the “ Proceedings of the 
Philadelphia Academy ” for November, to be synonymous with Phei'onema 
(Pr. A. N. S., 1868, Biolog. and Micros. Dep. 9). A comparison of the 
figures of Holtenia Carpenteri with those of Pheronema Annce (“ American 
Naturalist,” 1870, 21, 22) leads him to suspect that the two are probably 
the same. 
A New American Locality for Cordylophora. — In the Academy of Sciences 
of Philadelphia, at a recent meeting, Professor Leidy stated that, in a recent 
visit to the Schuylkill river at Fairmount, to seek for specimens of Urnatella, 
though he had been unsuccessful in obtaining living ones within reach from 
the shore, he had found, in the same positions occupied by the former, an 
abundance of Cordylophora. This is the first time that he had noticed this 
interesting compound hydroid polyp in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and he 
was surprised that until now it had escaped his notice. Cordylophora was 
first detected by him in America at Newport, P.I. He had not been able 
to satisfy himself that it was a different species from the European Cordylo- 
phora lacustris, first described by Professor Allman of Edinburgh. It 
appears, however, to be much smaller. Professor Allman represents the C. 
lacustris several inches in length, with the polyps a line in length. The 
American is not more than half the size. As a variety it might be named 
Cordylophora Americana. 
Pterodina Valvata . — Dr. Hudson says that the most striking peculiarity of 
this new species, which he figures in the “ Microscopical Journal,” is the 
presence of the large transverse muscles for folding the lorica. The lorica 
is oval and nearly plane, except on its under-surface, along its major axis ; 
where it carries a sub-conical case, in which lie the greater part of the softer 
portions of the rotifer. The base of the cone is the opening from which the 
rotatory head is protruded, and the lorica is here slit to give free play to the 
head, while the muscles close' the flaps of the slit when the head is drawn 
within the lorica. At a distance from the head of about two-thirds of the 
length of the lorica, there is a circular opening through which the false foot 
is protruded and withdrawn. The water vascular system with three tags 
on each side can be plainly seen ; but there is no contractile vesicle. There 
are, however, two objects which appear to be expansions of the canals, and 
possibly answer the purpose of the contracticle vesicle : he cannot say, how- 
ever, that he ever saw them contract. 
The Chair of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh, the duties 
of which were so long and ably discharged by Professor Allman, has been 
given to Professor Wyville Thomson, F.R.S., until lately Professor of 
Natural History at Queen’s College, Belfast. This of course creates a 
vacancy, the applicants for which are, we understand, numerous, but we 
have not as yet heard of any one being selected. 
