PROCEEDINGS. 
XI! 
August 12th, 1913. 
Professor \Y. J. Dakin, D.Sc., President, in t fie Chair. 
Mr. J. B. Storey was elected a member of the Society. 
The list of donations to the Library was read. 
The following communication was read : 
“ The Onychophora of Western Australia,” by W. J. Dakin, 
D.Sc. 
Exhibits were made by W. B. Alexander, M.A., with the 
following explanations - 
The first consisted of specimens of the three local species of 
Freshwater Crayfish, viz. : the Marron, Chaeraps tenuimanus, 
Smith ; the Gilgie, C . quinquecarinatus, Gray ; and the Coonac, 
C. preissii, Erich. It was mentioned that four names of Crayfish 
(or Crawfish) were given in G. F. Moore’s ” Vocabulary of the 
Language of W.A.,” and of these Tjilki and Dill (Masse) and 
Konak (King George’s Sound) were evidently the originals of 
Gilgie and Coonac, whilst the fourth name, Yarril (King George’s 
Sound), may have been corrupted into Marron. The only other 
known species of the W.A. genus Chaeraps was C. qnadricarinatus, 
which occurs in New Guinea, the Aru Islands, and Cape York. 
The great gap in the distribution of the genus might be due to 
insufficient knowledge of the intervening region, or to the com- 
paratively arid nature of the country. In S.E. Australia and 
Tasmania the crayfishes belonged to another genus, Astacopsis. 
As far as was known at that time the Marron was found in all 
the rivers from the Harvey south to Denmark ; the Gilgie in 
streams tributary to the Swan and other rivers as far south as 
the Yasse ; whilst the Coonac had been obtained in ponds and 
small streams from Harvey to the Margaret River. Enquiries 
which were still being prosecuted would probably lead to an 
increased habitat for several of the species. 
The second exhibit was a Brachiopod, Terebratulina raduxta, 
found on the beach at Cottesloe by the speaker in July This 
was only the second species of Brachiopod recorded for the 
State, the other being T. cancellata, of which species the type 
specimens were said to come from \\ estern Australia. / . radiata 
had previously been found in South Africa. Specimens of the 
common East Australian form, \I ascllimui ftavescens, were also 
exhibited, showing the internal structure, and it was pointed 
out that the resemblance between Brachiopods and Molluscs 
was only superficial. 
September 9th, 1913. 
Professor \Y. J. Dakin, D.Sc., President, in the Chair. 
Mr. Y. S- Rawson was elected a member of the Society 
The list of donations to the Library (including Nos 4, 6 and 7 
of the “ Journal ” of the Mueller Botanic Society, by Miss Creeth) 
was read. 
