REPORT ON THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 553 
Dr. Ayres, of San Francisco, has commenced to send typical 
specimens of the species described by him; among them is a new 
form, Pai'opJirys Ayresii. 
A splendid collection of the fresh-water fishes of Guatemala and 
Vera Paz has been sent by Messrs. Godman and Salvin; 16 
new species of Chromides have been already described, including re¬ 
presentatives of two new genera, Theraps and Petenia . 
In the foregoing observations on the additions of 1862 to the class 
of Pishes, it will be seen in how many parts of the world there are 
intelligent collectors, with a desire to co-operate with the Museum 
authorities in advancing Ichthyology. These remarks are also 
designed to indicate the extent of space which will be needed for 
the ulterior exhibition of the illustrations of the important and 
valuable class of fishes. 
One of the most remarkable of fossil specimens recently discovered, 
Archaeopteryx macrurus, Owen, has been secured, together with 
numerous other rare and unusually perfect fossils for the Depart¬ 
ment of Geology. These specimens are from the quarries of litho¬ 
graphic limestone at Solenhofen and Pappenheim, Bavaria. The 
Archaeopteryx , besides the principal bones of the limbs and of part of 
the vertebral column, and furculum, exhibits impressions of feathers, 
including “ primaries ” and “ under-coverts ” of both wings, and 
the “ rectrices ” and quill-feathers of the tail. By the latter, the 
fossil bird chiefly differs from living birds; its tail, consisting of 
20 vertebrae, is longer than the trunk, and a pair of feathers diverge 
from each of the vertebrae. The matrix of the Archaeopteryx belongs 
to the upper Oolite period, and is the most ancient in which fossil 
remains of a bird have, hitherto, been discovered. The class, how¬ 
ever, is indicated by foot-prints in older secondary formations. 
Bare and acceptable additions have accrued to all the Depart¬ 
ments of Natural History through the International Exhibition 
of 1862. 
The Geological and Mineralogical Departments have been en¬ 
riched by a highly instructive and valuable collection of specimens, 
plans, and maps, graciously presented by Her Majesty, at whose 
disposal they had been placed by the Imperial Austrian Govern¬ 
ment. They formed part of the series in the Austrian Department 
of the International Exhibition. 
Amongst these specimens may be particularised an extensive 
series of characteristic examples of coal, lignite, and allied forms of 
petrified and carbonised vegetable matters from the several carboni¬ 
ferous strata in the Austrian dominions. Such a series will form an 
important element in a Geological Department, properly so called, 
should such department be hereafter associated with the collections 
of Fossil Remains (Palaeontology) in the Natural History Depart¬ 
ments of the British Museum. 
The space which these specimens of the coal of a single conti¬ 
nental country occupied in the Austrian Department of the Inter- 
