18 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
“Insect Protective Colouring and Mimicry with some Aus- 
tralian Examples’ and ‘‘The Queensland Spirogyra.”’ 
Records of the Western Australian Museum and Art 
Gallery, vol 1., part 1. This publication contains most valu- 
able information on the Fossil Marsupials of Western Aus 
tralia accompanied by excellent illustrations. 
The above numbers are now in the library. 
EXCURSION. 
TRIP TO DUCK CREEK. 
Frspruary.—The excursion to Duck Creek, Clyde, on 
5th February, under the leadership of Mr. A. R. McCulloch, 
of the Australian Museum, proved a great success. The 
attendance numbered nearly thirty, the day was a perfect 
one and our leader proved perfection itself. We owe much 
to Mr. McCulloch for one of the pleasantest and most pro- 
fitable afternoons that we have had. We were first intro- 
duced to the Rotifier, Melicerta ringens, possessing similar 
characteristics and behaving in much the same manner as the 
Rotifers so well described by Dr. Murray, of Shackleton’s 
Expedition. Then we secured excellent specimens of the 
carnivorous water plant Utricularia vulgans. Its method of 
securing its prey, its peculiar form, and characteristics were 
described. ‘The leader told us of fighting fishes hatched out in 
a tank in which Utricularia was growing which all fell vic- 
tims to this carnivorous plant. The fish was caught by the 
tail, slowly drawn in and digested in the course of about four 
hours. In Darwin’s ‘‘Insectivorous Plants,’’ page 395, will 
be found a chapter giving a most minute and fascinating ac. 
count of Utricularia its habits and construction. 
We were fortunate enough to secure a species of Marsilia, 
a water plant with flowers like a water lily but which seeds 
only when left stranded by the water drying up. Fresh water 
shrimps Xzphocaris compressa were plentiful. Mr. McCulloch in- 
formed the party that he had found them in streams 2009 
fect above sea level. They are widely distributed and are 
fcund in Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, Japan, New South 
Wales, Tasmania and other lands. These are one of the 
earliest forms of prawns and probably came originally from 
Japan when that country was contained within the land of the 
Mctanesian Plateau. Mr. McCulloch had discovered them 
at Narrabri in the middle of December. A common medicinal 
