406 Zoological Society 
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
June 24, 1856.— Dr. Gray, F.R.S., in the Chair. 
Description of Mygale Emilia, a Spider from Panama, 
HITHERTO APPARENTLY UNRECORDED. By AdAM WhITE, 
Assistant in the Zoological Department, Brit. Mus. 
The large Spiders of the New World, though generally sombre in 
hue, are occasionally varied in colour. The Mygale versicolo?' de- 
scribed by Baron Walckenaer (Apt. i. 211), has the cephalothorax 
covered with down-like hairs of a metallic green lustre, and some of 
the hairs of the body have in certain aspects a violet reflection. The 
Mygale rosea described by the same author from the collection of 
M. Guerin-Meneville, who procured it from Chili, is deserving of its 
specific name. The Mygale Zebra, figured in the fourth volume of 
the 'Annales de la Soc. Entomologique,' pi. 19, has the abdomen 
strikingly striped. Generally speaking, however, these large My gales, 
whether from the Old or the New World, are rough, plain brown, or 
black creatures, with greyish scattered hairs. Since Walckenaer' s 
work was published in 1837, several species have been added to zoo- 
logical science, especially ia the German work of Koch. The fol- 
lowing species, pre-eminent for its striking beauty of colour, was 
obtained by my friend Dr. Berthold Seemann, the distinguished na- 
turalist who succeeded Mr. Edmonstone on board H.M.S. Herald 
under Capt. Kellett, R.N., C.B. 
I have but once seen a Mygale alive; the specimen was sent to 
the late Mr. John Doubleday by post, and when it reached London 
was evidently much shaken by its transit from Liverpool. The day 
after its arrival he gave it cockroaches. They were put into the small 
box along with the Mygale. It apparently at first did not see them, 
but on these " Cursorial Orthoptera '* running about MygaWs legs, 
the great spider drew itself up, and darted its chelicera into one of 
them, tearing its intestines with its fearfully armed hook. The Blatta 
was soon devoured, and the spider, evidently an invalid after its 
rough journey, died next day. 
Mr. H. W. Bates, who has for the last eight years so successfully 
collected Annulosa, and observed their habits at various points on the 
Amazon, in a letter to me, dated ** Santarem, 30 April, 1855," 
written on the eve of starting for *' the wonderful country of the 
Upper Amazons," remarks : — " With regard to spiders, I have ob- 
served many curious points in their habits, but I cannot communi- 
cate them until I can send specimens, with numbers attached, to 
which the notes can be referred. There is one observation I made, 
however, which I am sure will be of the highest interest to science. 
It is with respect to the habit of the My gales to prey on birds. Now 
I have detected them in the fact as far back as 1849, but thought 
little of it at the time, as I had the idea that it was a well-known 
and undisputed fact in science. Lately, however, I read an account 
(I think of Langsdorffs expedition in the interior of Brazil), where 
Mr. A. White on Mygale Emilia. W7 
the fact is considered to rest on no foundation, and to be one more 
of the fables originated by Madame Merian. Now I will relate to 
you what I saw. In the month of June 1849, in the neighbourhood 
of Cameta, I was attracted by a curious movement of the large grey- 
brown Mygale on the trunk of a vast tree. It was close beneath a 
deep crevice or chink in the tree, across which this species weaves a 
dense web, open for its exit and entrance at one end. In the present 
instance, the lower part of the web was broken, and two pretty small 
finches were entangled in its folds ; the finch was about the size of 
the common Siskin of Europe, and I judged the two to be male and 
female : one of them was quite dead, but secured in the broken web ; 
the other was under the body of the spider, not quite dead, and was 
covered in parts with the filthy liquor or saliva exuded by the mon- 
ster. I was on my return from a day's excursion by land, at the time, 
with my boxes full of valuable and delicate insects, and six miles 
from my house, and therefore could not have brought the specimens 
home, even had I vdshed, which I did not, as the species was a very 
common species, easily to be procured nearer home. 
" If the Mygales did not prey upon Vertebrated animals, I do not 
see how they could find sufficient subsistence. On the extensive sandy 
campos of Santarem, so bare in vegetation, there are hundreds of the 
broad slanting burrows of the large stout species (that fine one, dark 
brown, with paler brown lines down the legs). The campos, I know, 
from close research, to be almost destitute of insects, but at the same 
time they swarm with small lizards, and some curious ground-finches 
of the Emberiza group (one of which has a song wonderfully resem- 
bling our Yellow-bunting of England), besides which vast numbers 
of Caprimulgi (C. psalurus, Azara) and ground-doves lay their eggs 
on the bare ground. I believe this species of Mygale feeds on these 
animals and their eggs at night'. Just at close of day, when I have 
been hurrying home, not liking to be benighted on the pathless 
waste, I have surprised these monsters, who retreated within the 
mouths of their burrows on my approach." 
Mygale Emilia. 
M. nigro-fuscay cephalothorace, duobusque articulis singulorum 
pedum Icete Jlavescenti-rubris. 
Deep blackish-brown ; the basal joint of chelicera with some scat- 
tered red hairs in front ; the cephalothorax of a rich yellowish-red, 
the hairs short, close and velvet-like ; the fourth and fifth joints of 
the legs clothed with yellowish-red hairs, the end of the fifth joint 
with many brown hairs ; fourth joint of the first pair of legs, with 
the curiously hooked process near the end, also covered with red 
hairs, the under side of the fifth and sixth joints and the tarsi 
clothed with a close, dense, velvet pad. Body brown, with longish, 
scattered red hairs, which are deeper in hue than on the other 
parts. 
408 Zoological Society : — 
July 8, 18.)6.— Dr. Gray, F.R.S., in the Chair. 
On the Land and Freshwater Shells of Kashmir and 
Tibet, collected by Dr. T. Thomson. 
By S. p. Woodward, F.G.S. 
These shells, which I received through Dr. J. D. Hooker and Sir 
Charles Lyell, were collected by Dr. Thomson in 1847-8, when he 
accompanied Major Cunningham and Capt. II. Strachey in '*one of 
the most adventurous journeys ever made in the Himalaya*." 
The shells of continental India are nearly all distinct from those 
of Europe, and although far inferior in beauty and variety to those 
of the Asiatic Islands, have yet a marked character, owing to the ad- 
mixture of tropical forms and especially to the great development 
of the operculated genera {Cyclostomidce\ which are almost unknown 
in our quarter of the world f. 
It was, therefore, a matter of considerable interest to ascertain 
what land and freshwater shells occur in the remote regions of Kash- 
mir and Tibet, and somewhat surprising to find, that of about 22 
sorts collected by Dr. Thomson, one-half were British species, and 
the rest of the commonest and most widely diffused Indian forms. 
The species marked * are European. 
*Helix pulchella, small var., subfossil. Iskardo, Tibet (Europe, 
N. America). 
* costata^ large var., recent. Iskardo, 7200 feet. 
*HeUcella nitida. Near Iskardo (Europe, N. America). 
Bulimus candelaris, Pfr. Takht i Suliman, Kashmir. 
segregatus, small var. Kashmir. 
*^««a lubrica {subfossil). Iskardo (Europe, N. America). 
Pupa Huttoniana, Benson. Iskardo (also subfossil). 
*Succinea Pfeifferi, var. (longiscata, Morillet ?). Kashmir. 
*Limncea stagnalis. Kashmir (Europe ; N. America, Oregon). 
* peregra. Pitak, Tibet ; Kashmir. 
y var. Hookeri. Iskardo and Nubra, Tibet (18,000 feet). 
* auricularia. Iskardo ; Thogji Lake (subfossil). 
, sp. Kashmir (resembling the Australian L. simulata). 
* truncatula, Miill. Iskardo, in damp moss (also found at Can- 
dahar, Affghanistan ; at Madeira, and in the U. States). 
luteola, Lam. («?<ccme«, Dh.). Islamabad, Kashmir (also 
Prorae, Burmah). 
acuminata. Lam. Jamu hills. 
Planorbis Coromandelicus, Fabr. Jamu hills ; Islamabad, Kashmir 
(also Ceylon and Malacca). 
nanus, Benson ; subfossil. Tsoral Lake, Tibet (Capt. II. 
Strachey). 
, sp. Pitak and Iskardo ; Tertse, Nubra, in lacustrine clay. 
* Western Himalaya and Tibet ; a Journey through the Mountains of Northern 
India. By Dr. Thomas Thomson. 8vo, London, 1852. 
t Mr. Benson states that Helix Baclriana (Ilutton), found in Affghanistan, is 
closely allied to the European H.strigclla. 
Mr. S. P. Woodward on the Shells of Kashmir and Tibet. 409 
Paludina Bengalensis, var. Jamu hills, Kashmir. 
^Valvata piscinalis (sub/ossil). Kashmir; Tsoral Lake, Tibet. 
^Cyrena ytuminalis, Miill. * (Cashmi?nensis, Dh.). Avantipura, 
Kashmir. 
Cyclas (Pisidiimi), sp., sub/ossil. Thogji Lake, Tibet. 
These specimens have been submitted to the examination of Mr. 
W. H. Benson, who is unsurpassed in his critical acquaintance with 
Indian shells, and especially those of the Western Himalaya. 
Helix pulchella and Zua lubrica were only obtained in the condi- 
tion of " dead shells" from the alluvial plains of Iskardo and Kash- 
mir. 
The Pupa and Bulimus candelaris^ Limncea auricularia and VaU 
vat a piscinalis^ were found both recent and subfossil. 
Limmsa auricularia occurred in prodigious abundance in the allu- 
vial clay around the salt-lake of Thogji, at the height of 150 feet 
above its present level. There are no longer any living shell-fish in 
its waters, and Dr. Thomson remarks, *' it may fairly be inferred 
that the lake was quite fresh at the time when it was inhabited by 
Limncea.'' The increase of the height of the surface of the water 
to the small amount of 150 feet, appears to have admitted of its 
discharging its waters along the course of an open valley into one of 
the tributaries of the Zamkar river (p. 173). 
Everywhere to the northward of Tibet, from the Aral Sea to 
Chinese Tartary, is a country of small salt-lakes having no outlet ; 
and this region divides Northern India from the Siberian steppes, in 
which land and freshwater shells of Germanic species are known to 
occur. 
Westward, however, the ranges of the Hindoo Koosh are prolonged 
through Persia to the Caucasus, and form a continuous route to the 
Lusitanian region. 
Since the shells which have been mentioned as English species 
occurring in Tibet, are also common to the South of Europe, they 
are rather to be regarded as Lusitanian than Germanic species. 
The land species {Zua, Helix, Helicella and Succinea) are, how- 
ever, amongst the most ancient inhabitants of this island, being found 
in the newer-pliocene deposits of the Thames valley, associated with 
the same Falvata and the same species of Cyrena, and with remains 
of an Elephant {E. meridionalis) and a Rhinoceros (^R. leptorhinus), 
which are not only extinct, but were succeeded by other races of 
the same animals {Elephas primigenius and Rhinoceros tichorhinus)^ 
before they finally disappeared from this portion of the globe. 
If, therefore, the small land shells of our newer tertiaries originally 
migrated into this country from the East, we must ascribe to their 
occupancy of the lofty plains of Kashmir and Tibet a very high 
* Varieties of this shell are found in Sicily, Palestine, the Nile, and all the 
rivers of the East. These varieties have been regarded as constituting about 
twenty distinct species; e.g. C. Euphratica, Bronn; ambigua, D\\. -, Cor, Lam.; 
consobrina, Caill. ; triangularis , Dh. ; Panormitana, Bivon, &c. When fossil, 
it is the C. trigonula, Searles Wood ; C. Gemmellarii, Phi. 
410 Zoological Society : — 
antiquity compared with any of the monuments which Man himself 
has reared, even in the country most usually regarded as the cradle 
of his race. 
On the Species of the American genus Parra. 
By Philip Lutley Sclater, M.A., F.Z.S. 
The American birds of the genus Parra, together with their repre- 
sentatives in the Tropics of the Old World belonging to the genera 
MetopidiuSy Hydralector and Hydrophasianus, constitute a very 
natural group, allied in many respects to the Rallidce, but remark- 
able for the extreme elongation of the toes — a formation beautifully 
adapted for enabling them to walk upon the floating leaves of the 
numerous water-plants of these countries. 
MM. Verreaux of Paris have kindly furnished me from their well- 
stored magazines with a series of specimens of Parra, which enabled 
me to point out to the Society the distinctions between all the 
hitherto known species of this genus, and to indicate one certainly 
new, and a second, which although not so obviously distinct, has 
some claim to be recognized as an intermediate species. 
A. Species caruncula front ali hilobata et caruncula rictali utrinque 
prceditcB. 
1. Parra jacana. 
Parra jacana et variabilis, Linn, et Gm. 
Parra nigra et brasiliensis, Gm. 
Parra jacana. Max. Beitr. iv. 786. 
Parra jassana, Schomb. Reise, iii. 759. 
Jacana du Mexique, Buff. PI. Enl. 322 (adult). 
Jacana du Bresil, Buff. PI. Enl. 846 (juv.). 
Capite toto cum cervice supera et corpore infra nigris : dorso, alis 
caudaque dare castaneis : tectricibus caudcd superioribus purpu- 
rascente tinctis : remigibus flavescenti-viridibus, nigra extus 
partim marginatis : hypochondriis et tectricibus subalaribus in- 
tense castaneis. 
Hah. South-eastern Brazil (P. Max.) ; British Guiana (Schomb.) ; 
Cayenne ; ins. Trinidad. 
The examples of this bird which I have seen from Guiana and 
Cayenne appear to be considerably inferior in size to the Brazilian 
specimen, but I am not yet certain how far this may be due to sexual 
differences. 
2. Parra intermedia, sp. nov. ? 
*^ Parra intermedia, Bp.," J. et E. Verreaux, MS. 
Capite toto cum cervice supera et corpore infra nigris : dorso, alis 
caudaque obscurius castaneis, purpurascente paululum tinctis : 
hypochondriis et tectricibus subalaribus brunnescenti-castaneis : 
remigibus flavescenti-viridibus, nigro extus partim marginatis. 
Hah. Venezuela ( Verreaux) . 
Mr. P. L. Sclater on the genus Parra. 411 
This bird is hardly distinguishable from the P.jacana, except by 
the browner and more purplish tinge of the back, in which respect 
it seems intermediate between that species and P. melanopygia. 
I should hardly have ventured to separate it specifically on my 
own authority ; but, as the MS. name has attained circulation, I 
think it right to point out the apparent differences. 
3. Parra melanopygia, sp. nov. 
Capite toto cum cervice supera et corpora infra nigris : interscapulio, 
alis caudaque purpurascenti-brunneis : dor so imo et tectricibus 
caudcE superioribus nigris : hypochondriis et tectricibus sub- 
alaribus nigris : remigibusflavescenti-viridibus, nigro extus partim 
marginatis. 
Hab. S. Martha in New Grenada (Verreaux). 
MM. Verreaux's specimens of this bird are labelled P. hypomelana, 
but that name is properly applicable to the next species. 
4. Parra hypomel^na. 
Parra hypomelcena, Gray & Mitch. Gen. of B. pi. 159. 
Nigra : alis fusco -nigris purpurascente tinctis : remigibus flaves- 
centi-viridibus, nigro extus partim marginatis. 
Hab. New Grenada, S. Martha (Verreaux) ; Bogota (Mus. Brit.); 
Cartagena (Mus. Paris.) ; Chiriqui, Panama (Bridges). 
B. Species caruncula frontali trilobata : carunculis rictalibus 
nullis. 
5. Parra gymnostoma. 
Parra gymnostoma, Wagl. Isis, 1831, p. 517. 
Parra cordifera. Less. R. Z. 1842, p. 135 ; Desmurs, Icon. Orn. 
pi. 42. 
Capite toto cum cervice supera et infra ad medium pectus nigris, 
ceneo micantibus : dorso toto alisque castaneis : uropygio purpuras- 
cente : abdomine purpuras centi- brunneo : remigibus flavescenti- 
viridibus, nigro marginatis. 
Hab. Southern Mexico ; Mazatlan (Mus. Brit.) ; Acapulco (A. 
Lesson) ; New Grenada, S. Martha (Verreaux) ; Honduras (Byson). 
Wagler's accurate diagnosis of this bird has been generally passed 
over, and Lesson's more recent appellation is commonly employed for 
this species. * 
November 11, 1856.— Dr. Gray, F.R.S., in the Chair. 
On a New Species of Squirrel (Sciurus macrotis) from 
Borneo. By J. E. Gray, Ph.D., F.R.S. etc. 
Among the specimens of animals which the British Museum has 
lately received from Mr. Wallace from Sarawak, is a large, well-marked 
species of Squirrel, particular for having very large, longish pen- 
412 Zoological Society : — 
cilled ears like the European species, with a broad white streak on 
the upper part of each side, and a very broad full tail, grizzled, with 
large white tips to the hairs. 
SCIURUS MACROTIS. 
Ears large, with a large pencil of elongate hairs. Dark chestnut- 
brown, very minutely grizzled with pale tips to the hairs. Rump, out- 
side of thighs and base of tail redder ; point of thighs bright bay ; 
feet blackish ; upper part of the side with a broad pale streak ; 
cheeks and inner side of legs paler ; chin, throat, and beneath white ; 
tail very broad, with very long white-tipped hairs. 
Length 13, tail 11 = 24 inches. 
Hab. Sarawak (Mr. Wallace). 
Observations on a Living African Lepidosiren in the 
Crystal Palace. By J. E. Gray, Ph.D., F.R.S. Accompa- 
nied BY A Note from Mr. A. D. Bartlett. 
This animal has been exhibited for some months at the Crystal 
Palace, appears to be in good health, and has increased in size. 
Mr. W. Hawkins, in the ' Illustrated News' (Supp. 20 Sept. 1856), 
which gives a very good figure of the animal from life, observes : — 
*' The three living specimens of this animal were brought to En- 
gland from the Gambia, enclosed in balls of hard clay, where they 
had been for eight months without showing any signs of life, until 
those balls of hard clay were immersed in water, which caused the 
clay to crack and break up, discovering dark-coloured egg-like forms, 
which also presently burst, liberating their inmates, which briskly 
swam or rather dashed through the water, showing unmistakeable 
signs of life by feeding voraciously upon very large worms, small 
frogs and pieces of meat that were presented them." 
The Lepidosiren uses its tail to propel itself forward and upward 
towards the surface of the water. The subulate limbs are very much 
elongated ; the front ones are furnished with a narrow membrana- 
ceous margin of nearly equal width the whole length of the hinder 
edge ; the hinder one has a narrow membrane on the middle of the 
outer side ; they are exceedingly mobile and flexible, and are used by 
the animal to direct its motions, and are more like feet than fins, 
especially when they are within reach of some fixed body which the 
animal can use as a fulcrum. 
There are two processes on each side over the base of the anterior 
members, which have been regarded as gills by some authors * ; they 
are coloured like the rest of the body, and I could not discover, even 
when examined by a hand-magnifier of one inch focal length, that 
they were pervaded by any peculiar vascular structure, or furnished 
with any cirri or other processes usually found on the external gills of 
Batrachia. They scarcely moved during the time that I was exa- 
mining the specimen, except when the animal was swimming, when 
they were used like the larger members, apparently to assist in di- 
* Sec Peters, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. xvi. 318. 
I 
Dr. J. E. Gray on Lepidosiren. 413 
recting its motions, and they evidently form part of the anterior mem- 
bers. They are placed rather close together somewhat above the 
base of the elongated finned filament. These limbs are used to sup- 
port the animal some height above the surface of the gravel when it 
is at rest. 
Indeed, all the motions of the animal much more resemble those 
of a Triton or Lissotriton than of an eel-shaped fish. 
The upper and lower surfaces of the head are furnished with lines 
of mucous pores placed in a symmetrical manner on the two sides, 
similar to the pores observable on the head and chin of different 
kinds of fish, and of Tritons and Lissotritons : and there is a distinct 
continuous line of pores, like the lateral line of fish and Tritons, 
which is continued on the tail some distance behind the base of the 
hinder members, but becoming less distinct at the hinder part of 
the series. 
The eyes are of moderate size, scarcely raised above the surface, 
round, without any eyelids ; the pupil is black, small, circular, less 
than one-third the diameter of the globe, with a narrow golden iris. 
The Mud Fish is generally to be observed swimming about under 
the water, or resting at the bottom of the tank, supporting itself by 
its members, an inch and a half or two inches above the surface 
of the gravel, with its nose generally in the corner, bent down and 
partly hidden in the gravel. 
The mouth is firmly closed by the overhanging upper lip, except 
in front, where there is a small oblong, transverse, horizontal open- 
ing on the outer edge of the lips, admitting the water to the small 
open external nostrils, which are on the middle of the under side of 
the upper lip. This opening does not extend to the hinder part of 
the lips, which are closed behind it, so that water cannot enter the 
mouth in that direction except through the nostrils. 
In this quiescent state the lateral gill-opening is generally closed, 
but sometimes it is slightly elevated, and a small current appears to 
be emitted now and then from it, as if a small quantity of water were 
taken in by the nostrils and emitted by the gill-flap ; but this action 
is not continuous nor very distinctly visible. 
While remaining under the water the animal sometimes opens the 
mouth to its full extent, leaving it open for some time, dilating the 
throat by the action of the os hyoides ; when fully dilated it closes 
its mouth, opens the gill-aperture, and contracting the throat emits 
a strong current of water through the lateral gill-aperture. 
It occasionally but at uncertain periods rises perpendicularly to the 
top of the water, until the front part of the head and the whole 
mouth are exposed above the water ; it then opens its mouth, which 
it retains open for a time, dilates its throat, as if taking in all the air 
it can contain, closes the mouth, descends under the surface and con- 
tracts its throat, as if it were forcing the air into the lungs (sometimes 
during this action one or two very small bubbles of air are emitted at 
the gill-aperture), and then the animal takes up its old position near 
the bottom of the vase. 
I once saw the animal ascend and so take in air almost imme- 
414 Zoological Society : — 
diately after it had been passing a fresh supply of water to its gills. 
When I have been observing it, it appeared to take in air more fre- 
quently than water *. It often rises with its body perpendicular, as 
if it were going to take in free air, but descends again without reaching 
the surface of the water. 
The organs of respiration of this animal are twofold : — 
1 . Well-organized gills on the inner edge of the branchial arches, 
as in fishes, and a regular gill-cover with a small oblong aperture in 
front of the base of the anterior members (see Owen, Trans. Linn. 
Soc. xviii. t. 25. f. 3, t. 26. f. 1). 
2. Two well-developed cellular lungs of nearly equal size (see 
Owen, Trans. Linn. Soc. xviii. t. 25. f. 3, t. 26. f. 1, 2). 
3. The nostrils are close together, situated on the under side of 
the inner lip, with their internal opening on the side of the mouth 
between the lips and the outer edge of the large inner series of teeth ; 
the passage is short, as a probe is easily passed from the one open- 
ing to the other, and the inner nostrils are very evident in the living 
animal when it opens its mouth to take in air. 
M. Bischoff observed these interior nostrils also in the Curamuru 
or Lepidosiren paradoxa of the Brazils. 
The animal is, therefore, provided with well-developed organs for 
both aerial and aquatic respiration, and its manner of breathing is 
perfectly conformable to this organization : it is consequently the 
most perfectly amphibious animal, equally adapted for living on land 
or in water, that has come under my observation. 
The character which best separates the Batrachian — as the Toad, 
Frog and Salamander — from the Fish, is, that in both the larva and 
perfect state they are provided with an external and internal nostril, 
and it is through this nostril that these animals take in or emit the 
air which they respire ; while in fish, the water which they respire 
is taken in by the mouth, and after passing over the gills is emitted 
by the lateral aperture of the gill-flap ; the nostril being only a sac, 
without any communication with the cavity of the mouth. 
When a Batrachian respires, the mouth is kept closed, the throat 
being used like a pair of bellows to force the air into the lungs ; and 
if the mouth is kept open, the animal dies for want of the power 
of respiring. In fish, on the contrary, the mouth is always more 
or less open, the fish either constantly gulping in the water, then 
closing the mouth or lips, and emitting it by the lateral opening ; 
or the mouth is partially open, and the animal uses its tongue 
and the hinder internal edge of the lip as a kind of valve, by which 
the cavity of the mouth is closed and the water is forced to pass 
through the gills. 
* Mr. W. Hawkins in the * Illustrated News ' observes : — '• It is seen habitually 
to rise to the surface of the water for a larger supply of atmospheric air, thrusting 
its open mouth above the surface." 
Dr. Holbrook appears to have observed the same habit in the Neciurus macu- 
losus (which is probably the larva of the Hell-bender or Protonopsis horrida). 
He states that that artimal in confinement " ascends to the surface (of the water), 
taking in a mouthful of air, and sinks again with it to the bottom." — Amer. 
Herpet. i. 113. 
Dr. J. E. Gray on Lepidosiren. 415 
The Lepidosirens appear to take in water by the nostrils, and at 
the same time to respire both air as Batrachians and water as fish. 
The generality of the Amphibia, as the Toads, Frogs, and Efts or 
Salamanders, are organized for aquatic respiration in their young and 
lower state, and for aerial respiration in their adult condition ; but 
this animal has both kinds of organs in a state fit for perfect use at 
the same time, and the animal evidently uses them simultaneously. 
It appears to me that the Mud- fish is much more nearly related 
to the Amphibia than to any fish that I am acquainted with ; at the 
same time it evidently forms a particular group in that class. 
Dr. Daniel, who has lived for several years on the Gambia and on 
Macarthy's Islands, informs me that the Lepidosiren, like the Mud 
Eel or true Siren, is only found in the rice-fields, which are for more 
than half the year under water, and that they are only procured by 
the natives towards the end of the dry season, when they are dug 
out of the nearly-dried mud. They are eaten fried, and like eels 
have a rich oily flavour. 
The habit of living in the mud is common to several Amphibia ; 
thus the Mud-eel, or Siren lacertina, which has lungs and external 
gills, lives chiefly in mud, being dug out when the ditches of the 
rice-fields in Carolina are cleared. The Hell-bender or Mud-devil 
(Protonopsis horrida) and the Congo Snake (Amphiuma), which 
have internal gills and lungs and a small lateral gill-opening, live 
sunk in the mud often to the depth of 2 or 3 feet, especially in winter ; 
and they and the Siren lacertina will live for some time out of water, 
and are said sometimes to leave it voluntarily. 
Aquatic animals much more frequently bury themselves in the 
mud than is generally supposed. The common English Frogs and 
the large Efts bury themselves in the mud during the greater part of 
the winter, and this also is the casQ with Bytisci and other aquatic 
insects. 
But some fish also, which have only gills adapted for aquatic re- 
spiration, have the same habit. Dr. Hancock observes, "When the 
water is leaving the pools in which they commonly reside, the Yar- 
row (a species of Esox, Linn.), as well as the round-headed Hassar 
{Callichthys littoralis), bury themselves in the mud, while all other 
fishes perish for want of their natural element, or are picked up by 
rapacious birds. The flat-headed Hassar {Boras costata), on the con- 
trary, simultaneously quits the place and marches overland in search 
of water, travelling for a whole night, as is asserted by the Indians, 
in search of their object. I have ascertained by trial that they will 
live many hours out of water even when exposed to the sun's rays. 
Their motion over land is described to be somewhat like that of a 
two-polled lizard : they project themselves forward on their bony 
arms by the elastic spring of the tail exserted sideways ; their pro- 
gress is nearly as fast as a man will leisurely walk." — Zool. Journ. 
iv. 243. 
" The Indians say that these fishes carry water within them for a 
supply on their journey. There appears to be some truth in this 
statement, for I have observed that the bodies of the Hassar do not 
416 Zoological Society : — 
get dry like those of other fishes when taken out of the water ; and 
if the moisture be absorbed, or they are wiped dry with a cloth, they 
have such a power of secretion that they become instantly moist 
again ; indeed it is scarcely possible to dry the surface while the fish 
is living." — Loc. cit. 243. 
Dr. Hancock further observes, that a fish which he thinks is Lori- 
carta pleistotnus "is not only furnished with the common appendages 
for swimming, but also with four strong bony supporters, one attached 
to each of the pectoral and belly fins (i. e. constituting the first ray 
of each), by which the animal creeps on the bottom of the river, and 
perhaps where there is little or no water, also being as it seems partly 
amphibious." — Loc, cit. 243. 
From this account, it appears that the habits of these fish bear 
very little relation to those of the Mud-fish. 
It is well known that many freshwater Mollusca which respire free 
air, and I believe some of those which are furnished with pectiniform 
gills for aquatic respiration, as Paludince and Valvatcc, in the warmer 
climates, such as India, where the waters of the streams or ponds are 
dried up, bury themselves in the mud to a considerable depth like 
the Mud-fish, and like them remain in a torpid state until the return 
of the rainy season. 
Sir William Jardine has described the kind of cocoon in the clay 
in which the Mud-fish are brought to this country ; but I am in- 
formed by Mr. Bartlett that the cavity is always furnished with a 
small aperture opposite to where the nose of the animal is placed. 
In referring this animal to the class of Fishes, authors have laid 
great stress on the fact of its being provided with a lateral line. 
Thus M. Dumeril, in the last essay on the subject, notices the line, 
"which is ramified on the sides of the head as in Chimera,^' over- 
looking the fact that the Triton cristatus, the common Eft, has 
similar lines on both the sides and head. He compares the gill-rays 
and branchial aperture to that of Mormyrus and Cobitis, but they 
are equally like those of Protonopsis ; and \\q compares the nostrils 
to those of the Lamprey, overlooking the fact that the animal is 
provided with nostrils communicating with the cavity of the mouth. 
See Erp. Generale, ix. 213. 
I have been informed that this genus is found in other parts of 
Africa, as Senegal, where it is called Tobal, and the White Nile, 
from whence M. Armand sent specimens to the Paris Museum in 
1843 ; and Dr. Peters found a species in Quillemanes, which Peters 
and J. Miiller have called Rhinocryptes amphibia. 
In reply to a note I had addressed to him, I have received the 
following interesting communication from Mr. Bartlett, who at the 
same time informed me that he intended to have communicated it 
to the next meeting of the Society : — 
" Crystal Palace, Sydenham, 
November 17th, 1856. 
"Dear Sir, — In reply to your note respecting the living Mud- 
fish, I beg to say that in the month of .Time last I received from 
Dr. J. E. Gray on Lepidosiren. ^ 417 
Western Africa a case containing four specimens of this animal ; each 
specimen was imbedded in a block of cl/y hard muddy clay^ about 
the size of a quartern loaf ; these blocks of clay were each sewed up 
in a piece of canvas to prevent the clay crumbling or falling to pieces. 
According to the instructions I received from Capt. Chamberlayne 
(the gentleman who sent them), I placed them in a tank of fresh 
water at the temperature of 83 degrees ; in doing this a portion of the 
clay crumbled off one of them and partly exposed the case in which 
the animal was contained ; I was watching the operation when sud- 
denly the case or cocoon rose to the surface of the water. I at first 
thought the animal contained in it must be. dead, but I shortly after- 
wards observed a slight motion : apparently the animal was endea- 
vouring to extricate itself, and this it soon afterwards accomplished 
by breaking through the side of its tough covering ; it swam about 
immediately, and by diving into the mud and clay, which by this 
time had become softened, rendered it difficult to make further ob- 
servations ; I removed the case or cocoon, which still floated, and 
which I now send for your examination. On the following morning J 
found that two more of the animals had made their appearance ; their 
cases however were not to be seen — they evidently remained imbedded 
in the soft clay. In the course of the next day the fourth animal 
suddenly floated to the surface enveloped in its case ; as it showed no 
signs of life I removed it, and found the animal had been dead some 
time, as it was much decomposed. At the time these animals first 
made their appearance they were very thin, and about 9 inches long ; 
they began to feed immediately upon earth-worms^ small frogs, fish, 
&c., occasionally taking raw flesh. I saw them sometimes attack 
each other, and one of them (I imagine in endeavouring to escape) 
leaped out of the tank into the large basin in the Crystal Palace in 
which the tank was standing (this specimen is still at large among 
the water-lilies, &c.). The remaining two lived together for some 
time, apparently on good terms ; but in the month of August the one 
now remaining in the tank seized its companion and devoured nearly 
half of it, leaving only the head and about half the length of its 
body. In feeding, this creature masticates the food much, frequently 
putting it forward almost quite out of its mouth and then gradually 
chewing it back again, and often (when fed upon raw flesh), after 
liaving so chewed it for some time, it will throw it out altogether. 
The growth of these animals is most extraordinary ; in June, as X 
have before stated, they were about 9 inches long ; in three months 
they attained their present size, which cannot be less than 18 inches 
in length. It rises frequently perpendicularly to the surface to 
breathe, and at other times it supports itself on its fin-like append* 
ages, and with the aid of its tail raises its body from the ground, 
the fins being bent or curved backwards. The movement of this 
animal is generally very slow, and would give one an idea that it was 
very sluggish ; this however I have good reason to know is not the 
case, as in attempting to capture the one at liberty in the large basin 
it darted away with the rapidity of an arrow. I have reason also to 
believe the animal finds its food as much by scent as sight. With 
Ann. ^ Mag, N. Hist, Ser. 3. Fb/. xix. 27 
418 
Zoological Society 
reference to the cocoon which I herewith send for your examination, 
the end covering the nose of the animal is rather pointed, and has 
an aperture about the size of a pin's head, which I have no doubt 
enables the animal to breathe during its state of torpor. The ani- 
mal when in its case is coiled nearly twice round, and I observed in 
each of the blocks of clay a small hole about the size of a mouse- 
hole, which was quite smooth on the inside, as though the animal 
had crept through it. " I am, dear Sir, 
" Faithfully yours, 
"A. D. Bartlett." 
Cocoon of the Mud-fish (Lepidosiren annectens) . 
A. Breathing-hole at nose. 
B. A thin partition. 
C. An attaching band that passes through the space 
where tlie animal bends, as in a, fig. D. 
Fig. D. 
D. A sketch of the animal in the cocoon. 
a. The position of the band C. b. The head, nose and eyes. 
July 8, 1856.— Dr. Gray, F.R.S., in the Chair. 
On some New Species of Birds collected by M. Auguste 
Salle in Southern Mexico. By Philip Lutley Sclater, 
M.A., F.Z.S. 
1. Certhiola mexicana. 
Nigricanti'fusca : capite, alls caudaque nigris : superciliis et specula 
alari albis : uropygio flavicante : gutture cinereo : ahdomine 
fiavo ; crisso albidiore : rectricibus extimis alba terminatis. 
Long, tota 3-8, alse 2*1, caudse 1*2. 
Salle, no. 114. Some of the various local races of Certhiola fia- 
veola certainly show such differences as entitle them to specific sepa- 
ration. The present bird does not appear to be quite the same as 
any of the nine given by Prince Bonaparte in his * Notes Orn.' p. 51. 
Mr. P. L. Sclatei* on new Mexican Birds, 419 
It is very closely allied to the Bogota species, which I believe to be 
the C. luteola. Cab., but may be distinguished by its duller back, 
less brightly-coloured uropygium and belly, longer bill and shorter 
wings. 
2. Anabates rubiginosus. 
Saturate brunneus ; pileo obscuriore : alls extus, uropygio et Cauda 
tota cum pectore saturate rubiginoso-rufis ; gula clariore : ventre 
dorso concolore sed medialiter pallidiore : tectricibus subalaribus 
dare rubiginosis : rostro forti, crasso, recto, nigricante, basi 
pallida : pedibus nigricanti-plumbeis. 
Long, tota 8*0, alse 3-7, caudae 3*3, rostri a rictu 1*2. 
Salle, no. 102. Cordova. 
This fine Anabates is of the same strong form as A. ferruginolen- 
tus (Max.), but has shorter wings and rather a stiifer tail. I know 
of no species that resembles it much in colouring. 
3. Anabates cervinigularis. 
Supra saturate brunneus ; pileo nigro : dorso summo nigricante ad" 
umbrato : plumis medialiter pallidioribus : loris, superciliis longis 
et cervicis lateribus dare rufis : gutture dilutiore, jjallide cervine : 
abdomine Jlavescenti'brunneo lateraliter obscuriore : alarum pennis 
nigris extus brunneo limbatis, subtus autem cum tectricibus sub- 
alaribus dare rufis : uropygio et crisso cum cauda tota saturate 
rubiginoso-rufis : rostro validiusculo, recto, corneo, basi autem 
flavicante : pedibus pallide brunneis. 
Long, tota 7*5, alae 3*6, caudse 3*0. 
Salle, no. 104. Cordova. 
This species is not quite so strong in form as the last, and has not 
so thick a bill. In colouring it somewhat resembles A. atricapillus, 
but is much larger than that bird. The sexes are coloured alike. 
4. Anabazenops variegaticeps. 
Supra brunneus : pilei pennis olivaceis, nigro angustissime circum- 
cinctis et scapis plumarum Jlavicantibus : superciliis longis rufis : 
loris et regione auriculari nigris : mento et gutture toto ochra' 
cescenti-albidis : abdomine pallide brunneo : cauda dare rubigi- 
noso-rufa : tectricibus subalaribus flavicanti-ochraceis : rostro 
pallide corneo, basi fiavicante : pedibus pallide brunneis. 
Long, tota 6*0, alse 3*3, caudse 2-7. 
Salle, no. 204. Cordova. Sexes alike. 
This bird closely resembles Anabazenops rufo-superciliatus (Lafr.), 
but may be recognized at once by the darker, browner back, and the 
variegated head, which in the latter species is of the same greenish 
brown as the back. In the present bird also there is not that decided 
mottled plumage on the breast observable in the other species, 
although there are slight indications of it on the sides of the neck, 
5. Xenops mexicanus. 
Rufescenti-olivaceus, capite obscuriore, uropygio rufo : loris albi- 
27* 
420 Zoological Society : — 
dis : stria superciliafi angusta ochraceo-flavida : regione auricu- 
lari ochraceo-flavida, nigra mixta : penicilla utrinque sub re- 
gione auriculari alba : subtus dorso similis sed minus rufescens, 
mento et gutture medio ochracescenti-albidis : alis nigris : vitta 
lata per remiges cum secundariarum interiorum marginibus et 
terminationibus necnon secundariis dorso proximis rujis : cauda 
rufa : rectricibus duabus utrinque submedialibus omnino et rectri- 
cum his proximarum parte basali nigris, duabus mediis et una 
utrinque extima omnino rufis : rostra nigra, basi inferiore albi- 
cante : pedibus nigris. 
Long. 4-6, alae 27, caudse 2-1. 
Salle, no. 115. Cordova. 
Obs. Affinis Xenopi genibarbiy sed crassitie majore et colore sub- 
tus olivascentiore necnon gula ochracescenti-albida distinguendus. 
^ et ? similes. 
6. SCLERURUS MEXICANUS. 
Brunnescenti-olivaceus, pilea paulo obscuriore ; uropygio cum cer- 
vice et pectore antice saturate rufis : mento albescentiore : alis 
nigris brunneo limbatis, rectricibus nigris, marginibus externs 
brunnescentibus : rostro nigra ; basi inferiore albicante : pedibus 
nigerrimis. 
Long, tota 6*5, alse 3 2, caudee 2' 2. 
Salle, no. 101. Cordova. 
M. Salle's collection contains four examples of this interesting bird, 
which has never previously come under my notice. One marked as 
a female has the bill rather longer than the others, but does not 
otherwise differ from them. It may be at once distinguished from 
the Brazilian S. caudacutus (to which it shows great general resem- 
blance) by its smaller size. Hartlaub's S.fuscus (R. Z. 1844, p. 370) 
seems to be larger, and differently coloured. 
7. SCYTALOPUS PROSTHELEtJCUS. 
Supra brunneus, dorso rufescente : superciliis longis albis : lateri- 
bus capitis nigris alba variegatis : subtus albus ; lateribus cinera- 
ceis, ventre ima et crissa rufesceniibus : alis fusco-nigris exius 
rufescenti-brunneo transvittatis : tectricum apicibus alba macu- 
latis: Cauda tota nigricante et rufescenti-brunneo tessellata: 
rostro nigra : pedibus brunneis. 
Long, tota 38, alse 2*2, caudse TO. 
Salle, no. 112. Cordova. 
This Mexican species much resembles in colouring a Bogota bird 
in my collection, which I somewhat doubtfully refer to S. griseicollis, 
Lafr., but differs from it in having the lower parts cinereous and not 
white. 
8. Granatellus Sall^i. — ^^Sefophoga «a//«e, Bp. etSclater;'* 
Bp. Compt. Rend. 1856, May. 
Ccerulea-plumbeus, superciliis vix obscurioribus : litura postoculari 
alba: genis gulaque plumbescentibus : pectore et abdamine medio 
Mr. P. L. Sclater on new Mexican Birds, 421. 
cum crisso rosaceo-coccineis : lateribus postice alhis : alls cauda- 
que nigricantibus, plumbeo extus marginatis : rostro crasso, pau- 
lulum incurvo, nigricanti-plumbeo ; vibrissis fere nullis : pedibus 
pallide brunneis. 
Long, tota 5*2, alae 2-4, caudse 2-3. 
Salle, no. 129. Cordova. 
This very pretty bird, of which M. Salle only procured a single 
specimen, is, I think, upon reconsideration hardly to be placed in the 
genus Setophagay although so closely resembling many species of 
that genus in its style of colouring. The bill is quite different from 
that of Setophaga, and is more like that of Nemosia, being even 
thicker than in some species of the latter form, but rather more in- 
curved. The characters given by Prince Bonaparte for his genus 
Granatellus (founded upon a bird figured in an unpublished plate of 
DuBus' Esquisses Ornithologiques) seem to agree better with this 
bird, and from the description of the only species of that genus 
(which I have never seen) I cannot help thinking that it may have 
something to do with the present bird. I therefore place them for 
the present in the same genus. 
9. PaRUS MERIDIONALIS. 
Supra cinereus : alls caudaque nigricantibus brunnescenti-cinereo 
limbatis : pileo toto cum nucha, gutture et cervice antica nigerri- 
mis : genis et capite laterali albis : abdomine cinereo brunnescente 
tincto ; pectore et ventre medio albidis : rostro nigro : pedibus 
plumbeis. 
Long, tota 4*8, alse 2 '65, caudse 2-3. 
Salle, no. 167. ElJacale. 
This Titmouse is a very close ally of P«rw5 atricapillus and Parus 
carolinensis. I am sorry I have not been able to compare it with 
authentic specimens of those species, but, as far as I can judge from 
Mr. Cassin's excellent synopsis of American Parinse given in his 
* Birds of California,' it would appear — as by the locality it comes 
from would seem most probable — to be distinct from either of those 
species. 
From P. ca7'olinensis it appears to differ in its greater size, being 
nearly half an inch longer than the dimensions assigned to that bird 
by Mr. Cassin. It would hardly seem likely that it is the same as 
P. atricapillus, which is an inhabitant of the more northern states 
of the Union, and the slightly inferior size and white medial line 
on the lower parts seem to distinguish it from that species. 
10. FORMICARIUS MONILIGER. 
Supra brunnescenti-olivaceus, colli lateribus et uropygio rufescen- 
tioribus, pileo nigricantiore : macula in loris triangulari alba : 
gutture toto nigro, infra vitta angusta rufa cincta : abdomine toto 
nigricanti-griseo, lateribus et crisso olivaceo perfusis : regione 
oculari nuda: teciricibus subalaribus ochraceis, nigro variegatis : 
Cauda parte apicali nigra : rostro nigro : pedibus clqre brunneis. 
Salld, no. 105, J et 9 similes. Cordova. 
423 Zoological Society : — 
A typical FormicariiiSt a close ally of F. cayanensis, analis, &c., 
but distinguished by its black throat, bordered beneath by a narrow 
band of rufous ; white triangular spot on the lores ; and other dif- 
ferences. It is the first of the form found to occur so far north. 
11. TODIROSTRUM CINEREIGULARE. 
Olivaceum : alts caudaque nigris, jiavicante olivaceo limbatis : orbi- 
iis antice nigricantibus : loris albidis : subtus gutture et cervice 
cinereis aut potius albis cinereo dense striolatis : pectore olivaceo : 
abdomine toto et tectricibus subalaribus flavis : rostra compres- 
siusculo, crassiusculo ; culmine carinato, incurvo ; colore nigri- 
cante, tomiis pallidis : pedibus pallide brunneis. 
Long, tota 3*6, alse 1*7, caudse 1'2. 
Salle, no. 89, <? . Cordova. 
This Todirostrum difPers slightly in the form of the bill from 
the ordinary members of the genus, that part being rather thicker, 
and with the culmen elevated and more incurved than in the typical 
species of the group. 
12. MUSCIVORA MEXICANA. 
" Megalophus mexicanus, Kp.," Bp. MS. 
Brunnea : uropygio, cauda tota et corpore subtus flavescenti-ochra- 
ceis, gutture albidiore : alis extus ochraceo punctatis et subtus 
(nisi priniariorum apicibus^ omnino ochraceis : crista ampla, 
aureo-flava, c(erulescente aneo terminata : rostro productiore 
quam in M. regia ; pedibus flavidis. 
Long, tota 6*0, alse 3*3, caudse 2*8, rostri a rictu 1*3. 
Salle, no. 78. Cordova. 
M. Salle's collection contains a single example of this interesting 
bird, which however was not procured by himself, and is unfortu- 
nately not in very good condition. It is probably the Megalophus 
mexicanus of Dr. Kaup, which I have seen indicated in Prince Bo- 
naparte's MS., but which I believe is merely an unpublished name. 
From the common Muscivora regia, to which it offers a close general 
resemblance, it may be distinguished by its longer bill, and having 
the base of the crest of a paler yellower tint, and the tips with less- 
purplish colouring. 
The Muscivora castelnauii (Onychorhynchus castelnauii, Deville, 
R. Z. 1849, p. b^), the only other member of the genus hitherto 
known, from Eastern Peru, on the other hand appears to have a 
shorter bill and more reddish crest than the typical species. 
13. Tyrannula sulphureipygia. 
Olivacea : pilei crista mediali flava : uropygio pallide sulphureo : 
alis caudaque nigris, secundariis extus brunnescente limbatis : 
subtus Jlavicanti- brunnea, gula et ventre medio flavis. 
Long, tota 5-2, alee 2*8, caudae 2*3. 
Salle, no. 84. Cordova. 
Obs. Aff. T. harbatce ex America Meridionali, sed statura majore, 
colore uropygii pallidiore et corporis subtus brunnescentiore distin- 
guenda. 
Mr. P. L. Sclater on new Mexican Birds, 423 
14. El^enia variegata. 
Supra brunnea, olivascente tincta, marginibus plumarum pallidiori' 
bus : alls caudaque nigricantibus, illarum tectricibus extus albo 
marginatis : pileo et capitis lateribus nigris : crista mediali flava : 
superciliis a f route circum nucham conjunctis, albis : subtus paU 
lide flava^ gutture albo, striga utrinque rictali nigra : pectore 
nigricante jlammulato : rostro et pedibus nigris. 
Long, tota 6*2, alse 3*7, caudse 2*6. 
Salle, no. 80. Cordova, ^ et ? similes. 
Obs. Affinis ElcenicB albicolli (Vieill.) ex America Meridionali sed 
crassitie majore : coloribus Isetioribus. 
15. PiPRA MENTALIS. 
Nigra : capite toto cum nucha coccineis : mento summo tibiisque 
plumosis et tectricibus subalaribus flavis. 
? . Pallide viridis, subtus paulo dilutior. 
Long, tota 4*0, alee 2*3, caudae 1*1. 
Salle, no. 171. Cordova. 
This Manakin is a beautiful Mexican representative of P. rubri- 
capilla and P. chloromeros. From the former it may be distin- 
guished by its yellow thighs, from the latter by its yellow chin and 
under wing-coverts. 
16. Myiadestes unicolor. 
Hypothymis ccesia, Licht. in Mus. Berol. ? 
Schistacea unicolor, subtus pallidior, ventre albicantiore : remigibus 
nigris, harum autem {nisi trium extimarum) basibus alula spuria 
partim celatis, cum marginibus ipsarum et secundariarum apicem 
versus externis brunnescenti-oleagineis ; hoc colore intus sub ala 
albidiore : cauda nigra; rectricibus duabus mediis schistaceis^ 
harum duarum utrinque extimarum parte apicali pallidior e et api- 
cibus ipsis cum margine interna apicem versus albis : rostro et 
pedibus nigris. 
Long, tota 7*5, alse 3*8, caudse 3*4. 
Salle, no. 150. Cordova, <? et ? similes. 
This bird is certainly quite distinct from Lafresnaye*s M. obscura, 
of which I possess examples from Guatimala. Judging from^udu- 
bon's plate and description it likewise would seem diiferent from P. 
townshendi, which has been united to Lafresnaye's species, I believe 
quite erroneously, by Prince Bonaparte. 
My impression is that the Berhn Museum specimens, marked 
"Hypothymis ccesia,** are identical with the present bird ; but as I 
have no means of verifying that fact, and the name is merely in MS., 
I think it safer to give it a new appellation. 
Lafresnaye's M. obscurus (R. Z. 1839, p. 99), of which I have 
examples procured near the city of Guatimala by Signor Constancia, 
may be recognized at once from the present species by its brown 
back and rufous wing-edgings.