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Show In describing the various plumages Mr. "Bonhote pointed out 1 hat the hybrids Mallard (Anas boschas) x Spotbill (A. pcecilorhyncha) X Pintail (Dafila acuta) were divisible into two races, a light and a dark, and also that, whereas in the full-plum aged drakes the Mallard and Pintail characters were chiefly apparent, in the eclipse plumage the characters of the Spotbill supervened. Some curious resemblances to species other than their parents were then noticed, and also characters that could be referred to no known species. Mr. Bonhote then referred to a paper he had rear! to the Linnean Society last year, pointing out that colour-variations tended to appear first of all on certain definite parts of the body, and that these parts, to which the name 11 pcecilomeres " had been given, were common to mammals and birds alike. After treating of this matter at some length, Mr. Bonhote came to the conclusion that, from the study of the birds shown, hybridisation tended to bring about great variation, which followed the lines of the pcecilomeres, and as the result of that variation resemblances were shown towards species which had no part in their parentage. As illustrating this last statement, a bird (presumably a hybrid between a Wigeon and Pintail) which had been shot wild a short time back was shown. This bird, in addition to the characters of the two parent species, showed on the head markings that might be referred to both the Teal ancl the New Zealand Duck. A communication from Mr. C y r i l C r o s s la n d , F.Z.S., contained an account of the (-Ecology and Deposits of the Cape Verde Marine Fauna. The Author pointed out that so far as the Cape Verde Group was concerned there was no evidence of any common tropical marine fauna, though certain species were found in both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Reef animals were remarkably few in number, the fauna in their place having a considerable subtropical constituent. Rock simulating coral-rag was formed at the low-tide level by serpulid tubes fused together by Lithothamnion, and by the latter ancl Foraminifera between 5 ancl 20 fathoms. The absence of reefs might be due in some degree to the remarkably steep coasts of the islands, but it was more especially owing to the extraordinary dominance of boring sponges, worms, and molluscs. Beach sandstone was formed by the deposition of calcareous cement where the fresh water met the salt; it was only found in certain situations, and was everywhere being slowly eroded away by the sea. Mr. C. T a t e R e g a n , F.Z.S., read a paper entitled " A Revision of the South-American Cichlid Genera, Crenacara, Batrachops, ancl Crenicichla," in which 23 species were described 4 of them as new to sotence. 1 4 A communication from Capt. R. M e ix e r t z i i a g e x c onta ined |