OCR Text |
Show 158 MR. H. SAUNDERS ON A CALIFORNIAN GULL. [Mar. 16, same extent; in fact the second curve is not so decided as in the O. polii; but the first curve is much rounder. " I am therefore inclined to believe that the wild sheep of the Thien-Shan belongs to a species hitherto not described. It certainly is not the O. ammon of the Himalayas, as it differs not only in the shape of the horns but also in being of a smaller size, having a longer tail and smaller ears. " A full description of the Thien-Shan Oris was sent to the Zoological Society with the drawing ; but I believe the O. polii has never yet been described in the flesh. " The above opinion is not formed from single specimens, but, directly m y attention was called to it, I at once remarked that the characteristic differences held good through all the specimens brought away." A letter was read from the Rev. S. J. Whitmee, C.M.Z.S., dated Samoa, South Pacific, Nov. 17, 1874, giving particulars as to the occurrence of the Palolo (Palola viridis) on the shores of that island in 1874. In that year these singular worms had appeared on Nov. 1st and 2nd, Samoan time, = Oct. 31st and Nov. 1st by Greenwich date. There were very few on the first day ; but the supply was large on the second. Mr. Whitmee had removed the ova^ which were well developed, and had endeavoured to hatch them in vessels of sea-water regularly changed, but had only been able to keep them alive four days. Drawings of tbe ova in different stages accompanied the communication. It would appear, therefore, probable that the periodical appearance of the Palolo in such prodigious numbers might have something to do with its reproduction. Mr. Howard Saunders, F.Z.S., exhibited a specimen of a Gull, which he considered referable to Larus fuscus, obtained at Magdalena Bay, Lower California, by Mr. Gervaise Mathew, R.N., of H.M.S. 'Resolute,' in November 1873, being the first instance recorded of the occurrence of this species in the New World, and made the following remarks :- " In colour of mantle, webs of primaries, feet, and in every respect but one, this specimen appears to be identical with Larus fuscus. The sole difference consists in this-that in L. fuscus the tarsus is, so far as m y experience goes, longer than the foot, including the middle toe-nail ; but in this Californian specimen the reverse is the case. This may, of course, be an individual peculiarity ; and the example in question is certainly much further off from L. occidentalis, Aud., than from true L. fuscus. In the coloration of the webs of the primaries it does not agree with L. occidentalis, a branch of the group which has L. argentatus for type, but perfectly coincides with L. fuscus, from which it differs in the size of the foot alone." The following communications were read :- |