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Show 4 MR. W. H. FLOWER ON THE [Jail. Mi such terrible wounds with the tail. I have seen one literally split he end of a person's finger, and another wound the hand through a thick"leather glove. I believe the Squills to be, as C ™ r supposed, carnivorous. I have carefully examined the stomachs of ome and have always found them to contain the remains of smal rstiiceans, but no Vegetable matter. Their flesh »,excel lent ^ the -rreat strength of their integument renders it difficult to aetacn ".^The most extraordinary circumstance in the distribution of he branches of the heart is that it has no apparent connexion with the a°« Th*sWifu?cieature would be a great ornament to an aquarium ; but, unfortunately, I have never been able to keep an adult specimen alive more than a few hours after it was caught, though usin- everv precaution-placing it in a vessel as soon as it was taken froin the "sea, and renewing the water at short intervals. When voune I have preserved them for days, and might, perhaps have preserved them indefinitely had I persevered in the attempt. I have known them exist in full Vitality for twelve or fifteen hours without water " Mr George Dawson Rowley, F.Z.S., exhibited, and read the following remarks upon, a specimen of a rare Asiatic Thrush (Turdui atrogularis, Temminck) recently killed in this country, this being its first recorded appearance in the British islands :- "The specimen of Turdus atrogularis was shot near Lewes, Sussex, on December 23rd, 1868. It is a young male, as shown by its plumage; dissection also confirmed the fact. I saw the bird in the flesh, and took particular care to ascertain its history, because it belongs to the fauna of Central Asia, and is only an accidental visitor to Europe. To find such a species on the south coast of England appears to me a matter of considerable interest. It is now in the collection of T. J. Monk, Esq., of Mountfield House, near Lewes, who purchased it for a trifle of a working-man." The following papers were read :- 1. On the Value of the Characters of the Base of the Cranium in the Classification of the Order Carnivora, and on the Systematic Position of Bassaris and other disputed Forms. By W I L L I A M H E N R Y F L O W E R , F.R.S., F.Z.S., & c , Conservator of the M u s e u m of the Royal College of Surgeons. The Order Carnivora has always been an attractive one to zoologists ; and consequently nearly all the important structural modifications which occur among its members are so well known that it is surprising that there is not yet a more universal accord of opinion upon their arrangement and mutual affinities. |
