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Show 150 DR. LUTKEN ON TACHYGLOSSUS ACULEATUS. [M March 4, 1884. E. W. H. Holdsworth, Esq., F.Z.S., in the Chair. Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited an example of Sabine's Gull, Xema sabinii, shot last September in the Island of Mull, in the fully adult summer plumage so rarely seen in Great Britain. Mr. Saunders also exhibited an adult example in breeding-plumage of a rare straggler from North America, Bonaparte's Gull, Larus Philadelphia, shot on Loch Lomond, about the end of April 1850, by Sir George II. Leith-Buchanan, Bart. With regard to the specimen of the American Laughing Gull, Larus atricilla, in the British Museum, said to be the one obtained by Montagu at Winchelsea, in August 1774, he pointed out that it in no way agreed with Montagu's description, and was certainly not his bird. Mr. Saunders further exhibited a specimen of the Dusky Shearwater, Puffinus griseus (Gm.), shot off Redcar by Mr. T. H. Nelson. The following extracts from a letter addressed to the Secretary by Dr. Ch. W . Liitken, F.M.Z.S., was read :- Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, 15th Feb., 1884. I take the liberty of placing before you a fact which has given me some reason to suppose that Tachyylossus aculeatus, Shaw (T. hystrix, auctt.), might possibly not be, as commonly supposed, the only species of the genus inhabiting the continent of Australia. In the year 1848 a Air. Bertelsen, returning from Australia (Sydney), offered us for sale several skins of Mammalia, mostly common and well-known species from south-east Australia. Among those purchased for the Zoological Museum, was a skin of a female Tachyglossus of the hystrix type, which was at that time entered in the catalogue as T. hystrix. During several years no special attention was paid to this specimen until 18H3, when Mr. Winge, who was entrusted with the task of drawing up a catalogue of some parts of the collection of Mammalia, drew my attention to the fact that this skin could not be that of a true T. aculeatus. At the same time he hinted that it might possibly belong to the New-Guiuean T. lawesi, described a few years ago by Mr. Ramsay (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. vol. ii. p. 32, 1878). The journal in which the original description of this species is given, does not exist here in Copenhagen. At that time, therefore, we were unable to verify this conjecture. Some time ago, however, the note inserted by M. Alph. Dubois in the ' Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de France' for 1881, in which this gentleman has had the appropriate idea of adding to his account of Acan-thoglossus bruijni a fresh translation of the description of T. lawesi, happened to fall into my hands. Thus we were able to compare the |
