OCR Text |
Show 1900.] MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON NEOBAL^ENA MARGINATA. 775 body, and had brownish stripes on the belly and legs. I found the Bambuba natives dwelling alongside the dwarfs called it ' Okapi.' The Belgians state that the head is very long ' et trcs effilee.' One m a n said that the muzzle was particularly ' effile'-i. e. drawn out. At first they excited m e by declaring that there was a skin lying about which I could have; eventually it was found that the skin had been cut up by their native soldiers to be made into waist-belts and bandoliers. Two of these fragments were found and given to me, and I shall send them home to you by first opportunity. Whatever the animal may be to which these pieces belong, it is not any one of the known Zebras or wild Asses; tbe pieces of skin unfortunately exhibit chiefly the stripes of the belly and legs. These are very irregular with a chestnut border, and they look as though from above they emerged from a uniform dun or dark grey. " Unfortunately we did not succeed in seeing a specimen of this animal in the Forest during our short stay, but one of the Congo Free State officials has promised to send m e a complete skin and skull." Mr. Boulenger exhibited one of the type specimens of a new species of Protopterus from the Congo, for which he had proposed the name P. dolloi (Ann. Mus. Congo, Zool. i. pi. lvi.). Mr. Boulenger pointed out the remarkable characters of the new Dipnoan, which, whilst agreeing with Protopterus annectens in the essential generic features (limbs, gills), approached Lepidosiren in the greater elongation of the body (length of head 5 to 6 times in distance from snout to vent), the greater number of ribs (54) and of scales along the body (86-91 to vent), and the smaller eye (its diameter 15-19 times in length of head, 4-6 times in interocular width). Mr. W . T. Blanford, F.E.S., exhibited a very fine skull and antlers of the Central Asiatic Wapiti, Cervus moral var. songaricus Severtzow, C. eustephanus Blanford, and also skins of the Wapitis of Central Asia and of America. Attention was called to the great development of the 4th tine, which measured in one antler 23| inches from the angle with the upper part of the beam, and was very massive and considerably flattened. The antler itself measured 54 inches from the base along the outside curve. The head had been obtained along with others by Messrs. P. Church and J. V. Phelps. Mr. Blanford was indebted to Mr. Rowland Ward, F.Z.S., for the opportunity of exhibiting the head and skin of this fine Stag. Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.E.S., Prosector and Vice-Secretary to the Society, read a paper entitled " Contributions towards a Knowledge of the Osteology of the Pigmy Eight Whale (Neobalcena marginata)." This paper will be published in full in the Society's ' Transactions.' |