| OCR Text |
Show 596 MR. G. A. BOULENGER ON [May 16, Four Masked Hawfinches (Coccothraustes personatus) from Japan, purchased April 7th, new to the Society's Collection. Three female Ostriches of the Northern form (Struthio camelus), presented April 25th by G. Fanshawe Abadie, Esq., by whom they were brought home from the Niger. Mr. Abadie kindly informs m e that these Ostriches were obtained from Sokoto, but were stated to have been captured in a district adjoining the eastern shores of Lake Tchad. The Secretary read extracts from letters addressed to him by Mr. J. S. Budgett, F.Z.S., on the Society's Scientific Mission to the Gambia Colony. They were dated from M'Carthy's Island, March 22nd and April 18th last. The natives reported that as soon as the rains began on the upper river and the water to rise, the creeks and swamps would be flooded and pregnant Polypteri would enter them in swarms. Lung-fishes (Protopterus) would be found at this period of the year in similar situations. So far Mr. Budgett had only seen examples of two species of Antelope, which he believed to be a Gazelle and a Bushbok (Tragelaphus scriptus). Mr. Budgett had made various short excursions to Demfai, on the boundary of the British and French territories, and Alimaka in Kunchan Creek. At the latter place he bad been very successful in fishing and had obtained examples of a very curious Mormyrid, with a cylindrical whip-like caudal appendage. Mr. Budgett felt quite confident that he would obtain examples of the early stages of development of Polgpterus by the end of June, and hoped to be at home in July. The unhealthy season did not begin till August. Mr. G. A. Boulenger exhibited a specimen of the Bornean Lizard Lanthanotus borneensis, belonging to the Sarawak Museum, for the loan of which he was indebted to the kindness of H. H. the Rajah of Sarawak. Mr. Boulenger pointed out that, since the description of this curious type of Lizards by Steindachner in 1878, no second specimen was known to have reached Europe, and that, owing to the fact that the original description had been confined to the external characters, the exact systematic position of Lanthanotus had not been ascertained. The original describer had proposed to regard the genus as the type of a distinct family, Lanthanotidce, near the Helodermatidce, whilst the author of the ' Catalogue of Lizards' had placed it provisionally under the latter family. By means of the Rontgen rays, thanks to the kind assistance of Messrs. Gardiner & Green, the principal osteological characters had been ascertained without cutting into the specimen now exhibited, with the result that the affinity of Lanthanotus to the Helodermatidce was fully confirmed. Tbe structure of the skull, characterized by the presence of a postorbital arch combined with |
