off with more labour and reluctance, as their numbers | crabs, wnen in season and well nourished, may be conlessen.' Thus much of the habits of the Land-crabs of the New World. The late bishop Heber in his 'Narrative' gives an account of some Land-crabs in India, living at a great distance from the sea, and obstructed by great obstacles in their passage to it. The plain of Poonah,' writes the Bishop, is very bare of trees, and though there are some gardens immediately around the city, yet as both these and the city itself lie in a small hollow on the banks of the river Moola, they are not sufficiently conspicuous to interrupt the general character of nakedness in the picture, any more than the few young trees and ornamented shrubs with which the bungalows of the cantonment are intermingled. The principal and most pleasing feature is a small insulated hill immediately over the town, with a temple of the goddess Parvati on its summit, and a large tank (which, when I saw it, was nearly dry) at its base. All the grass-land round this tank, and generally through the Deckan, swarms with a small land-crab, which burrows in the ground, and runs with considerable swiftness, even when encumbered with a bundle of food almost as big as itself. This food is grass, or the green stalks of rice, and it is amusing to see them sitting as it were upright, to cut their hay with their sharp pincers, then waddling off with the sheaf to their holes as quickly as their sidelong pace will carry them.' Upon this passage Mr. Broderip observes, that when we call to mind the position of Poonah, and read of the neighbouring river and tank, we may feel inclined to ask whether the river or the tank might not be the scene of ovipositing; and, he adds, that it is not improbable that there may be a race of land-crabs appropriated to continental or even insular situations out of reach of the ocean, and that fresh water may be as necessary to their reproduction as sea water is to the land-crabs of the West Indies. Such a supposition, he thinks, is in unison with the bountiful provisions of nature for the general diffusion of animal life. (Zool. Journal, vol. iv.) Mr. Westwood in his interesting paper 'On the supposed existence of Metamorphoses in the Crustacea' (Phil. Trans., 1835), notices the abdomens of several female crabs having the interior surface covered with hundreds of eggs or newlyhatched young, which were in the collection of the late Rev. Lansdown Guilding. One of the bottles in which one of these was deposited was labelled by the last-mentioned gentleman, Eggs and young of a Land-crab not undergoing Metamorphosis.' From this specimen Mr. Westwood obtained eggs, and young crabs evidently just hatched, and others at a rather later stage of their growth. The eggs were of a dark-reddish colour, showing through the outer integument the rudimental limbs of a future animal of a paler colour. On removing the thin transparent pellicle which surrounded one of these eggs, the eyes were most conspicuous, the tail was seen extended as a narrow plate, nearly reaching to the eyes, and along its sides lay the large anterior cheliferous, and the four following simple pairs of limbs. The existing organs, although perfectly discernible, occupied only a small portion of one side of the egg, its greater part being filled with hardened matter composed of minute molecular grains. The animal was in a sufficiently forward state of development not to allow the least doubt to be entertained as to the nature of these limbs, nor did any organs appear answering to the two large split pairs of natatory organs of Zoëa. The branchia, in a fleshy and unorganized state, were also found at the base of the legs. The eggs were 13 lines in diameter. Mr. Westwood gives in his Memoir figures of the egg, and of the young crab in progressive stages of growth. His reputation as an observer is too well founded to allow a doubt of the accuracy of his illustrations and description; and though, it is true, the Rev. Mr. Guilding does not state the species, that lamented gentleman's acquirements are too well known to suppose it possible that he should have mistaken the tribe. Indeed, the subject of the reproduction of Land-crabs was one most likely to attract the attention of a naturalist who devoted so much of his attention to the zoology of the Caribean Islands, and resided so long in one of them. Mr. Westwood's observations, then, appear to mbody a conclusive answer to the arguments adduced by Mr. Thompson from the habits of the West Indian Landcrabs; for they show that one species, at least, does not undergo metamorphosis. Utility to man.-As an article of foo some of the Land sidered as combining the qualities of wholesomeness and delicious flavour. We have conversed with men of various tastes who have partaken of this luxurious food, and all agree in describing it as exquisite. Indeed it appears that when simply cooked in its own juices, in its own shell, it requires no condiment but a squeeze of the fragrant lime to make it one of the best of dishes. When the black crab (Gecarcinus Ruricota) is fat,' says Dr. Patrick Browne, and in a perfect state, it surpasses everything of the sort in flavour and delicacy; and frequently joins a little of the bitter with its native richness, which renders it not only more agreeable in general, but makes it sit extremely easy upon the stomach. They are frequently boiled and served up whole; but are commonly stewed when served up at the more sumptuous tables.' Land-crabs have been brought alive to this country. We saw one or two in apparently good health, running about in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park. They were, as well as we recollect, of the species last named, and came from the West Indies. The suggestion may be rather hard upon the West Indians; but why, may we ask, are not these crabs imported for our tables as regularly as turtle? Barrels with grass and other vegetables, such as they are generally kept in, when there is no better convenience, in their native country, would not take much room on deck; and if the crabs were collected at the proper time and allowed sufficient moisture and only sufficient to keep them in health, an ordinary voyage would bring them to us, most probably, in very fair condition. M. Milne Edwards separates the Gecarcinians into the following genera : Uça. (Latreille.) Generic Character-Carapace much wider than it is long, of a suboval shape, and very much elevated. Front narrower than in the other Gecarcinians, very much inclined. and nearly semicircular. Orbits rather large, and open externally below their external angle. Anterior fossettes suboval, small, and separated by a small triangular prolon gation from the epistome. The external antenna occupies the orbitary internal canthus. The buccal frame is of a rhomboïdal form. The second and third joint of the exter nal jaw-feet are quadrilateral, nearly of the same size, and terminate on the internal side by a straight border. The fourth joint is inserted at the external angle of the preceding, and is applied against its anterior border. The feet present nothing particular, except that the pincers are a little widened at the end and slightly spoon-shaped, and that the tarsi are flattened, not spinous, and nearly of the same form as in Ocypode. Thoracic branchia five: the membrane which lines the vault of the branchial cavity is folded below and within, so as to form at its lower part a sort of gutter or trough. (M. E.) Locality. The land. Particulars of their Manners not known. Example, Uça una. (Marcgrave.) M. Milne Edwards considers this to be the Cancer Uça, and Cancer cordatus of Linnæus, Cancer cordatus of Herbst, Ocypode cordata of Latreille (Hist. Nat. des Crust. et Ins.), and Uça Una of the same author (Encyc. Méthod.), and Gecarcinus Uça of Lamarck. He observes, that M. Latreille cites his Ocypode | fossor as one of the synonymes of Uça Una, but that he (M. Milne E.) is inclined to believe that it is rather referrible to Uça lævis. Description of Uça Una.-Lateral edges of the carapace furnished with a small projecting and finely dentilated crest. Pterygostomian regions very granulous. Manus spiny above and within. Feet hairy below, moderate in length; the third pair rather longer than the others. Size two inches (French). Locality, South America. Cardisoma. (Latreille.) Generic character.-Carapace more elevated and square than in the greater part of the same tribe. Buccal frame in the shape of a long squared figure, with its lateral edges straight. The second joint of the external jaw-feet narrowed anteriorly, and the third, which is a little shorter than the preceding, widening from behind forwards, so that these organs leave between them, in the middle of the buccal apparatus, a wide space with nearly the form of a lozenge; the third joint, which is nearly cordiform, is notched on its anterior border and gives insertion at its external angle to the fourth joint, which like the succeeding ones always remains exposed. Front very large and nearly straight. Antennary fossettes transversal and separated by a semicircular and very wide surface. Feet of the third and fourth pairs longest; the tarsi quadrilateral and very spiny. Branchiæ placed under the vault of the sides, seven on each side, the first being ordinarily very small and the two last very long. Locality; Habits.-The species of this genus live in the woods and dig deep and oblique holes whence they come not forth except at night. (M. E.) Example, Cardisoma Carnifex.-This, according to M. Milne Edwards, is the Cancer Carnifex of Herbst; Ocypode cordata, Gecarcinus Carnifex, and Cardisoma Carnifex of Latreille, and he cites also Gecarcinus hirtipes of Lamarck, as a synonyme, but with a query. Description of Cardisoma Carnifex.-Carapace very much elevated and its surface very much curved from before backwards, but nearly horizontal transversely its lateral edges marked by a projecting and elevated line. A small tooth behind the external orbitary angle. Four rows of spines upon the tarsi; the two lower not numerous. Pincers large on one side; Manus very large; fingers touching nearly throughout their length. Length two inches (French). (M. E.) Locality. The neighbourhood of Pondicherry. much inclined. Antennary fossettes rounded and separated by a small triangular prolongation of the front. Orbits small; their inferior border much less projecting than in the preceding genera, and leaving between its internal angle and the external antenna a large and deep notch. Buccal frame not so clearly circumscribed as ordinarily, and rather circular than square. External jaw-feet with a wide space between them; their third joint much less than the second, nearly quadrilateral, little or not at all narrowed backwards, and deeply notched at its anterior edge, at the middle of which is inserted the succeeding joint, which is exposed. oval and without a crest on its lateral edges. Feet strong; Example, Gecarcoidea Lalandii.-Carapace inclining to pincers large, cylindrical, tuberculous, and touching throughout their length; anterior edge of the arms nodulous; succeeding feet dentilated on the edges, those of the third pair the longest. Six rows of dentations on the tarsi. Colour brownish-red. Length rather more than three inches. (M.E.) Locality, Brazil. Gecarcinus. sides. Front very strongly curved below. Orbits deep, Carapace not much elevated, but very convex on the inclining to oval, and without a notch on the external side. Internal Antennae nearly hidden under the front, which has disposition of the external antennae and that of the canthus a small prolongation that goes to join the epistome. The of the orbit nearly the same as in the preceding genus. Buccal frame nearly circular and not clearly separated from the pterygostomian regions. External jaw-feet very wide, but with a space between them; their second joint completely covers the succeeding joints, which are inserted organs is hidden under their second joint and its extremity on its internal surface. The external appendage of these scarcely overpasses it. Feet presenting nothing remarkable, excepting that their edges are armed with spiniform teeth. Localities.-The Antilles; Australasia. Cancer Ruricola, Linn.; The Land-Crab, Sloane; The Example, Gecarcinus Ruricola; Cancer Terrestris, Seba; Black or Mountain-Crab, Browne; Crabe violet? Labat. Description.-Tarsi armed with six rows of spiniform teeth. Internal edge of the third joint of the jaw-feet without any remarkable fissure. Carapace very large. A few teeth than three inches. Colour purplish or reddish-violet, or on the internal edge of the carpus. Length rather more yellow washed with red. (M. E.) Locality, the Antilles. Cancer Hydromus of Herbst, in the opinion of M. Milne Edwards, is evidently a species approximating closely to the preceding, if indeed it can be distinguished from it. Cardisoma Guanhumi, which inhabits the Antilles, is more than three inches in length, and the claws of the male are larger than the body, very much curved, and not touching except at their extremity. Gecarcoïdea. Carapace more oval and less elevated than in the preceding genera, Front of moderate length, straight, and very M. Desmarest, in his Histoire Naturelle des Crustacés fossiles, describes and figures a species which he notices as being sufficiently common in collections, under the name of Gecarcinus trispinosus. The same author, in his Considérations Générales sur la classe des Crustacés, alludes to this figure and description, and observes that he has arranged the fossil, with doubt, under the genus Gecarcinus. M. Milne Edwards (Histoire Naturelle des Crustacés) expresses his belief that this fossil is not a Gecarcinian, and says that it would appear, from the form of the carapace, to approximate more to the genus Pseudograpsus GECKO, GECKO-FAMILY, GECKOTIDÆ, a natural | portion of the sternum. Those which follow reach and are family of Saurians. articulated with that bone. They are succeeded by the free or abdominal ribs, which nearly equal in number the vertebrae which precede the pelvis, at least in the Banded Gecko. Their head is wide and flattened, with the mouth wide; the nostrils are distinct and lateral; the eyes large, hardly surrounded by short lids, the lower edge of which in the greater number of species does not project outwards, the pupil sometimes rounded, but most frequently dentilated, linear, and lightly fringed; and the auditory opening bordered with two folds of the skin. The teeth are small, equal, compressed, sharp at the point, entire, and planted in the internal edge of the jaws: there are none on the palate. The tongue is short, fleshy, capable of but little elongation, and free at its extremity, which is either rounded or flattened, or very slightly notched. Their neck is apparently little, in consequence of the width of the back part of the head and the squareness of the shoulders. Their body is thick and short, depressed, and low on the legs, with a belly flat below, dragging on the ground, and largest in the middle. There is no crest on the back. The tail varies, but is not long, and often has folds or circular depressions, but never a dorsal crest. The feet are short, nearly equal in length, wide apart, and robust; the toes nearly equally long, most frequently flattened below, widened, and furnished with transverse, imbricated plates; the nails vary, but they are ordinarily hooked, sharp, and retractile. The conformation of the feet enables the Geckos to run with ease on the smoothest surfaces in every direction, or to remain stationary on them with the back downwards, after the manner of a common house-fly. The skin is defended by equal granular scales, most frequently interspersed with other tubercular scales, the points blunt or angular. There are femoral pores or pores in front of the vent, on the same line in the majority of species, and, most frequently, in the males only. The limbs and sides are sometimes bordered with fringed membranes. ORGANIZATION. The sternum in the Common Gecko (Platydactylus guttatus of Cuvier; Gecko verus of Merrem and Gray) consists of a very solid plate, which receives anteriorly and laterally in two angular notches the coracoïd bones, which are wide and delicate, and the clavicles, which are narrow, elongated, and flattened, more especially at their sternal extremity. The rhomboïd and backward portion of this sternal plate affords attachment on the two posterior facings to three pairs of ribs. From the posterior or abdominal angle of this bone two small parallel bones or sternal prolongations are given off, along which three other pairs of ribs are affixed by ligaments. After these six pairs of sternal ribs come seven other pairs, which are curved at their free or abdominal extremity into an obtuse angle, so that they are at this end directed forwards without any junction to a mesial line as in the Chameleons. M. Duméril says that generally he has only counted seventeen ribs, but he observes that there are twenty-four in the Banded Gecko (Platydactylus vittatus of Cuvier; Gecko vittatus of authors). Hence M. Duméril concludes that the number of ribs varies according to the species. The caudal and pelvic vertebræ require notice. The articulation of the former is either weak, or the body of the vertebra itself is apt to break in the middle, so that a slight effort separates them, and many individuals consequently lose their tails. When these are regenerated, cartilage is generally found in the place of the former bone, and the tail then presents a variety of forms. The bones of the limbs do not differ from those of the other Saurians so as to require any particular description, with the exception of those of the feet, and there the dif ference is striking with relation to the greater portion of the class. In the Geckotidæ the bones of the feet are so disposed as to receive the five toes of equal or nearly equal length, and which radiate as it were from a centre so as to form a nearly complete circle; for the external or great toe cannot separate itself from the others to extend itself backwards. The toes are not always furnished with nails; but they are often provided with very remarkable ones, which by their mobility and retractility remind the observer of the organization of the same parts in the cats (Felida). Skeleton.-The skull of the Geckotidæ is marked by some peculiar characters. The bones are well defined, nor do the sutures seem to be obliterated by age. In general contour it approaches the skull of the Crocodilida by its width, its flatness, and its length; its particular resemblances to the same part in that family are to be found in the disposition of the orbits and in the articulation of the jaws. The excavations for the eyes are very large and apparently incomplete, inasmuch as the orbital frame is not entirely bony in its back part, nor has it, so to speak, any flooring, so that -The muscles of the Geckotidae are highly irritable, as might Muscular System principally as relating to Locomotion. when deprived of the softer parts the cavity communicates be expected in such nimble creatures. Their power of adwith the mouth. The articulation of the jaw is quite back-hering to smooth surfaces makes it necessary that the rewards, and the os quadratum or interarticular bone is wide, sistance produced by the adhesion should be instantashort, and hollowed on its posterior surface, for the purpose neously overcome in case of danger; and we accordingly find of receiving the muscle whose office it is to open the jaws that a Gecko which at one moment is fixed motionless to a and keep them open. The skull differs from that of the spot, vanishes as it were in the next from under the hand other lizards generally in the extreme smallness of the jugal stretched forth to capture it. and temporal bones, and in having the parietal bones divided longitudinally into two. a b Skull of Gecko: a, cranium; b, lower jaw; c, a tooth enlarged. (Cuv. Oss. Foss.') The vertebræ vary in number, and, according to Meckel, their body is hollowed into two conical cavities, very nearly like those of fishes: the spinal column is without any spinous processes or projections. The three or four first cervical vertebræ only are without false ribs or transverse articulated apophyses. These are gradually developed, and go on increasing in length and curvature to the fifth or seventh, but none of them are actually joined to the great anterior Brain, Nervous System, and Senses.-The brain and nervous system are considerably developed in the Geckotidæ, and the greater part of the senses are acute. Sight. The orbits, as we have seen, are large and without any flooring or base, and as the eye in this family is very large in proportion to the size of the animal, the projection of the posterior part of the globe may be seen in the inside of the mouth much in the same way as is observable in some fishes. There is scarcely any lid, and what there is is so small that an additional appearance of prominence is given to the eyeball. This lid is simple, circular, and adherent to the globe of the eye by an internal fold. There is a nictitating membrane. Most persons have seen that an epidermic scale which seems to be the external layer of the cornea comes off in serpents with the rest of the skin, and in the Geckos also the integument passes over the front of the eyeball. The eye in such animals never appears humid. M. Jules Cloquet has shown that in the serpents the tears probably are diffused between the epidermic scale and cornea in order to arrive at the nostrils. The pupil is sometimes rounded, but most frequently presents a linear slit, the edges of which are fringed, so that the animal can at its pleasure dilate or diminish the opening through which the light and the images are to be admitted to the retina. Like the cats therefore, the Geckos, though said to be nocturnal in their habits, can also see perfectly well in broad daylight. Hearing. The auditory apertures in this family are some mark them; sometimes they are separated longitudinally by a groove, sometimes they are complete or continued throughout the length, sometimes they exist on the last phalanges only; and, lastly, in the aberrant genera they are hardly distinct. The modifications of this curious apparatus, as well as the absence or presence of the nails, afford the leading characters on which Herpetologists have established the different genera, and we here present the various forms collected by M. Duméril. times in the form of slits, sometimes in that of oval or cir- | themselves, and in the curves described by the lines which cular holes, and the edges are often rounded and sometimes dentilated. Wagler states that these apertures can be closed in Piyodactylus and Spheriodactylus, and it is extremely probable that the rims have a power of approximation generally. The tympanum lies deep, and the auditory cavity communicates with the back of the mouth or throat for the admission of air, as in most pulmoniferous animals. M. Duméril says, that he has proved the sensibility of these animals to the least noises, and that their sense of hearing is very fine. Smell.-The structure of the nostrils in this family would not lead to the conclusion that their sense of smelling is very acute, though it is probably more highly developed than it is in the Frogs. Taste.-The Geckotidae swallow their prey living, or nearly so, and almost entire, but the presence and form of the teeth render it probable that they can masticate; and this power, combined as it is with the form and structure of the tongue, which is soft, moveable, very fleshy, and furnished with papillæ, seems to indicate a certain degree of the sense of taste. Touch and Integuments.-The skin of the Geckos is generally delicate, and adheres but little to the muscles, from which it is easily detached. In the middle of the back, and sometimes on the sides, granular tubercles rounded on their edges, with others which project at the centre, and are even fashioned into facets, are to be detected in the greater number. When the skin is detached and held up to the light it is seen to be regularly furnished with small delicate, rounded, escutcheon-like bodies, set in the thickness of the skin. The form and distribution of these bodies vary according to the different species in the regions of the belly, of the neck, of the thighs, of the head, and of the tail. M. Duméril, who gives us this information, goes on to state that generally the skin of the Geckotida is grey or yellowish, but that there are species in which lively colours are disposed on some parts of their bodies, and that it is even said that tints of red, blue, and yellow may be distinguished, which the animal causes to appear and disappear nearly after the manner of the chameleons. Some travellers assured Wagler that certain Indian Geckos became luminous or phosphorescent during the night. In some of the species the skin is prolonged on the sides of the body and tail into membranes regularly festooned or fringed, and the Geckos generally moult or change their skins at certain periods of the year, when their colours, as is usual in such cases, become brighter. M. Duméril says that he has himself observed this in living individuals captured in their wild state at Cordova, in Spain, in the middle of the summer. There can be little doubt that there is considerable sensibility where the skin is constructed as it is in the Geckos; but, in considering the sense of touch, the curious organization of the feet and toes demands our particular attention. These are the great organs of station or fixation and progression, and the manner in which they perform their office is very interesting. M. Duméril, after referring to Wagler's reflections on this subject in his remarks on the Platyglossi, gives his own observations on this part of the organization of the Geckos. He refers to the comparative shortness and general struc ture of the feet above given, and then proceeds to notice the particular conformation of the toes in the greatest number of species. The lower surface of these, and the sole, are very much dilated, widened, and furnished with small plates or lamellæ, following or overlying each other (lamelles placées en recouvrement) in a regular manner, but in a mode which varies in the different species. The nails, which are sometimes wanting on all the toes, are most frequently pointed, hooked, and more or less retractile, constituting a sort of claws, which remain constantly sharp. The toes are sometimes united at their base, and, as it were, semipalmated. In some of the species, Ptyodactylus and Spheriodactylus of Cuvier, for instance, the extremity of the toes expands, and widens considerably in form of a fan or semi-disk, as in the Tree-frogs. The same author then alludes to the organization of the feet in certain insects, particularly the Orthoptera and Diptera, which enables them to maintain an inverted position. The membranous and soft plates with which the lower surface of the toes of the Geckos are furnished present a variety of modifications in the different genera. Sometimes they are simple, or continued from one edge to the other, and those of this class offer distinctions in the furrows 2 2, a 3 3, a 7 7, a Feet and structure of the under part of the toes of Geckotidae. The figure added letter a, represents the structure of the lower part of the toe. 2, Platy(Gecko verus, Common Gecko, of Gray); 5, Platydactylus homalocephalus (Ptychozoon, of Kuhl; Pteropleura, of Gray): 6, Platy dactylus Leachianus Peropus of Wiegmann); 8, Hemidactylus triedrus. (Ascalabotes Leachianus; Griff., Anim. King'); 7, Hemidactylus Oualensis marked with the numeral only, represents the foot; the figure marked with the dactylus Cepedianus; 3, Platydactylus Ægyptiacus; 4, Platydactylus guttatus The numerals and letters indicate the same parts as they do in the upper figure, with the exception of 7, b, which represents a claw in profile. 2. Thecodactylus Theconyx: 3, Ptyodactylus Hasselquistii (P. guttatus, of Ruppell, House Gecko, Griff., (Anim. King'); 4, Ptyodactylus fimbriatus (Gecko fimbriatus of authors; Fimbriated Gecko, Griff., Anim. King."); 5, Phyllodactylus porphyreus; 6, Gymnodactylus scaber (Stenodactylus scaber, of Ruppell; Cyrtodactylus of Gray)? 7, Gymnodactylus pulchellus (Gony odactylus pulchellus of Wagler: Cyrtodactylus pulchellus, of Gray); 7, 6 represents a claw of the animal seen in profile. Digestive System.-The numerous teeth of the Geckos are similar in form and length, placed on the same line, and fixed in a longitudinal furrow on the internal edge of the jaw by the external surface of their roots. The ena elled crowns are cutting, and their base is rounded. From their position in the jaw, Wagler has derived his designation Pleurodonts, the teeth being attached laterally while they are free internally, or in the furrow destined for their reception. In the greater number the crown increases from above downwards. These teeth are so closely set that they seem to touch each other, and altogether form a very trenchant dentilated blade, though not long enough for cutting up substances of any thickness, nor does the bite of the animal inflict a wound, The œsophagus is very wide, and M. Duméril notices an extraordinary appearance therein, when it is remembered that the part is not exposed to the light. In many species, both living and dead, which he examined, he found the interior of this canal strongly coloured with different but uniform shades, sometimes of an orange-yellow, but principally of a deep black. There is no distinct limit between the esophagus and the stomach; the crop (jabot) is continuous, and the whole forms a kind of longitudinal sac, which appears to be suddenly narrowed at the point corresponding to the pylorus, which is not to be detected except by this diminution of diameter and its position on the free and lower edge of the liver. The intestine is arranged in sinuous folds, and about three times the length of the oesophagus and ventriculus taken together, it turns to the left, and is lost on the side of a true and large cœcum, furnished with an appendage, and terminating by a large tube which has its opening in the cloaca. The triangular liver is placed in the mesial line, but its upper angle is so much elongated, that in some species it forms a conical point, at least twice as long as the base. This point lies in front of the stomach in the space left by the two lungs when they are filled with air. Below, the liver enlarges, and is divided into many lobes or indistinct strips, with the exception of that on the left, which is longest. The gall-bladder is situated under the mesial lobe. M. Duméril states that there does not appear to be a pancreas, but he observed in the Common Gecko and in the Fimbriated Gecko (Ptyodactylus fimbriatus) a very small spleen situated on the left side of the stomach. Circulating System.-The shape of the heart varies. In the Common Gecko it is large and flat, but has nevertheless a tolerably regular conical form, the point of the cone being below, and the base, which is slightly notched, leaning on the root of the two lungs. In the Fimbriated Gecko, on the contrary, M. Duméril states the heart to be proportionally smaller, and apparently formed of three distinct but approximated portions, the two upper rounded and oval, resembling auricles, and the other and lower portions small and conical. He acknowledges that he has not followed out the vascular system, but presumes that it resembles in its distribution that of the other Saurians. Respiratory System and Organ of Voice.-The glottis consists of a longitudinal slit with two large lips, which form a sort of tubercle behind the posterior notched portion of the tongue, the movements of which it follows, and can consequently be lifted up and applied to the concavity of the palate. The trachea is very large, and the rings, which are cartilaginous anteriorly but membranous on the side next to the oesophagus, cause it to be considerably flattened. The lungs form two sacs, as in the Salamanders, and are nearly equal in volume and length. Their internal cavity is simple, but there are polygonal cellules on their internal membranous linings, and in the lines forming these the arterial and venous vessels are ramified. The Geckotidæ are without any goître, and M. Duméril is unable to account for the production of the voice, but he inquires whether the cry which they emit, and which is supposed to be in some degree imitated by their names of Gecko,' 'Geitje,' &c., may not be assisted by the movements of the tongue, and its reception in the concavity of the palate; analogous, we suppose, to the production of the sound with which a coachman or groom stimulates his horses by applying the tongue to the upper part of the mouth and suddenly withdrawing it. Urinary and Genital Organs.-There is no urinary bladder, nor do the rounded kidneys, whose ureters are not long and open directly into the cloaca, require particular notice. The organs of generation in the males (which are smaller, more agile, and more brightly coloured than the females) are double, and lodged on each side of the base of the tail, which has consequently a swollen appearance. The eggs, which are often deposited between stones, are quite round, with a rather solid, slightly rough, calcareous shell, of a uniform dirty white. M. Duméril has seen these eggs produce the young ones, which were well formed and very nimble. Peculiar Secretions.-The author last named states that he has observed in many species some peculiar organs, sometimes double, sometimes united in a single flattened elongated mass under the abdominal parietes in front of the pubis, in place of a urinary bladder. They appeared to be of a fatty nature, and were sustained in one part by the os pubis, and on the other possessed vascular or membranous single or double prolongations, rising in the thickness of the peritoneum as far as the liver. Though he knows not the office of these organs, he thinks it probable that they may be destined to afford nourishment to the animal in a state of hybernation. The pores of the thighs, &c. secrete a thick humor; and M. Duméril observes that these pores afford no generic character. аз Habits, Food, &c.-The Geckotidæ are none of them large in size, and the greatest number feed on small animals, such as insects, their larvæ and pupæ. These they catch either by lying in ambush or by pursuing their feeble prey in the holes and dark crevices to which it retires. The structure of their feet enables them to run in every direction over the smoothest surfaces, and they can even remain suspended beneath the large leaves which a luxuriant tropical vegetation so frequently puts forth. The sharp and retractile nails with which the feet of the greater number are armed enable them to cling to and make rapid progress on trees with the smoothest bark, to penetrate the holes of rocks, and to climb walls. Of sombre or varying colours adapted generally to the locality where their lot is cast, they will often remain for hours in positions as extraordinary as the flies and insects for which they watch, the wonderful apparatus with which their feet is furnished enabling them to overcome the general law of gravity, and without which they would instantly fall to the earth. The hues of their skins thus render them less objects of suspicion to the little animals for which they lie in wait, and also serve to dodge even the acute eye of the bird of prey that seeks to destroy them. Their eyes, as we have seen, enable them to discern objects in the dark, and are at the same time capable of bearing the rays of a bright sun; for many insects are nocturnal or crepuscular, while the great mass of them are diurnal. The pursuit of their prey leads them near the habitations of man, whose dwelling always attracts certain kinds of insects, and they sometimes fall victims to their appearance, which frequently inspires terror, and often disgust. A Gecko, confident in his powers of flight, appears boldly to await his adversary, and his sudden disappearance at a nearer approach adds to the horror which his uncouth form inspires. The poor Geckos too have a bad name. They are supposed to poison whatsoever they touch, be it animate or inanimate, and their saliva is said to vex the skin of those on whom it falls with foul eruptions. Many of these cuticular irritations, when they have actually existed from the intervention of these animals, may have arisen from the extremely sharp claws of a Gecko running over a sleeping man, or small blisters may have been raised by the adherent apparatus at the bottom of its feet. Geographical Distribution.-The form is found in all the four quarters of the globe, and is widely distributed in warm climates. In this distribution Europe, as far as observation has yet gone, claims by far the fewest number. Two species only have yet been found in this quarter of the globe, and even these are common to the northern coasts of Africa. The Prince of Musignano has noticed them in the Fauna Italica,' under the names of Ascalabotes Mauritanicus and Hemidactylus triedrus. The former is a Platydactylus of Duméril and others. In Asia the greatest number are found: thirteen species are recorded as Asiatic. Africa is said to possess twelve, and America eleven species, as far as researches have hitherto gone. In Australasia and Polynesia there are said to have been found twelve species. M. Duméril, in his Table, gives the following numbers:-In Europe, 2; in Asia, 13; common to both, none. In Africa, 12; in America, 12; common to both, none. In Australasia and Polynesia, 12. Of unknown origin, 4: = 55. In addition to the 13 Asiatic species, there is another which is also found in South Africa and in the neighbouring islands. Some of the African species are found also in Madagascar, the Mauritius, and the islands of Seychelles, Teneriffe and Madeira. It is not clear that Mr. Gray's genus Gehyra, which he characterizes from a Gecko found in an island of the Pacific Ocean, is included in this enumeration. Besides the species which Mr. Gray describes in the Zool. Proc.' (1834), he alludes to the probability of two other species, one in the British Museum, and another in the Muséuni d'Histoire Naturelle, at Paris. SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT, &c. There can be little doubt that the 'Aokaλaßwrns of Aristotle and of the Greeks generally was a Gecko. Aristophanes and Theophrastus, as Gesner has shown, speak of those lizards which the Italians called Tarentola, whose bodies were short and thick, and which clambered about the walls |