Biology at the British Association

Abstract

ON Thursday the address of the President was for several reasons postponed till 12.30, and the work of llie section was opened by the Chairman (Sir William Flower) with a sympathetic reference to the recent sudden death of Mr. George Brook, who was to have been one of the secretaries at this meeting. A paper was then read by Dr. David Sharp, on the zoology of the Sandwich Islands. This was followed by the report of Prof. Newton's committee on the present state of our knowledge of the zoology of the Sandwich Islands. The committee have obtained valuable results in several departments of zoology, and more especially in entomology. The consignments received during the year from their collector may be roughly estimated at nearly 150 birds'-skins, 3000 insects, 1000 shells, a collection of spiders in spirit, together with some crustaceans, worms and myriapods. The importance and urgency of the work carried on was testified to by Sir William Flower, Prof. New ton, Dr. Hickson, and others. The report of the committee dealing with observations on the migrations of birds at lighthouses was then read by Prof. Newton. This committee have made progress with the systematic tabulation of their statistics, and are now commencing to fill up the schedules for their final report. The sixth report of the committee investigating the zoology and botany of the West India Islands shows that the Committee have been chiefly engaged during the past year in working out the great series of specimens secured from the West Indian region by means of the collectors. Papers on the birds, on the myriapods, scorpions, pedipalpi, peripatus, and the parasitic, hymenoptera, have been published, and investigations on other groups of insects are now proceeding. Collections of various groups of cryptogams have also been made, are now being worked out, and are proving to comprise many new species. The committee propose to examine next the island of Margarita, the natural history of which is wholly unexplored. An important note on the discovery of Diprotodon remains in Australia, by Prof. Stirling, was read by Prof. Newton. The new material now found has added to our knowledge of the structure of this remarkable gigantic marsupial, especially in regard to its limbs and feet.