Island Of Trinidad Research Articles

Chapman on the Birds of the Island of Trinidad On the Birds of the Island of Trinidad Frank M. Chapman

Chapman on the Birds of the Island of Trinidad On the Birds of the Island of Trinidad Frank M. Chapman

Preliminary Descriptions of One New Species and Two New Subspecies of Birds from the Island of Trinidad

ary 5, I891, in the hills back of Priestman's River, at an altitude of ISOO feet above the sea, these birds were not at all uncommon, but were shy and difficult to obtain. They were well known to the people living in the vicinity, who call them -Nightingales,' and who say they live here the yeal around and breed. This is the only point where I found these birds, and during my stay I procured but three individuals though many were seen and heard. 210. Merula aurantia (Gmel.). HOPPING-DICK. Two-PENNY-CHICK. -This species, closely allied to the following one, is found at lower levels, in fact down to the sea, in thick, woody places. I frequently heard, but very rarely saw this Thruish, and only secured a few examples. It is said to have been formerly very common, and is doubtless one of the species which has suffered by the introduction of the mongoose. For a description of the breeding habits see Gosse, Birds of Jamaica, p. I4. 211. Merula jamaicensis (Gmnel.). SHINE-EYE. GLASS-EYE.-Rather common in the thick woods above fifteen hundred feet, but very shy and difficult to collect, frequenting very thick jungles, and often heard, but seldom seen. 212. Turdus mustelinus Gmel. WOOD THRUSH.-Not observed. Recorded by Gosse, Birds of Jamaica, p. I40.

Severe Frost at Hongkong

THE importance of such facts as these in connection with geographical distribution can hardly be overrated. It is customary to compare the range of a plant with the corresponding mean annual temperature. But it is obvious that the exterminating effect of occasional low temperature must override every other condition. An island is often the last refuge of a species not found elsewhere. Such a frost as occurred in Hongkong would erase the Double Cocoa-nut in all probability from the face of creation, if it occurred in the Seychelles. In any case islands are not easily restocked except with littoral vegetations and the trees distributed by carpophagous birds. It seems evident therefore that the geographical distribution of plants may still be influenced by causes which are catastrophic in their nature. Of this, although not from cold, there is already a striking illustration in the simultaneous destruction of the entire forest vegetation which at one time covered the island of Trinidad in the South Atlantic. Mr. Knight, in the account which he has given in the “Cruise of the Falcon,” conjectures that the cause was more probably volcanic than a long drought.

On the Development of Peripatus 1

AMONG the acquisitions I made during my journey to the West India Island of Trinidad, a rich collection of Peripatus stands in the first rank. This has put me in a position to correct many mistakes, and to contribute a good deal to the knowledge of the histological anatomy of this interesting animal form, as well as especially to follow the process of development from beginning to end. Postponing for the present the anatomy of the adult animal, inasmuch as we have on this subject a good many studies, some of which are very good (for instance, that of Gaffron in Zool. Beiträge, edited by Dr. A. Schneider), I shall confine myself to a preliminary notice of the earliest stages of the development of Peripatus, although my investigations have not as yet been brought to a conclusion, nor have I been able to devote any attention to the development of the organs. I do this chiefly because the treatise published by Moseley and Sedgwick from the posthumous notes of Balfour contains some representations of embryos and cross-sections of the same, upon whose accuracy in details I, with my rich and well preserved collection of specimens, and observations on fresh objects, must cast some doubt, and the interpretation of which does not bear investigation. And yet these already serve as evidence for some theoretical explanations of embryonic processes in other groups of animals, which it would be well to avoid in such a case.

A Nest of Young Fish

WHILE on the point of taking my accustomed morning plunge in one of the clear pebbly streams that find their way into the plains from the northern mountain ranges of the island of Trinidad, my attention was attracted by the eccentric movements of a small fish of the perch tribe. In general this fish is extremely shy, scudding off into deep water or under some overhanging bank on the approach of man; on this occasion, however, on putting my hand into the water, the fish, to my astonishment, darted forward again and again, striking my hand with considerable force. Rather at a loss to account for such temerity in a fish only 4 in. long, I watched its movements narrowly, and at last found out the cause. In a small hollow close by, about the size of half an egg, artistically excavated from the bright quartz sand, a multitude of tiny fish were huddled together, their minute fins and tails in constant motion. They had apparently been only very recently hatched, and were no larger than common house flies; the parent fish kept jealous watch over her progeny, resenting any attempt on my part to touch them.

The “Challenger” Expedition*

IV. AMONGST the places in the Atlantic marked out by the Circumnavigation Committee as being of especial interest, the small island of Trinidad is noted with those whose vegetation is absolutely unknown, or all but so. From this fact Trinidad became a point of attraction which Mr. Moseley was most anxious to reach. Owing, however, to unfavourable winds and other causes, as well as to a desire of those in command of the ship to proceed south, the visit to this little island was abandoned, with the hope of calling there on the return voyage. After a narrow escape, also, of missing Tristan d'Acunha. the vessel anchored on the north side of the island, and the morning was spent in searching the low lands under the cliffs, 500 feet being the greatest height that was attained during the stay. On this side the island rises in a range of perpendicular cliffs of black volcanic rock, in appearance somewhat similar in structure to that exposed in section in the Grande Cural in Madeira. At the base of the cliffs here are débris slopes, and a narrow strip of low shore land of an irregular rocky and sandy nature. The settlement lies on a stretch of low land, broader and more even, and extends westward. The ascent to the plateau above the cliffs is comparatively easy, owing to the deep gullies by which the cliffs are broken.

XXXVIII.—Synopsis of the Fresh Water Fishes of the Western Portion of the Island of Trinidad, W. I.

Annals of The Lyceum of Natural History of New YorkVolume 6, Issue 1 p. 363-430 XXXVIII.—Synopsis of the Fresh Water Fishes of the Western Portion of the Island of Trinidad, W. I. Theodore Gill, Theodore GillSearch for more papers by this author Theodore Gill, Theodore GillSearch for more papers by this author First published: September 1858 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1858.tb00373.xCitations: 18AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume6, Issue1September 1858Pages 363-430 RelatedInformation

On the Geology of Trinidad

The northern district of the Island of Trinidad, with the islands between it and the mainland, is composed of flagstones, slates, and schists, with quartz-veins and some dark-coloured intercalated limestone. These rocks are all apparently unfossiliferous; the slates often abound with iron-pyrites and magnetic iron-ore, and some of the ochreous quartz-veins (gossans) are slightly auriferous. Stalactitic caves occur in the limestone of the Island of Gaspar Grande, and at Las Cuevas and Arouca. Alluvial beds of clay and gravel are extensive in this district, and are sometimes 60 feet thick. At Lateen Bay, in Chicachicare Island, a patch of aluminous clay-slate occurs, with seams of crystalline limestone. The soil of this northern district is fertile on the limestone, and barren on the slates. The slate-rocks appear to be the same as those of Venezuela, which overlie the quartz-rock that crops out at Upata; and rounded boulders of quartz-rock occur in the flagstones.

IV. Extract from Inspection Report of the Island of Trinidad, made in the year 1816, by the Inspector of Hospitals, in conjunction with the Quarter-Master General and Chief Engineer for the Windward and Leeward Colonies of the West Indies

Having heard at Port-of-Spain of an appearance that went by the name of the Mud Volcanoes, we took the opportunity when surveying the southern quarter of Trinidad, to examine them. They are situated near Point Icaque, the southern extremity of the island, on an alluvial tongue of land, that has been appended to the primitive rocks, where no doubt the land originally terminated. This appendage is several miles in length, and points directly into one of the mouths of the Oronoko, on the mainland, about twelve or fifteen miles off.We landed nearly opposite to where we were told we should find the mud volcanoes, and after making our way about five miles through the woods, across the sandy isthmus, we came upon two plantations very pleasantly situated, amidst a group of remarkable round little hills, each from eighty to a hundred feet in height.

XXXIII. Account of the pitch lake of the Island of Trinidad

XXXIII. <i>Account of the pitch lake of the Island of Trinidad</i>

IV. Account of the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad.

Being desirous to visit the celebrated Lake of Pitch, previously to my departure from the Island of Trinidad, I embarked with that intention in the month of October, 1807, in a small vessel at Port Spain. After a pleasant sail of about thirty miles down the Gulph of Paria, we arrived at the point la Braye, so called by the French from its characteristic feature. It is a considerable headland, about eighty feet above the level of the sea, and perhaps two miles long and two broad. We landed on the southern side of the point, at the plantation of Mr. Vessigny: as the boat drew near the shore, I was struck with the appearance of a rocky bluff or small promontory of a reddish brown colour, very different from the pitch which I had expected to find on the whole shore. Upon examining this spot, I found it composed of a substance corresponding to the porcelain jasper of mineralogists, generally of a red colour, where it had been exposed to the weather, but of light slate blue in the interior; it is a very hard stone with a conchoidal fracture, some degree of lustre, and is perfectly opake even at the edges; in some places, from the action of the air, it was of a reddish or yellowish brown, and an earthy appearance. I wished to have devoted more time to the investigation of what in the language of the Wernerian school is termed the geognostic relations of this

III. Some Account of the Pitch-lake in the Island of Trinidad, in two Letters: The first from Samuel Span, Esq. to James Tobin, Esq. F.L.S.; and the other from Mr. Tobin to Charles Hatchett, Esq. F.R.S. &amp; L.S.; with Observations by Mr. Hatchett.

III. Some Account of the Pitch-lake in the Island of Trinidad, in two Letters: The first from Samuel Span, Esq. to James Tobin, Esq. F.L.S.; and the other from Mr. Tobin to Charles Hatchett, Esq. F.R.S. &amp; L.S.; with Observations by Mr. Hatchett.

VII. An account of a bitumen lake or plain in the island of Trinidad

A most remarkable production of nature in the island of Trinidad, is a bituminous lake, or rather plain, known by the name of Tar Lake; by the French called La Bray, from the resemblance to, and answering the intention of, ship pitch. It lies in the leeward side of the island, about half-way from the Bocas to the south end, where the Mangrove swamps are interrupted by the sand-banks and hills; and on a point of land which extends into the sea about two miles, exactly opposite to the high mountains of Paria, on the north side of the Gulf.