Macleay Museum Research Articles

On the Status of Katophis plumbea Macleay (Serpentes: Colubridae)

Sir William Macleay (1877) described Katophis plumbea gen. et sp. nov. from several from Katow, Papua New Guinea. The species has since been placed in the synonymy of the natricine snakes Tropidonotus picturatus and Amphiesma mairii by Boulenger (1893) and Cogger (1979), respectively. Recently, Malnate and Underwood (1988) revised the New Guinean natricine fauna, recognizing 11 species and 1 subspecies in a single genus, Tropidonophis. However, K. plumbea is not mentioned in their work. Although Macleay's description is brief, the keeled scales, low number of midbody scale rows, and presence of a loreal indicate that K. plumbea is a natricine, and the combination of 15 midbody scale rows, single preocular, and type locality suggest that it is a senior synonym of Tropidonophis mairii brongersmai Malnate and Underwood, 1988. Katow is now known as Mawatta, and is on the Binaturi River in the Western District of Papua New Guinea (Parker, 1982), within the known distribution of only T. m. brongersmai. Goldman et al. (1969) identified four Macleay Museum specimens (MMUS 618-621) as syntypes of K. plumbea. These have since been transferred to the Australian Museum, where they are registered as R3189831901 (Cogger, 1979). I have examined all four specimens, and all agree well with the type description, although none is in perfect agreement with the scale counts and measurements provided by Macleay. The range of variation in scalation and measurements of these specimens is as follows: ventrals 139-143; subcaudals 71 (N = 3), reduction to 6 caudal scale rows at level of subcaudal 11-14, reduction to 4 caudal scale rows at level of subcaudal 33-39; supralabials eight (seven on one side of one specimen); preocular single (divided on one side of one specimen); anterior temporals one (50%, N = 8) or two; upper postocular separated from anterior temporals; posterior temporals two; snout-vent length 443-535 mm; and tail length 140-170 mm (N = 3). All characters are in agreement with T. mairii brongersmai. Accordingly, the following synonymy is proposed:

Stone Artefact Collection, Macleay Museum

Stone Artefact Collection, Macleay Museum

The Macleay Museum Mummy from Torres Straits: A Postscript to Elliot Smith and the Diffusion Controversy

The Macleay Museum Mummy from Torres Straits: A Postscript to Elliot Smith and the Diffusion Controversy

Notes on Australian Cerambycidae

Considerable doubt has existed with regard to the identity of certain species of longicorn beetles described by W. S. Macleay from material collected during King's survey of the coasts of Australia. In the course of an examination of the Cerambycidae in the Macleay Museum at the University of Sydney, I discovered six specimens with old labels bearing the name of Capt. King. All these labels are in the same handwriting, which appears to be identical with that of W. S. Macleay, and bear every evidence of age. The information contained on the labels agrees in all respects with the particulars given by Macleay in his appendix on the Annulosa in King's "Survey of the Coasts of Australia", ii. While the presence of one specimen might have been concluded to be accidental, the existence of six specimens may be taken as additional evidence of their authenticity Any doubt which existed was, however, removed by careful comparison of each specimen with the original descriptions, with which they have been found to agree in each case, so that I have no hesitation in accepting them as authentic specimens collected by Capt. P. P. King's expedition and described by W. S. Macleay, and, in the absence of other material, they may be considered to be the types of the species concerned. Etc.

Mr. E. W. Ferguson

SCIENTIFIC circles in Australia have suffered a great loss in the death at Wahroonga, New South Wales, on July 18 last, of Dr. Eustace Ferguson. Eustace William Ferguson was born at Invercargill, New Zealand, in 1884, the son of the distinguished divine, Rev. John Ferguson of St. Stephen's, Sydney, and when an undergraduate of the University of Sydney showed a passion for natural history. He was encouraged to collect coleoptera by Mr. George Masters, Curator of the Macleay Museum, in whose room I first made his acquaintance. Graduating in 1908 with honours in medicine, he showed an unusual knowledge of that side of his work which dealt with zoology and microbiology. He joined the Linnean Society of New South Wales in 1909 and contributed his first entomological paper on the Phalidurinæ, or ground weevils of Australia, in which group he became the authority; in all he published fourteen papers on the group, papers that were distinguished by their lucidity and judgment.

Some Australian fishes of the family Gobiidae

It was the original intention of the authors to revise all the Australian species of the Family Gobiidre, but circumstancefl have prevented us from carrying out our design. We therefore submit descriptions and figures of such species as we have been able to deal with, and give references to the others. We have been unable to allocate some of the species dealt with to any genera known to us, but as we lack several important papers on the classification of the Gobiidre, we have preferred to leave them under the broader headings GO/J/:U8 ,and Elevtris rather than create unnecessary additions to the already long list of Gobioid genera. We have had the advantage of examining the very large collections contained iil the Australian Museum, the Queensland Museum, the Macleay Museum, ,md the South Australian Museum. These include numerous types and cotypes, and many authentically labelled specimens, while the Australian Museum is fortunate in possessing a representative series of Indian fishes from the collection of the late Dr. Francis Day. All these have enabled us to clear up many points in the synonymy of the species dealt with. ' We are greatly indebted to the Trustees of the Macleay Museum for the loan of all the Gobies and Eleotrids under their charge. We also have to thank Mr. Edgar R. Waite, Director of the South Australian Museum, for the loan of those ill his collection.

A revision of the Culicidae in the Macleay Museum, Sydney

A revision of the Culicidae in the Macleay Museum, Sydney

Remarks on fossils of Permo- Carboniferous age, from north-western Australia, in the Macleay Museum

Remarks on fossils of Permo- Carboniferous age, from north-western Australia, in the Macleay Museum

Societies and Academies

SYDNEY. Linnean Society of New South Wales, July 25.— Dr. J. C. Cox, Vice-President, in the chair.—The following papers were read:—The insects of King's Sound and its vicinity, part 2, by William Macleay. This paper contains a list of all the Lamellicorn insects in the collection made by Mr. Froggatt in the West Kimberley district. Of the seventy-six species recorded, fifty-nine are described as new, but are all referable to known genera. The genera most numerous in species are Ontho-phagus and Heleronyx. The sub-family Cetoniides is represented by four species only.—Catalogue of the known Coleoptera of New Guinea, &c., part 2, by George Masters, Curator of the Macleay Museum. Part 2 of this catalogue, comprising the Tetramerous and Trimerous divisions, amounting to about uoo species, completes the list of Coleoptera hitherto described from the region under consideration. The total number of species recorded is 2079.—Malaysian land and fresh-water Mollusca, by Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods. After some introductory remarks on the extent and physical geography of the region under consideration, and on the characteristic features of its land and fresh-water Mollusca, the author gives a list of about 400 species indigenous to the Malay Peninsula in the States south of Keddah, and the Indian Archipelago, not including the Philippines and New Guinea. A bibliographical list is appended. —Mr. Ogilby exhibited a specimen of a deep-sea fish (Chlcrophthalmus nigripennis), originally described by Dr. Günther in the Ann. of Nat. Hist., 1878, and figured in vol. xxii. of the “Challenger Reports.” The original specimens were taken by the Challenger naturalists off Twofold Bay, in 120 fathoms; the specimen exhibited was captured quite recently off Port Jackson in 70 fathoms, the only other occasion on which the species has been met with since its discovery.—Mr. Ogilby also exhibited a photograph of Acanthias Blainvillii, not hitherto recorded from New South Wales, and one of a variety of Acanthoclinus littoreus, originally described by Forster in “Cook's Voyage,” the former having been taken in deep water off Port Jackson, the latter under stones between tide-marks at Lord Howe Island.—Mr. Brazier exhibited a spherical stone, about ½ inch in diameter, found in the crop of a Goura pigeon (G. Albertisi, Salvad.), from Hall Sound, New Guinea. Also a tube of freshwater shells (Segmentina australiensis, E. A. Smith), from Waterloo Swamps.—Mr. MacDonald showed under the microscope an interesting exhibit of Rotifers (Megalotrocha sp.), living in clusters on pond weed.—Mr. Burnell exhibited two living slow-worms (Typhlops nigrescens), from Wentworthville, near Parramatta. —Mr. Deane exhibited a remarkable excrescence on a root of Monotoca elliptica, found by Mr. J. F. Fitzhardinge in the neighbourhood of Sydney; a specimen of an apodal lizard (Delma impar) found by Mr. C. F. Price, of Arable, near Cooma, where the species is said to be abundant in basaltic country; and examples of concretionary nodules occurring abundantly in a slaty rock in a cutting near Bredbo on the Goulburn to Cooma Railway.

On the Australian species of Penaeus, in the Macleay Museum, Sydney

On the Australian species of Penaeus, in the Macleay Museum, Sydney