Chapter III: Part I: , p. 1-96, for 1863, printed in April to December, 1863 (3)

By a singular coincidence, we have now the pleasure of seeing
in this city the two great masses of meteoric iron which
have been so often spoken of as being at Tucson, in Arizona,
one of which was brought here and presented to the city by
General Carleton, in November last, a notice of which, with an
analysis, has already appeared in our proceedings. This mass
may properly be designated as the “Carleton (Tucson) Meteoric
Iron,” while the one which is destined for the Smithsonian
Institution may be called the “Ainsa (Tucson) Meteoric Iron,”
as it has been rendered accessible for scientific investigation
by Mr. Jesus M. Ainsa, as will be seen by the following
memorandum of the circumstance kindly furnished by his brother,
Mr. James M. Ainsa:

“This aerolite was first discovered by the early Jesuit
Missionaries in the mountains called the ‘Sierra de la Madera,’
near Tucson.

“In 1735, El Capitan de las Provincias del Occidente, Don Juan
Bautista Anza, induced by the accounts of the science-loving
Jesuits, ordered the aerolite to be removed from the mountains,
with the intention of sending it to Spain. However, through the
want of wagon roads and the proper means of conveyance at that
time, to take it to San Blas, then the nearest port of entry,
the attempt was entirely abandoned.

“The aerolite was left at Tucson, where it continued to attract
the attention of the scientific men who visited that country
for more than a hundred years. Since the acquisition of
Arizona by the United States, greater notice has been taken of
this aerolite, it having been mentioned several times in the
official reports of the Government agents.

“By a singular coincidence, Augustin Ainsa, the great-grandson
of Don Juan Bautista Anza, undertook, in 1860, to transport the
aerolite and present it to the Smithsonian Institution. With
great difficulty it was brought as far as the Yñigo hacienda,
where it remained until May, 1863, when Jesus M. Ainsa, in
his late visit to Sonora, brought it to this city, with the
intention of forwarding it to the Smithsonian Institution at
Washington, where it will soon be sent.”

At present the mass in question lies upon the steps of the
Custom House, where it has been most admirably photographed by
Mr. Watkins.[2]

It was said by Mr. Ainsa to weigh 1,600 pounds.

The shape of this meteoric mass is very peculiar; and, at
first, it would hardly be recognized as the identical specimen
figured by Mr. Bartlett at Tucson, especially as this gentleman
estimated its weight at 600 pounds only. Instead of being, as
Mr. Bartlett supposed, a mass supported on two legs, it is,
in reality, a ring of metal, of very irregular dimensions, of
which about one-quarter was buried in the ground, in order to
support it in a convenient position for use as an anvil, when
it was seen by him at Tucson.

The dimensions of this ring are as follows:

Greatest exterior diameter 49 inches.
Least exterior diameter 38 ”
Greatest width of central opening 26½ ”
Least width of central opening 23 ”
Greatest thickness at right angles to plane of ring 10 ”
Width of thickest part of the ring 17½ ”
Width of narrowest part 2¾ ”

The weight of the mass corresponds, taking the specific gravity
at 7.2, with a circle-ring, having an average width of one
foot, and a thickness of a small fraction less than eight
inches—the diameter of the circle represented by the exterior
of the ring being assumed as four feet.

On examining with a magnifying glass a fractured surface of
the mass, it was seen at once to be different in composition
from the Carleton Meteoric Iron, and my conjecture that Prof.
Smith was mistaken in supposing that he analyzed a fragment
from the mass figured by Mr. Bartlett, was confirmed.[3] It is
now almost certain that Messrs. Brush and Smith did analyze
fragments of the same meteoric iron.

The Ainsa Meteoric Iron contains a large per centage of a
white—almost transparent—silicious mineral, having a vitreous
lustre, which may be olivine; but the amount seems larger than
that in the Carleton mass. The Smithsonian Institution will
undoubtedly cause a chemical investigation to be made of this
superb meteoric mass, and it will be interesting to compare its
composition with that of the Carleton meteorite, as the two
were found so near each other that they may be supposed to have
formed portions of the same body, and to have fallen at the
same time.

The photograph was taken by Mr. Watkins, at my request,
partly to be sent abroad as a specimen of the high degree of
perfection which has been attained by this gentleman in this
department of art, and partly that an exact representation
might be secured of this very remarkable body, in case it
should be lost or captured on its way to Washington.

In concluding this notice, the following statement is given of
all that is known of the size and position of the masses of
meteoric iron which have been noticed by various travelers in
Arizona and the adjacent portions of Mexico and New Mexico.

_In the Madera range_, “Sierra de la Madera,” between Tucson
and Tubac, “enormous masses of pure iron, some of which were
transported to Tucson, and for many years were to be seen in
the Plaza of that Presidio.” Francisco Velasco, in W. F. Nye’s
Translation of his work on Sonora, p. 146, published at San
Francisco in 1861.—Two of these masses have been brought to
this city, the one weighing 1,600, the other 632 pounds; the
question arises, how many more are left in the Sierra Madera?
To this, no answer can be given at present.

“At the _Hacienda de Concepcion_, on the road from Chihuahua to
Rio Florida,” a mass of meteoric iron estimated to weigh 3,853
lbs.—Bartlett. The exact locality of this hacienda I have not
been able to ascertain.

“_Ninety miles north-west of Santa Rosa_,” supposed to be
the Santa Rosa in the province of Coahuila, in Mexico, lat.
28°, long. 101° 30’; Ass’t A. Schott, of the Mexican Boundary
Survey, reports a large number of masses of meteoric iron; see
page 34, Part II, of Major Emory’s Report. This statement needs
confirmation.

“_Sancha Estate, some fifty or sixty miles from Santa Rosa, in
the north of Coahuila._” This is the locality of the mass of
meteoric iron, weighing 252 pounds, and now in the collection
of the Smithsonian Institution, figured, described and analyzed
by Professor Smith; see Smithsonian Report for 1855, p. 154,
and Silliman’s Journal, (2) XIX, 160. Professor Smith says,
“various accounts were given of the precise locality, but none
seemed very satisfactory.” It is not unlikely that this mass is
from the same locality mentioned by Mr. Schott.

“_Near the South-western edge of the Balson de Mapimi, on the
route to the Mines of Parral_, there is a meteorite, near the
road, of not less than a ton weight;” on the authority of Mr.
Weidner, of the mines of Freiberg, as stated by Professor Smith
(Smithsonian Report for 1855, page 155), Mapimi is in lon. 103°
30’; lat. 25° 45’ nearly.

“_At the Hacienda of Venagas_, there was (1827) a piece of iron
that would make a cylinder, one yard in length, with a diameter
of ten inches. It was said to have been brought from the
mountains near the Hacienda.” Professor Smith, on the authority
of Dr. Berlandier (Smithsonian Report for 1855, p. 155), makes
the above statement; the exact locality of the Hacienda I have
been unable to ascertain; it is probably nearly in lat. 24°,
lon. 101°.

_La Paz, New Mexico_, near the Colorado River, about lat. 33°
30’. A mass of meteoric iron, weighing 10 pounds, was brought
from that locality, in 1862, by Mr. H. Ehrenberg.

A number of other localities of meteoric iron might be added
from more southern and central portions of Mexico; but as that
is a region to which the attention of Californian explorers
and capitalists has not yet been much directed, it will not be
necessary to cite them here. It is hoped that the circulation
of the above list may be the means of procuring further
information in regard to the masses of iron noticed; and that,
possibly, more of them may be brought to San Francisco.

[2] The mass was shipped on the Panama steamer, which sailed
from San Francisco on the 3d of August.

[3] See page 34, of this volume.

REGULAR MEETING, AUGUST 3D, 1863.

President in the Chair.

Present, eleven members.

F. M. Spence, of Victoria, V. I., was elected a Corresponding Member.

Donations to the Cabinet:

Two species of grasses collected in Mariposa County, by Mr. Rowlandson.

Donations to the Library:

The following foreign journals and scientific works were received through the Smithsonian Institution:

Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society, Vol. i, Nos.
6 and 7 (1859), 8-19 (1860), 20-31 (1861), Vol. ii, Nos.
1-12 (1862); List of the Fellows for 1861 and 1862; Der
Zoologische Garten, Nos. 1-12, 1862; Bulletins de l’Académie
Royale de Belgique, Tomes ix-xii, 1860, 1861; Mémoires de
l’Académie de Dijon (2) ix, x, 1861; Annuaire de l’Académie
Royale de Belgique, Anneés 27 et 28; Mémoires de la Société
Impériale de Sciences Naturelles de Cherbourg, Tome viii, 1861;
Sitzungsberichte der k. bayr. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu
München, 1861, ii, Heft 1-3, 1862, i, Heft 1-4 1862, ii, 1;
Abhandlungen der Math. Physik. Classe der k. bayr. Akademie der
Wissenschaften, Band ix, Abtheilung 2, München, 1862; Annalen
der Königl. Sternwarte bei München, Band xi, 1862; Nachträge zu
Maly’s Enumeratio plantarum phanerogamicarum imperii Austriaci
universi, von Aug. Neilreich, Wien 1861; Verhandlungen der
k. k. zool.-bot. Gesellschaft in Wien, 1861, Bd xi; Jahrbuch
der k. k. geolog. Reichsanstalt 1861 and 1862, Band xii;
Untersuchungen über die Dichten und Brechungs-exponente,
von Dr. Ad. Weiss und Ed. Weiss; Geognostische Beschreibung
der preuss. Oberlausitz, von E. F. Glocker, Görlitz, 1857;
Abhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Görlitz,
Band ii, 1860; Mémoires de l’Académie Impériale de St.
Petersburg, Tome iii, No. 12, iv, Nos. 1-9; Schriften der k.
phys.-ökon. Gesellschaft zu Königsberg, Jahrgang 1, Heft 2
(1861), ii, 2, 1862; Die Culturpflanzen Norwegens, von Dr. P.
C. Schübler, Christiana, 1862; Meteorologische Beobachtungen
des Observatoriums zu Christiana i and ii, 1862; Beskrivelse
over Lophogaster typicus, von Dr. M. Sars, Christiana, 1862;
Geologiske undersögelser af Dr. Theodor Kierulf, Christiana,
1862; Zwei Karten zur geognostischen Beschreibung der preuss.
Oberlausitz, von E. P. Glocker; Mittheilungen der Naturf.
Gesellschaft in Bern, 1858, Nos. 408-423, 1859, 424-439,
1860, 440-468; Verhandlungen der Schweizerischen Naturf.
Gesellschaft, 43te Versammlung, Bern, 1859; Correspondenzblatt
des Naturf. Vereins zu Riga, 12ter Iahrgang, 1862; Bericht über
die Thätigkeit der St. Gallischen Naturwissens. Gesellschaft,
1858-1860; Atti della Società elvetica delle Scienze Naturali
riunita in Lugano, 1860, 44th Session; Verhandelingen van
het Bataviaasch Genootschap, Part xxvii, 1860, xxviii, 1860;
Tijdschrift voor indische Taal-Land-en Volkenkunde, Deel vi,
2-7, vii, 1-6, viii, 1-6, ix, 1-6, x, 1-6 (1860); Studien aux
der Natur, von Dr. Ad. Weiss und J. G. Weiss; Fluorescenz der
Farbenstoffe, von Dr. Ad. Weiss.

Mr. Gabb presented the following paper by Mr. Rémond:

Description of Four New Species of Echinodermata, from the Tertiaries of Contra Costa County.

BY AUGUSTE RÉMOND.

ASTRODAPSIS Conrad.

_A. Whitneyi_ Rémond.

Disk circular, or sub-pentagonal, slightly notched at the
extremity of the ambulacra.

Apex central and elevated; edge depressed.

Ambulacral star symmetrical, prominent near the apex; petals
equal, reaching to the margin of the disk.

Interambulacral spaces much depressed near the edge.

Lower surface slightly and gradually concave; furrows well
marked and straight.

Mouth central, circular; anal aperture small, sub-marginal.

Papillary tubercles somewhat remote, smaller above than
beneath, situated in wide and shallow cells; miliary tubercles
very numerous and crowded, both on the superior and inferior
surfaces.

Greatest diameter 1.8 inches
Smallest diameter 1.65 ”
Height 0.3 ”

Locality: Kirker’s Pass formations. Found in lower pliocene
beds.

The genus astrodapsis, to which I have referred the above
species, was indicated by Mr. Conrad, in the Pacific Railroad
Reports, Vol. VII, Palæontological Report, page 196, without
any generic description.

The genus is closely allied to clypeaster, but differs from it
in having the petals of the ambulacral star extending to the
edge of the disk, opened at the extremity, and in the margin of
the disk being slightly notched at the extremity of each petal.
The inter-ambulacral spaces are depressed. On the under surface
there is a deep groove corresponding to each petal.

My collection, and that of the State Geological Survey.

_A. tumidus_ Rémond.

Disk rounded sub-pentagonal, thick, rounded on the edge, very
slightly notched at the end of the ambulacral areas.

Apex small, central, depressed.

Ambulacral petals symmetrical, very prominent, reaching to the
margin, longitudinally grooved by a median line. The outer
pores of the petals abruptly depressed on each side.

Inferior surface slightly concave.

Mouth central, small, rounded.

Ambulacral furrows straight, well marked.

Anus small, sub-marginal.

Papillary tubercles numerous, especially in the ambulacral
areas, and in the center beneath, not prominent, situated in
comparatively deep and sub-angular cavities.

Greatest diameter 1.34 inches.
Shortest diameter 1.26 ”
Height 0.34 ”

Locality: Kirker’s Pass formations; occurs as the preceding
species; also two miles west of Walnut Creek House.

From the collections of the California Academy of Natural
Sciences, of the State Geological Survey, and my own.

ECHINARACHNIUS van Phels.

_E. Brewerianus_ Rém.

Disk small, oval-elongated, broader behind, rather thin.

Upper surface slightly convex; margin rounded.

Apex posteriorly sub-central.

Petals close, nearly symmetrical, the anterior and posterior
ones the longest, as wide as or even wider than the
inter-ambulacral spaces; ambulacral areas composed of very
narrow plates, widening on the margin.

Inferior surface plane.

Ambulacral furrows not visible in the specimens examined.

Mouth small, central.

Anus very small, sub-marginal.

Papillary tubercles numerous, rounded, somewhat prominent, more
crowded beneath than above.

Length 1.22 inches.
Width 1.06 ”
Height 0.30 ”

Locality: Two miles east of Walnut Creek House; from miocene
beds.

Collection of the State Geological Survey, and mine.

This species is dedicated to Prof. W. H. Brewer, Botanist to
the Survey.

CLYPEASTER Lamark.

_C. Gabbii_ Rém.

Disk rather small, comparatively thick, varying from circular
to sub-pentagonal and irregular sub-oval.

Apex nearly central, sub-elevated; margin rounded; genital
apparatus sub-angular.

Ambulacral star almost symmetrical; petals about equal in
length, elongated, open at their extremities.

Inferior surface flat near the edge, and gently concave in the
center.

Mouth depressed, sub-central.

Ambulacral furrows straight, slightly marked.

Anal aperture very small, marginal.

Tubercles of the upper surface numerous, especially in the
ambulacra, round and prominent.

Greatest diameter 1.16 inches.
Smallest diameter 1.10 ”
Height 0.28 ”

Locality: The C. Gabbii occurs abundantly on the eastern shore
of San Pablo Bay, south of Mare Island, in soft sand-stones of
miocene age.

Collections of the State Geological Survey, and Academy of
Natural Sciences; also Mr. Gabb’s, Mr. F. L. A. Pioche’s, and
mine.

Dr. Kellogg read the following paper:

Description of a New Species of Allium.

BY A. KELLOGG, M.D.

ALLIUM L.

_Allium parvum_ Kellogg. [FIG. 13.]

Scape short, naked, narrowly ancipital; leaves two, long
linear-lanceolate, acute, apex recurved, plain above, much
attenuated towards the subterranean base, which is somewhat
canaliculate; lamina from five to ten-nerved, margins remotely
subscabrulose; flowers pale, purplish, about eight; umbel
convex, pedicels triangular, thickening upwards, about as
long as the flowers, nerves of the sepals distinctly purple
to the tips; three outer sepals longer and broader, erect,
entire, oblong, somewhat obtuse, carinate; the three inner
linear-lanceolate sub-acute; genitals included, inner stamens
slightly longer, anthers pale, blueish, filaments simple,
expanded at the base; style equal, stigma acute, simple (or
obsoletely lobed); capsule in outline obcordateley trigastric,
embryo granular (mature fruit not observed), appears to be
somewhat substipitate, as seen in the figure, the three cells
somewhat grooved on the back; spathe persistent, two-parted,
ovate, sub-acute, about eleven-nerved, hyaline, and lilac
purple; bulb ovate, oblong, externally loosely coated with
light-colored, smooth-nerved membranaceous tunics. The scape
is often found only an inch above ground, as in the recent
specimens from Mount Davidson by Mr. Herbert C. Dorr. The
leaves are two to three times the length of the scape. Our
figure is from a cultivated specimen furnished by Mr. H. G.
Bloomer, from bulbs sent us some years since by Mr. Andrew A.
Veatch, from Washoe. This is the largest form of it we have yet
seen. The bulbs, however, under culture, are often three or
four times the size here represented. It has none of the garlic
odor so common in this genus.

REGULAR MEETING, AUGUST 17TH, 1863.

Dr. Trask in the Chair.

Present, eleven members.

Donations to the Cabinet:

Three boxes of ores from various localities, presented by Dr. Trask. Mr. Lorquin presented a number of land shells collected on the Philippine Islands by Mr. Lorquin, senior. A box of shells from the Smithsonian Institution.

Donations to the Library:

Verslagen en Mededeelingen der Koninklijke Akademie van
Wetenschappen; Afdeeling Naturkunde, Parts 10-14, 1860-1862;
Same, Afdeeling Letterkunde, Parts 5-6, 1860-1862; Jaarboek
van de Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam,
1859, 1860, 1861; Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural
Society, Vol. iii, Nos. 1-4, Jan. to April, 1863; Nachrichten
von der Georg-Augusts-Universität und der Königl. Gesells. der
Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, 1862, Nr. 1-27.

The above were received through the Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. Cooper read the following paper:

On New or Rare Mollusca Inhabiting the Coast of California.—No. II.

BY J. G. COOPER, M.D.

The following species were collected while exploring for the
State Geological Survey, along the main land and islands
bordering Santa Barbara channel, in May, June, and July last.
Besides those described as new, I obtained additional specimens
of some of those described in 1862, confirming the specific
characters then given, and to some extent establishing the
generic more accurately.

Careful notes and drawings from living specimens furnish the
basis of most of the descriptions, together with examination of
the specimens in alcohol.

With regard to localities, it must be noticed that “Santa
Barbara” and “Santa Barbara Island” are very distinct both in
local characteristics and the groups of animals inhabiting
them. The island is about seventy-five miles from the town,
and thirty-five from the nearest main land. Catalina Island is
twenty-four miles from the main land, and very different in
its molluscous animals from both the main land and the other
islands, being the richest locality on our shores.

I have not been able to compare these species with those from
South America described by D’Orbigny and others; but, like
our other littoral mollusca, they are probably distinct.
I have, however, found the pelagic species _Ommastrephes
giganteus_ D’Orb in large numbers, and “hundreds” of a species
of _Argonauta_ washed ashore last spring as far north as Santa
Cruz Island, as I was informed by Dr. Shaw, who presented
specimens to the State collection.

APLYSIA Linn.

_A. californica_ Cooper. State Collection, species 1045.

Form and external appearance as usual in the genus. Length
fifteen inches, breadth five, height about the same. Color
pale gray or greenish, becoming purplish on the side, folds of
mantle with scattered white specks, from which an irregular
network of brown lines extends over the rest of the body,
interspersed with large brown blotches. Inner surface of mantle
varied with alternating painted bars of white and dark brown
interlocking together. Sole of foot black. Eyes very minute and
black.

_Shell_ contained in the substance of the mantle cartilaginous,
translucent, trapezoidal or hatchet-shaped, margins rounded,
slightly convex above, the nucleus or centre in old specimens
distant from the posterior end or apex. Faint radiating lines
diverging from the nucleus, crossed by an irregular network of
darker lines, all ending abruptly at some distance from the
margin, which has thus a wide, nearly transparent border. An
accessory plate arises on the inner surface from the nucleus,
spatulate in form and slightly raised.

The two younger specimens have the clear border and accessory
plate less developed, and very young ones do not probably show
these characters at all, but resemble the typical _Aplysia_
in the form of the shell. On this account I am unwilling to
constitute it a new genus, but propose to call it a sub-genus
under the name of NEAPLYSIA.

There was no appearance of a multiplication of shells, said
to occur in old specimens of _Aplysia_. Not having any full
description of the internal anatomy of _Aplysia_, I cannot at
present determine whether there are many other differences in
structure.

The stomach was full of large fragments of _Algæ_. I found
three specimens only, on the beach at San Pedro, July 25th,
just after a heavy blow which occurred at the lowest summer
tides. Kept in water for some time, they were very slow and
uninteresting in movements, showing no evidence of any means of
defence except the exudation of a beautiful purple fluid from
the mantle when handled. This fluid, common to the Aplysiæ,
though formerly supposed to be poisonous and indelible,
possesses no such properties, though it may be a defence
against marine animals which attack them.

The figure, taken from a tracing of the shell, and electrotyped
by Dr. A. Kellogg, represent the inner surface of the most
developed specimen, of the natural size.

NAVARCHUS, Cooper, Proc. Cal. Acad. Ap. 1863.

_N. inermis_ Cooper.

Syn. _Strategus inermis_ Cooper, Proc. Cal. Acad. II, 1862, p.
202.

One small specimen, dredged among seaweeds in ten fathoms, near
the eastern shore of the “Isthmus,” Catalina Island, shows no
variation from those obtained at San Diego.

DORIS, Linn.

_D. albopunctata_ Cooper. State Coll. Species 1000.

Form ovate, pointed behind, flattened, surface shining,
minutely rugose. Tentacles club-shaped, retractile, branchial
plume, 6-8 parted, bipinnately divided, situated near the
posterior extremity. Color yellow or orange brown, dorsal
surface thickly speckled with small white dots, each forming a
slightly raised papilla. Beneath paler.

Dredged from a rocky bottom in twenty fathoms, a mile from the
shore at Santa Barbara. Also found on rocks at low water mark
near the north-west end of Catalina Island.

Length about one inch, breadth one-third of an inch.

_Doris montereyensis_ Cooper, Proc. Cal. Acad. II, 1862, p. 204.

Found at Santa Barbara Island on rocks at low water, differing
from the original specimens only in larger size and deeper
color. The tentacles are club-shaped, the branchial 7-8 parted,
bipinnate and from one opening.

_Doris sanguinea_ Cooper, loc. cit. (_Asteronotus._)

Four specimens found with the last, differ from the type only
in having the black spots very small. The tentacles are acute,
cylindro-conic, retractile into a cavity bordered by a toothed
membrane. The branchiæ form an erect chimney-shaped expansion.
I cannot discover the stellate valvular structure of the
branchial opening, which characterises the genus _Asteronotus_,
in these specimens.

_Doris Sandiegensis_ Cooper, loc. cit.

Two found with the last agree exactly with specimens from
San Diego. The tentacles are conical and acute. The
branchial orifice does not present the peculiar characters
of _Actinocyclus_. Although all these species differ to some
extent, they have no characters to distinguish them generically
from the typical _Doris_, unless anatomical or microscopical
examination should reveal them, or the characters of that genus
should be more closely limited.

TRIOPA Johnston, 1838.

_T. catalinæ_ Cooper. State coll. species, 1002.

Form much elongated, narrow, dorsal surface flat, becoming
spatulate posteriously. Head expanded laterally and flattened,
wider than the body, ornamented with 14 ciliæ, equally
distributed around its margin, so as to form nearly a circle.
Tentacles long, conical, retractile. Three pairs of short ciliæ
at equal distances apart between the tentacles and middle of
the body, connected by the sharp edges of the dorsal surface.
Branchial plume five parted, bipinnately divided, expanding to
nearly twice the width of the body, situated a little behind
the middle of the body. Two short ciliæ close together on the
medium line, a little behind the branchiæ. Length 1.50, breadth
0.25 inch. Color yellowish, speckled with white, filaments
vermilion red.

Four specimens found on sea weed among rocks at low water near
north end of Catalina Island, June 16th.

DENDRONOTUS Alder and Hancock, 1845.

_D. iris_ Cooper. State coll. species 959.

Pale purple, varying to orange red, foot narrowly edged with
white, tentacles with white tips and a subterminal orange ring,
branchial processes purple, the smaller ones sometimes olive
near the base. Length of largest specimens 3, breadth 0.50 inch.

Several found on the beach at Santa Barbara, May 5th, having
been washed ashore by an unusually heavy sea, occurring at a
very low stage of the tide. One, also, dredged on seaweed, from
a depth of 28 fathoms, two miles off shore.

This species seems more variable in color than the other
_nudibranchiata_ of this coast, but I saw no reason for
considering them of more than one species. Those washed ashore
being somewhat injured, although still alive, I made no drawing
of them, and the more perfect one dredged was too small for
this purpose.

In the “Mollusca and Shells,” of the U. S. Exploring Expedition
under Commodore Wilkes, Dr. Gould mentions a species of
Dendronotus collected at Puget Sound, but does not name it or
give any clue to its characters, except that the _branchiæ_
have white tips, unlike our specimens. It is very probable,
however, that it belongs to the same species, as so many of the
Mollusca of this coast have an equally wide range.

ÆOLIS Cuvier, 1798.

_Æ. barbarensis_ Cooper. State coll. species 978.

Rose-red, longer tentacles tipped with yellow, branchial
ciliæ simple, in six longitudinal rows, all short, the middle
rows longest and tipped with blue, anterior tentacles two,
above the mouth, dorsal tentacles club-shaped, a white streak
extending from the median line between them to the mouth.
Length nearly an inch.

One specimen dredged on a rocky bottom, in a depth of 16
fathoms, a mile from the shore at Santa Barbara.

Although small, its characters are too different from those
of our other species, when of the same size, to allow us to
consider it the young of any of them.

FLABELLINA Cuvier, 1830.

_F. opalescens_ Cooper.

_Syn._ Æolis, (Flabellina?) opalescens, Cooper—Proc. Cal. Acad.
II, 1862, p. 205.

This species, dredged from the same locality as the last,
presented exactly the same characters as the original specimens
from San Diego. I also found a few of them on the rocky shore
of Santa Barbara Island, differing only in having the branchial
olive, tipped with white.

PHIDANIA Gray, 1850.

_P. iodinea_, Cooper—_Syn._ Æolis (Phidania?), iodinea, Cooper,
loc. cit. sup.

I found one of this species on the beach at Santa Barbara,
agreeing exactly with those from San Diego.

CHIORÆRA Gould, 1855.

_C. leonina_ (?) Gould—Molluscs and Shells, U. S. Expl. Exped.

Wholly translucent, pale yellow, the variations marked only by
a darker shade. Form of head nearly conical, the apex anterior,
forming an angular roof above the oral opening. Bronchial
processes five on each side, larger than represented in Gould’s
figure, imbricated and decumbent. Length 2.75, height 1 inch.
Otherwise as in the description and figure of Gould’s specimen.

A single specimen dredged in 20 fathoms off Santa Barbara, May
15th, differs in the points above mentioned from the northern
animal, but being much smaller, the differences may arise from
immaturity, and I have therefore preferred to retain the same
name for it.

The single specimen which formed the type of the genus was
dredged in Puget Sound, was over five inches long and of
various bright colors, the head subglobose, higher than oral
opening, branchiæ in six pairs, comparatively smaller and
erect, all of which differences may have arisen from more
perfect development, and from having been observed under more
favorable conditions.

From its rarity on our southern coast we may expect to find it
more abundant northward.

Dr. Kellogg read a paper describing a new species of ALSINE, collected by Mr. Bolander, in the swamp near Mission and Howard and Seventh and Eighth Streets, San Francisco.

Description of a New Species of Alsine.

BY A. KELLOGG, M.D.

ALSINE Wahlenb.

_A. palustre_ Kellogg.

Plant slender, somewhat decumbent at the base, simple or
slightly branching at the summit, glabrous, sulcate on opposite
sides of the stem, sub-flexuous, six inches to a foot in
height. Leaves lance-linear, acute, mucronate, glabrous,
margins scabrous, sub-connate and slightly sheathing at the
membranous base, shorter than the internodes (half to more
than an inch in length). Peduncles slightly compressed,
axillary, solitary, long, naked. Sepals ovate-lanceolate,
acute or subacute, one to three-nerved, green with scarious
margins, about half the length of the petals. Petals white,
oblanceolate, obtuse, entire. Stamens ten, subequal, short.
Styles three; stigmas deeply biparted.

A plant very abundant in swamps in this vicinity, known to us
for the last ten years, but as we find no description which we
recognize, we conclude it must be unknown. Blossoming in July
and August. Specimens by Mr. Bolander.

REGULAR MEETING, SEPTEMBER 7th, 1863.

President in the Chair.

Present, seven members.

Donations to Cabinet:

Fishes, crustacea, and shells from the Sandwich Islands, by Andrew Garrett, Esq.

Donations to the Library:

Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. ix, sigs. 13 and 14, May and June, 1863. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for April and May, 1863. Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society, Vol. 3, No. 5, May, 1863. Silliman’s Journal, July, 1863.

Professor Whitney presented the following paper by Dr. J. G. Cooper:

On a New Genus of Terrestrial Mollusca Inhabiting California.

BY J. G. COOPER, M.D.

BINNEYA Cooper.[4]

_Generic characters._—General form of animal like _Limax_, with
a shell resembling that of _Omalonyx_ or _Lamellaria_.

Body about three times as long as shell, semicylindrical,
obtuse in front, forming an acute angle behind; foot extending
the whole length, somewhat distinct anteriorly, and carinate
behind. Mantle shield-like, covering the back anterior to the
shell for about one-fourth its length, not reflected over
the shell. Eye-peduncles moderate, slender, two short acute
tentacles in front of head. Lingual teeth resembling those of
Helix in form and arrangement.

Shell entirely external, ear-shaped, nearly flat, about
one-third as long as the animal, which it does not half cover
when retracted. Spire flattened, forming two horizontal
volutions, last whorl enormously expanded and slightly arched.
Columella distinct, entire, hiding the interior of the
convolutions.

_Binneya notabilis_ Cooper. State Coll. Species 988.

_Specific characters._—Animal dark lead-colored, with black
reticulations, and a wide brown stripe along the median
line, extending from the mantle to the front of head, about
one-fourth of the total length.

Shell with a pale brown, smooth and shining epidermis,
extending beyond the margin, translucent when young, becoming
thickened by an opaque white deposit on the interior when old.
First whorl or nucleus ornamented with about thirty delicate
parallel revolving ribs, not concealed by the epidermis, and
ending abruptly at the commencement of the transverse lines of
growth in the body whorl.

Length 0.46, breadth 0.34, height 0.12 inch.

This genus resembles _Limax_ in its shield-like mantle, but in
the more essential characters of the lingual teeth, appears to
belong undoubtedly to the _Helicidæ_. It approaches nearest to
the subfamily _Vitrininæ_, in having the mantle in front of the
shell, approaching nearest to the _Daudebardia_ of Europe; but
differs in the form and opacity of the shell, which resembles
some of the _Succininæ_, especially _Omalonyx_ of South
America, etc. It differs from these very much in the form of
the animal, and the shell being wholly external, forming one of
those connecting links which make it difficult or impossible to
divide the _Helicidæ_ into distinct groups.

_Habitat._ So far this animal has been found only in Santa
Barbara Island, one of the group within this State. It there
inhabits but one station, so far as I could discover after
very careful search. That is the head of a ravine facing the
south-east and about two hundred and fifty feet above the sea.
During the wet season there may be a little water springing
from this place, but for at least five months it is not even
damp, while the remainder of the island is entirely destitute
of water. Myriads of _Helix kelletii_ and two other species
(probably new) inhabit it, but during the dry season retire
into a torpid æstivation, not disturbed by the fogs and mists
of summer. The _Binneya_, the rarest of all, and not protected
from drought by its shell, burrows down to the under surface
of thick succulent roots, and contracting to about twice the
size of its shell, covers the rest of its body with a white
mucous secretion, which appears to be impervious to the
moisture within, and dries into a tough leathery shell.[5] When
moistened for a few hours, the animal separates the edge of
this box from that of its true shell, and becomes active.

The figures [Fig. 15] represent three positions of the shell,
the animal æstivating and also crawling.

I found but three alive, and eighteen dead shells.

[4] To all those who have seen the splendid works on the
“Terrestrial Mollusks of the United States,” by the late Dr.
Amos Binney, so ably continued by his son W. G. Binney, the
appropriateness of the name will be at once evident.

[5] In this it resembles the _Testacellæ_ of Europe, which
are otherwise very different.

Dr. Trask presented, in the name of Mr. Garrett, the following paper:

Descriptions of New Species of Fishes.

BY ANDREW GARRETT, OF HONOLULU, S. I.

JULIS Cuv.

_Julis ornatissimus_ Garrett.

D. 9-13; A. 2-13; V. 1-5; P. 12; C. 2, 1, 6, 6, 1, 2.

The body of this _Julis_ is rich green, which gradually passes
into light blue on the breast and belly. The scales on the
green ground are margined with vermillion red, and there is
a slight tinge of the latter color on the abdominal scales.
Four alternate oblique light red and blue vittæ pass from the
middle of the gill-opening, and gradually fade away beneath the
anterior portion of the abdomen. The head, which is emerald
green, is ornamented with vermillion red stripes, which have
their margins shaded off with brilliant blue. The stripes are
disposed as follows: one traverses the upper line of profile,
two extend from the upper lip to the eye, one follows the lower
line of the head, passing up the hinder margin of the gill
covers; two horizontal ones on the cheek, and, posteriously
to the eye they assume reticulations. Irides golden yellow,
with shades of light red; cornea dusky green. The dorsal, anal
and caudal fins are carmine red, margined with pale blue. The
former with a basal row of large spots, and an intramarginal
band, dark green. Two similar bands mark the outer half of
the anal fin, and spots of the same color may be observed on
the caudal. The ventrals are pale, straw-yellow, with blue,
anterior margins. Pectorals have a pale, yellow tinge at their
base.

The greatest depth of the body, as compared to the entire
length of the fish, is about one to four. The scales are rather
large. The head constitutes a little less than a fourth of the
total length. In addition to the usual teeth which characterize
the genus, we observe a spiniform tooth projecting obliquely
forward from the posterior portion of the branches of the
upper jaw. The caudal fin is posteriorly rounded off, and the
ventrals are long and pointed.

Length, 4½ inches.

Habitat, Sandwich Islands.

REMARKS.—We have observed only a single example of this very
rare and beautiful fish, which was captured at the island of
Hawaii in 1856. Its peculiar markings will readily distinguish
it from any of the numerous species inhabiting our coasts. In
shape and markings of the head it resembles _Julis pæcila_,
figured in the Zoology of the Voyage of the “Blossom,” but the
colors of the body and fins are widely different.

CHIRONECTES Cuv.

_Chironectes rubro-fuscus_ Garrett.

D. 3-13; A. 9; V. 6; P. 11; C. 9.

A single example of this species now before me has been
preserved in spirits several years. It is in fine condition,
though the colors are much faded. The general shape is
oblong-oval, and much compressed. The thickness at the base
of the head enters about five and a half times in the total
length. The whole surface is covered with crowded minute hispid
asperities, and very small, remote, cutaneous, tuft-like
appendages. The head, as viewed in profile, is irregularly
rounded, the chin forming the anterior end, being slightly
in advance of the mouth. The eyes are exceedingly small,
elliptically oval in shape, their greatest diameter being only
three-twentieths of an inch. Their distance from the margin
of the upper jaw is five times their own length. The mouth is
vertical. On the top of the snout, midway between the eyes
and the end of the upper jaw, is a long setaceous appendage,
articulated to a tubercle, and tufted at the end. On the
cranium there are two stout, curved processes, which project
posteriorly, the hind one the largest, and both enveloped in
the integuments. The dorsal fin takes its origin at a point
corresponding to the middle of the total length of the fish,
caudal exclusive. Its height equals the length of its own base.
The caudal trunk and fin are slightly oblique to the horizontal
axis of the body. The anal fin is small and rounded off along
its outer margin. The rays in all the fins have their ends
slightly prolonged in little fleshy points. The color, as noted
from the living fish, is dark red, with irregular, cloud-like
markings and spots, dusky gray. Everywhere maculated with
small, irregular, dusky spots, which are the most numerous on
the belly. A few deep black maculations on the vertical fins
and scattering ones on the body. The interior of the mouth and
tongue are mottled with red and white. Irides pale flesh color;
cornea black. The smooth inner surfaces of the pectoral and
ventral fins are intensely red.

Length, 8½ inches.

Habitat, Sandwich Islands.

REMARKS.—This fine large species is very rare. As compared with
the _C. leprosus_ from the same location, it is much larger,
more compressed, the eyes much smaller and the ground color is
quite different. In the _leporina_ the eyes are less than twice
their own diameter distant from the anterior margin of the
upper jaw. In our fish they are five diameters distant from the
same point.

CHÆTODON L.

_Chætodon multicinctus_ Garrett.

D. 13-24; A. 3-19; V. 1-5; P. 14; C. 3, 1, 8, 7, 1, 2.

Form oval. The head enters about four and a half times in the
total length. The upper line of profile from the snout to the
dorsal fin is nearly straight, rising at an angle of 60°.
The snout is short. The eye is large, circular, its diameter
one-third of the length of the head, and placed just midway
between the opercular corner and the end of the snout. The
preopercular margin exhibits a few small dentations. The scales
are moderate size.

The dorsal and anal fins are posteriorly rounded off. The
hinder margin of the caudal is truncate. The anterior soft ray
of the ventrals is slightly prolonged beyond the margin of the
fin.

Color creamy-yellow. The sides are marked with five vertical,
yellowish-brown, diffuse stripes, the two anterior ones
terminate on the side of the belly, and the others at the base
of the anal fin. There is a slight indication of a sixth one
along the basal half of the soft portion of the dorsal fin.
Each scale is marked with a faint, yellowish-brown dot. A
yellow line starts from a point above the base of the ventral,
follows the line of the belly, and unites with a black one
which traverses the anal fin. A blue black spot in front of
the dorsal fin gradually passes into the ocular fascia, the
latter being brown above and yellow beneath the eye. Irides
chrome-yellow. Upper lip brown. A vertical black stripe, shaded
off anteriorly with vermillion, marks the middle of the caudal
trunk. The dorsal spines and filaments are orange-yellow, the
inter-radial membrane is colorless. The soft portion of the
dorsal and anal are ochre-yellow along their middle-third, the
former with a broad yellow and the latter with a pale greenish
margin. The two colors on either fin separated by a narrow
black and white line. The caudal is colorless, with a basal
vertical luniform bar, its convex margin anterior. The ventrals
are whitish, and the pectorals colorless.

Length, 3½ inches.

Habitat, Sandwich Islands.

REMARKS.—Two examples of this species were procured in Honolulu
market.

OPHISURUS Lac.

_Ophisurus Californiensis_ Garrett.

This _Ophisurus_ is more robust than usual in species of this
genus. The head is large, swollen beneath, and comprises about
one-twelfth of the entire length. The depth, taken at the
origin of the anal fin, enters about twenty-eight times in the
total length, or twice in the length of the head. The pectorals
are large, elliptical in shape, their tips reaching posteriorly
nearly as far as the origin of the dorsal fin. The dorsal and
anal fins are well developed, the latter passing over a base
considerably more than half the length of the fish.

The color in spirits is brown, paler on the lower half of
the head, and cinereous along the throat and belly. A dorsal
row of large, roundish, brownish-black spots extends from
the occipital region to the end of the tail; the spots being
intersected by the fin, and the two anterior ones are saddle
shaped. A second row, disposed alternately to the first,
occupies the upper half of the flanks. The head is irregularly
maculated, the spots becoming paler beneath. The fins are
light, brownish-grey; the dorsal and anal with a narrow darker
margin, which is articulated with dark brown.

Length, 19½ inches.

Habitat, Lower California.

REMARKS.—The specimen described above, was captured at
Margarita Bay, by Mr. White, of the whaler Rambler, to whom I
am indebted for a valuable collection of objects of natural
history.

Dr. Ayres remarked that he had recently received from Tomales Bay specimens of an ichthyic type, new to this coast, and probably new to science. The species is closely allied to _Scomberesox_, though the jaws are but moderately elongated. It is judged worthy of record, even previous to any description, since no fish of that group has hitherto been found in the waters of California. The specimens exhibited to the Academy were from five to eight inches in length. He also gave notice of the acquisition of a specimen of Thrasher, taken in the Bay of San Francisco. The species is a very close representative of the Atlantic form _Alopias vulpes_, differing, however, in the proportions of the dorsal and anal fins, and in the position of the branchial apertures; the tail constitutes decidedly more than half of the entire length. The specimen is about five feet in length.

Dr. Ayres presented a specimen of Barnacles, found floating at sea in lat. 33° 8´ N., lon. 129° 35´ W., by Capt. Geo. Goodrum of San Francisco. They were of the _Anatifa_ type, but exhibited the remarkable feature of being attached, not to some extraneous substance, as a fragment of wreck, for instance, but to a spherical, fleshy receptacle, apparently a portion of their own system. This receptacle was of a light, yellowish color, about the size of a small orange, which it somewhat resembled in aspect. To it were attached, by the usual flexible pedicles, about a dozen Barnacles, allied to _Anatifa_, as above indicated, but differing from it in the breadth of the dorsal plate, and in the projection of a strong keel at the base of both dorsal and lateral plates. When this specimen was procured, myriads like it covered the sea for miles in the track of the vessel. Barnacles aggregated in this manner of growth do not appear to have been hitherto reported.

REGULAR MEETING, October 5th, 1863.

President in the Chair.

Seven members present.

A donation to the cabinet of several species of fishes from the Sandwich Islands was received from Mr. Andrew Garrett.

Donation to the Library:

Fragmenta Phytographiæ Australiæ, by Ferdinand Mueller, Vol. III, from the author.

Mr. Bolander stated that he had recently collected two grasses believed not to have been before found on this coast, though common in the Atlantic States, viz.: _Paspalum distichum_ (L.) along the shores of Clear Lake, covering large patches of ground, and _Leersia oryzoides_ (Swartz), along Cache Creek, of much larger size than he had met with in the East. He believed _Gastridium australe_, which covers almost every dry hill in the interior, to be indigenous.

Dr. Behr made some remarks on the date of introduction of some foreign plants, now becoming very common in this vicinity, which he intends to make the subject of a future article.

MIRABILIS CALIFORNICA. Var. _villosa_ Kellogg.

[For description see page 10 of this volume.]]

REGULAR MEETING, October 19th, 1863.

President in the Chair.

Six members present.

Dr. Ferdinand Mueller was elected an Honorary member. Frederick Wideman, of Sinaloa, Alex. Drauphing of San Sebastian, and S. W. Morrell, of Mazatlan, were elected Corresponding members.

Dr. Cooper exhibited specimens of _Lagomys princeps_, the “Little Chief Hare,” from the summits of the Sierra Nevada. He remarked that this rare animal lived about the limits of perpetual snow, and was so rarely seen that residents for several years near its resorts had never seen it. He found it quite common in a very limited district, though difficult to obtain, from its extreme shyness. Though before found in the Rocky Mountains near South Pass, and Salt Lake, where it is called “Coney,” this was the first record of its occurrence so far to the west and south.

REGULAR MEETING, November 2d, 1863.

President in the Chair.

Twelve members present.

Mr. W. G. Binney, of Burlington, N. J., George N. Lawrence, of New York, and William Cooper, of New York, were elected Corresponding members.

Mr. Lorquin presented two species of California Jays for the Cabinet.

Donations to the Library:

Annuaire de l’Académie Royale de Belgique, 1863. Bulletin de l’Académie Royale de Belgique, tomes XIII, XIV. On time boundaries in Geological History, by James D. Dana. On the higher subdivision in the classification of Mammals, by James D. Dana. On Cephalization, and on Megasthenes, and Microsthenes in classification, by James D. Dana. Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Dublin, sessions of 1860-62. Memoir on California Mosses by Leo Lesquereux.

Dr. Cooper presented the following paper:

On new Genera and Species of California Fishes—No. I.

BY J. G. COOPER, M.D.

The fishes described in the following articles were collected
by me for the State Geological Survey, along the Southern Coast
of this State and among the adjoining islands. While it is
possible that some of them may have been described in works not
now accessible to us, the probabilities are entirely in favor
of their being new, as we have very recent lists of all the
species described as inhabitants of this Coast since the report
on fishes collected by the Pacific Rail Road Surveys.

For much information and assistance in their determination, I
am indebted to Dr. W. O. Ayres, and also to Dr. George Hewston,
for the use of books not contained in any public library in the
city.

The outline illustrations, reduced from accurate measurements,
were electrotyped and presented by our industrious
collaborator, Dr. Kellogg.

The colors described are in all cases those of the living fish.

DEKAYA, n. g.[6]

_Generic characters._—General shape elongated and fusiform,
head small and short, premaxillaries slightly protractile, eye
large, situated above the level of mouth, profile moderately
sloping, snout broad and obtuse.

Preoperculum serrated behind, operculum with one obtuse spine;
branchiostegal rays five on each side. Opercular openings
connected below.

Front rows of teeth on premaxillaries small, conical, acute,
and slightly recurved; those of upper jaw largest, their size
decreasing from the middle towards each angle, where there are
one or two large canines; those below hidden by the upper jaw.
Behind this row in both jaws, a band of velvet teeth in about
six irregular rows near the symphysis, but ending entirely
near the middle of each ramus. Tongue and vomer toothless.
Pharyngeal bones and branchial arches densely crowded with
large velvet teeth.

Infraorbital bone short, curving up under posterior border of
orbit, and not connected with the operculum.

Nostrils double, anterior opening smaller, lips rather thick
and fleshy.

Scales small, numerous, oblong, subquadrangular, finely
pectinated, covering the whole body and head as far as front of
orbit, but leaving a bare space around the eye.

Fins scaleless, as well as caudal rays. Dorsal and anal fins
very long at base; spinous rays few. Lateral line normal.

DEKAYA ANOMALA, Cooper, n. sp., State coll. No. 618. [FIG. 17.]

_Specific characters._—Length of head contained five times in
total length. Distance from end of snout to orbit one-third
the length of head, and greater than width of orbit. Height
of head just behind orbit about equal to distance from tip of
snout to edge of preoperculum; breadth one-third to one-half of
its length. Skin on occiput elevated from the bone by a thick
layer of fat, not by any bony expansions.

Height of pectoral fin less than length of head; its width
about one-third of its height, middle rays longest.

Dorsal arising above pectoral joint, its length one-third that
of the fish; first spine one-ninth the length of the fin;
the other spines lengthening to the commencement of the soft
portion, of which the longest ray is one-fifth the length of
the fin, and the last ray one-fifteenth; the entire fin having
a gradually arching outline.

Caudal moderately broad, deeply forked, and acutely pointed;
the upper lobe slightly the largest.

Anal similar in form to dorsal, arising opposite its
eighth soft ray and prolonged a little farther back. It is
three-fifths as long as dorsal, its height about one-fourth its
length, the first (spinous) ray and the last each half as long
as the longest.

Ventrals four-fifths the height of pectorals, arising
immediately behind them; their width one-third of their length.

D. VII, 23-2, C 3-1-6-6-1-3, A I-2-21-2, P 6-1-11, V, I-1-1-3.
Scales 175, 13/32-10/10.

_Colors._—Pale silvery brown, white below; an obscure row of
brown spots and mottlings on sides; fins and tail olive near
base; iris dark brown and gilt.

_Remarks._—This fish seems to be a very aberrant form of the
Percoid family, having many of the characters of other orders.
Its general form and dentition are those of some Sciaenoids,
while its entire dorsal, opercular armature and only five
branchiostegals separate it both from them and the Percoids.
The very long anal is another character found in few if any
members of these families. I can find nothing in the pharyngeal
bones to indicate its affinities, these being closely like
those of both the above families as shown in _Seriphus politus_
and _Paralabrax clathratus_, which on comparison have them
almost exactly similar.

The genus _Heterognathodon_, of Bleeker, has several of the
most peculiar characters of this one; but not having a full
description of it, I cannot compare them. There are generic
differences at least, and the habitat is widely different,
being the East Indies. Richardson places it with other aberrant
genera in the family _Theraponidae_—(_Datninae_, of Swainson,)
which is probably a mixture of several.

The outline figure represents the fish one-third the natural
size; 22 inches.

This fish is caught rather plentifully in autumn at Catalina
Island, where I obtained the one here described, in October,
1861. During my late visit there, in June and July, none would
bite, and I have not yet obtained any duplicates. It is called
by the very vague name of “White-fish.”

The figure being made from a skin may be a little inaccurate in
proportions; but I hope to be able to present a better one in
the Report of the Geological Survey.

This white-fish is not remarkable for excellence as food.

AYRESIA, n. g.[7]

_Generic characters._—Form elongated, suboval; the outline
more curved above than below. Scales large, finely pectinated,
completely covering the body and head, except in front of
orbit; smaller on head, and becoming very small where they
extend over parts of the fins and tail.

Teeth numerous, acute, entire, the anterior row largest; those
below larger than above, and flattened posteriorly. A few
smaller ones crowded behind these near symphysis. Pharyngeals
villiform.

Premaxillars protractile, the upper arched, twice as high as
wide, the lower shutting within it.

Preoperculum entire, a very small obtuse spine at angle of
operculum.

Pectorals rather long and pointed. Caudal deeply forked, the
lobes acute. Dorsal long, anal moderate.

Differs from _Pomacentrus_ (Lacepede) chiefly in a more arched
dorsal outline, armed operculum and unarmed preoperculum,
pointed fins and tail, proportions of fins.

The dorsal outline appears to become much more convex with age,
chiefly from deposit of fat on the occiput, as is the case
in some Labroids, as for instance, _L. pulcher_ (Ayres) and
_Julis modestus_ (Girard), the latter also growing higher in
proportion to its length throughout. The dotted line represents
the dorsal outline of a specimen one-fourth larger than that
figured, but otherwise closely like it.

AYRESIA PUNCTIPINNIS, Cooper, n. sp., State coll. No. 596.
[FIG. 18.]

_Specific characters._—Head forming less than a fourth of total
length (0.18), eyes less than one-third the length of head, and
less than its own diameter from end of snout, height of head
behind orbit about equal to its length. Greatest thickness of
body about one-eighth of total length.