the structure of the skin will become a subject of great physiological

interest.

3. ON SIX NEW SPECIES OF HUMMING BIRDS.

BY JOHN GOULD, F.R.S. ETC.

Although the Trochilidae have lately received much attention both from our own and the continental naturalists, the subject is far from exhausted, as is shown by the circumstance of my being able to bring before the notice of the Society this evening no less than six species hitherto uncharacterized and unknown. These great accessions to the family are all from a state with which we have as yet had but little intercourse—that of Veragua in Central America; and we are indebted for a knowledge of them to the researches of an enterprising traveller and botanist, M. Warzewicz, who has just returned from that country, where he successfully explored many forests and other districts not previously trodden by the foot of civilized man. Unfortunately, both for myself and for science, he was not able, in consequence of the heavy rains which prevailed at the time, to procure or to preserve the examples in so fine a state as could be wished; although much mutilated and otherwise damaged, they are, however, sufficiently perfect to admit of my furnishing the following descriptions:

1. TROCHILUS (SELOSPHORUS) SCINTILLA.

Male: upper surface bronzy green; on the throat a gorget of glittering fiery red, the feathers of which are much produced on either side; beneath the gorget a band of buffy white; wings purple-brown; central tail-feathers brownish black, margined with rusty red; lateral tail-feathers brownish black on their outer and rusty red on their inner webs; under surface reddish brown; bill black.

Female: upper surface as in the male, but not so bright; under surface white; throat-feathers less produced, and spotted with brown on a white ground; flanks buff; tail rufous, crossed by a crescentic bar of black near the tip.

Total length of the male, 23 inches; bill, ; wing, 14; tail, 1. Hab. Volcano of Chiriqui, at an altitude of 9000 feet.

This is an extremely beautiful species, and forms a miniature representative of the Trochilus rufus, to which it is somewhat allied.

2. TROCHILUS (THAUMATIAS?) CHIONURA.

Male: : upper surface very dark grass-green; wings purplish brown; central tail-feathers bronzy green; lateral tail-feathers white, largely tipped with black; throat pale shining green; flanks greenish; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; upper mandible black, base of the lower mandible fleshy white.

Female upper surface as in the male, but paler; lateral tail-feathers white, as in the male, but crossed near the extremity with an oblique band, instead of being tipped with black; throat and under surface generally white.

Total length, 3 inches; bill,; wing, 2; tail, 14.

Hab. Chiriqui near David, province of Veragua, at an altitude of from 2000 to 3000 feet.

This is a remarkable species, differing, as it does, from all other Humming-Birds with which I am acquainted, in the large amount of white on the tail-feathers, which shows very conspicuously when that organ is spread. In form it is very similar to the T. brevirostris and T. longirostris of the Brazils.

3. TROCHILUS (THALURANIA) VENUSTA.

The entire crown, back of the neck, and upper part of the back, shoulders, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, beautiful shining ultramarine blue; throat and fore-part of the neck rich metallic green; wings purplish black; tail considerably forked, and of a blackish blue; bill black.

Total length, 4 inches; bill, ; wing, 21; tail, 13.

Hab. Volcano of Chiriqui in Veragua.

Remark.--Nearly allied to, and of the same form and size as, the T. furcatus, but a far finer bird.

4. TROCHILUS (?) CŒRULEOGULARIS.

Male: upper surface, shoulders, abdomen and under tail-coverts, shining grass-green; throat, sides of the neck and chest, rich violetblue; wings purple-brown; tail rather forked; central feathers bronzy green; lateral feathers purplish black; upper mandible and tip of the lower black; basal portion of the latter fleshy white.

Female: upper surface shining grass-green, but of a paler hue than in the male; tail as in the opposite sex, except that the lateral feathers are tipped with white; centre of the throat, abdomen and under tail-coverts white.

Total length, 33 inches; bill, ; wing, 2; tail, 14.

Hab. Near David, on the north side of the Cordillera, Veragua. I am also indebted to Dr. T. B. Wilson of Philadelphia for the loan of a specimen from Panama. This species is precisely of the same elegant form as the T. Goudotii, but is of a larger size, and is at once distinguished from that bird by its blue breast.

5. TROCHILUS (-?) CASTANEOVENTRIS.

Crown of the head metallic green; upper surface green; wings purplish brown; tail dark bronzy green, crossed near the tip by a broad band of black; the lateral feathers tipped with buff, which decreases in extent as the feathers approach the central ones; all the under surface reddish chestnut; bill black.

Total length, 4 inches; bill, ; wing, 21; tail, 13.

Hab. Cordillera of Chiriqui, at an altitude of 6000 feet.

Remark. This is a moderately sized species, and is not allied to any other member of the family with which I am acquainted; I am therefore unable to assign it a place in any of the sections hitherto proposed; the specimens I possess appear to be immature, and are unfortunately in bad condition.

6. TROCHILUS (?) NIVEOVENTER.

Crown of the head and back of the neck bronzy green; back rich coppery bronze; wings purple-brown; upper tail-coverts reddish purple; tail purple-black; throat resplendent green; abdomen snowwhite; flanks green; under tail-coverts greenish brown, margined with white; bill black, except the basal three-fourths of the lower mandible, which are flesh colour.

Total length, 33 inches; bill, ; wing, 24; tail, 11.

Hab. Near David; warm countries of Veragua.

Remark. Nearly allied to T. Edwardi and T. erythronotus; from the former, however, it differs in the colour of the tail, and from the latter in the white colouring of the breast.

July 9, 1851.

John Gould, Esq., F.R.S., in the Chair.

The following papers were read :

1. ON THE GENERIC SUBDIVISION OF THE BOVIDE, OR HOLLOWHORNED RUMINANTS. BY H. N. TURNER, JUN.

In the series of observations upon the Ungulate Mammalia, of which I attempted last winter to lay before the Society the more general results, my attention was also in some measure directed towards the detailed arrangement of those portions of the order which have generally proved subjects of difficulty. Of these, the classification of the Bovida, or hollow-horned Ruminants, has certainly been the greatest, since they form a well-marked natural group, including a great variety of forms, with but few remarkable differences of structure. I soon found, however, that even setting aside some of the more strikinglymodified genera, the distinctions afforded by the skull were much more decided than any that I could find among the Cervidae, which, from their being less rich in number and variety, were always easier to subdivide correctly. Not having been able at that time to observe the skulls of certain of the more remarkable forms, I set the matter aside for better opportunities; and now that the large and interesting collection of hunters' spoils which Mr. Roualeyn Gordon Cumming has brought together, and is at present exhibiting in London, has given me the opportunity of supplying some of these desiderata, I venture, although there are yet a few points I could wish to ascertain, to lay this portion of my researches before the Society.

There cannot be a doubt that the horns present the best and most readily discernible characters, or that, when the genera are once correctly determined, they may be pretty easily defined by the variations of these parts alone; but it has long since been seen how the con

sideration only of the horns has led to very unnatural approximations. For example, Cuvier associates the Addax with the Indian Antelope; and Mr. Blyth, his translator, inserts his belief that it is more allied to the Coudou, which I think modern naturalists will allow to be equally wide of the truth. Again, the species forming the genera Egocerus and Nemorhædus of Major Smith are placed together in the Règne Animal,' and Mr. Blyth hints that the Anoa may be allied to the Oryx.

It is certainly remarkable, that while the teeth have contributed so important a share in the characters by which the mammalia have been arranged by various authors, they should have been so entirely overlooked in the members of the present division; for notwithstanding the great uniformity and strongly-marked character pervading the Ruminant dentition, very decided characters may frequently be found in the form and direction of the incisors, and in the presence or absence of the supplemental lobe in the molars; and it is the more to be wondered at when we consider that the incisors, from their position, may often easily be seen in dried specimens, and that the character alluded to in the molars has been found of considerable value in the interpretation of fossil remains. The remaining characters I shall have to bring forward consist of certain little details of structure in the skull, which are very easy to be perceived, and which, as I have found them constant in those groups which I have characterized by their means, I trust may meet with due consideration from naturalists.

Of late years, while some zoologists have remained content to call all hollow-horned Ruminants that are neither oxen, sheep, nor goats, by the generic name Antilope, another class have run into the extreme of the modern fashion by using every trifling external difference visible in dried skins, or recorded in books (sometimes not even excepting size and colour), to divide them so extensively, that the characters of the genera become more difficult to remember than those of the species. Considering the difficulty of observing many of these characters in dry specimens, and of bearing such trivial details in the memory, it is not to be wondered at that many errors of observation have crept in, a few of which I will point out as I proceed, limiting myself in my own diagnoses to the characters of the skull and horns. There is no doubt that the suborbital sinus, improperly called "lacry. mal sinus" (translated into "tear-pit" by some authors, "tear-bag" by Mr. Gray), will form a valuable means of distinction when its structure in all the genera has been sufficiently observed upon fresh individuals, or on the parts preserved in fluid, provided that we do not attach too much importance to its relative dimensions; but although its dried appearance may assist discrimination, we cannot venture to describe it. As to inguinal pores and interdigital pits, it must always be difficult, and frequently impossible to determine their presence or absence in specimens that are dried and mounted. Tufts upon the joints of the limbs, and the extent of bare space upon the muzzle, are certainly much too trivial to warrant generic distinction, and never mark out any particular natural group.

The last attempt to arrange this extensive family in subordinate groups is that of Mr. Gray, published in the eighteenth volume of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History.' His preliminary remarks, though brief, appear to me quite sufficient to dispose of the arrangements previously set forth, therefore I will content myself with the consideration of his own. The two primary divisions, which are founded only upon the horns, certainly do not indicate any very natural affinities, since, taking the whole structure into consideration, the Antilopea of Mr. Gray are not more closely allied to the Bovec than they are to the members of the second primary division, nor do the Strepsicerea ally themselves particularly to the Sheep and Goats. With regard to the subdivision of the Antilopeæ, he is certainly right in separating the "Antelopes of the Desert" as a group, although there is no doubt that some of the divisions of the " Antelopes of the Fields" are equally as distinct from each other as they are from the former. The division of the latter group into "True Antelopes," "Caprine Antelopes," and "Cervine Antelopes," also possesses some merit; but the genera Capricornis and Nemorhædus are very distinct from the other Caprine Antelopes, and the genus Eleotragus (Redunca of Major Smith) is very distinct from the other true Antelopes, and ought, as I am quite convinced, to include the genus Kolus of Dr. Andrew Smith, placed by Mr. Gray among his Cervine Antelopes, and consisting of species not known at the time Major Smith was engaged in these researches.

It will be universally admitted, that for the generic division of the Ruminants, zoology is most indebted to Major Smith, and in the course of my observations I have found reason to reject but few of the divisions proposed by him as subgenera, and few, if any, in my opinion, need be added. As I thus propose to curtail the list of genera adopted by Mr. Gray, and to separate certain of them from those with which he has associated them, several will stand alone; and of those which do ally themselves together, no group seems to manifest that particular relationship with other groups which should warrant us in separating the family, as Mr. Gray has done, into divisions of a primary, secondary, tertiary, and in some cases even a fourth and fifth degree of rank.

I will, therefore, while enumerating the characters which I have observed in the genera I propose to adopt, point out which of them appear to constitute groups, and mention those species which, from the inspection of entire specimens, skulls, or at least horns, I feel warranted in referring to the genera under which I place them. As I have seen nothing to guide me to a particular linear arrangement, any naturalist who may be pleased to adopt my divisions is at liberty to place the groups, and the genera contained in each, in whatever order he may think most convenient.

I will first proceed to the "true Antelopes" of Mr. Gray, excluding the genus Eleotragus. They all have the horns round, the middle incisors expanded at their summits, the others being bent outwards to make room for them, and the molars without supplemental lobes. The infraorbital depression when existing upon the skull is gene