GECKO, GECKO-FAMILY, GECKO TIDÆ, a natural | portion of the sternum. Those which follow reach and are family of Saurians. articulated with that bone. They are succeeded by the free or abdominal ribs, which nearly equal in number the vertebra which precede the pelvis, at least in the Banded Gecko. Their head is wide and flattened, with the mouth wide; the nostrils are distinct and lateral; the eyes large, hardly surrounded by short lids, the lower edge of which in the greater number of species does not project outwards, the pupil sometimes rounded, but most frequently dentilated, linear, and lightly fringed; and the auditory opening bordered with two folds of the skin. The teeth are small, equal, compressed, sharp at the point, entire, and planted in the internal edge of the jaws: there are none on the palate. The tongue is short, fleshy, capable of but little elongation, and free at its extremity, which is either rounded or flattened, or very slightly notched. Their neck is apparently little, in consequence of the width of the back part of the head and the squareness of the shoulders. Their body is thick and short, depressed, and low on the legs, with a belly flat below, dragging on the ground, and largest in the middle. There is no crest on the back. The tail varies, but is not long, and often has folds or circular depressions, but never a dorsal crest. The feet are short, nearly equal in length, wide apart, and robust; the toes nearly equally long, most frequently flattened below, widened, and furnished with transverse, imbricated plates; the nails vary, but they are ordinarily hooked, sharp, and retractile. The conformation of the feet enables the Geckos to run with ease on the smoothest surfaces in every direction, or to remain stationary on them with the back downwards, after the manner of 2 common house-fly. The skin is defended by equal granular scales, most frequently interspersed with other tubercular scales, the points blunt or angular. There are femoral pores or pores in front of the vent, on the same line in the majority of species, and, most frequently, in the males only. The limbs and sides are sometimes bordered with fringed membranes. ORGANIZATION. Skeleton.-The skull of the Geckotidæ is marked by some peculiar characters. The bones are well defined, nor do the sutures seem to be obliterated by age. In general contour it approaches the skull of the Crocodilide by its width, its flatness, and its length; its particular resemblances to the same part in that family are to be found in the disposition of the orbits and in the articulation of the jaws. The excavations for the eyes are very large and apparently incomplete, inasmuch as the orbital frame is not entirely bony in its back part, nor has it, so to speak, any flooring, so that when deprived of the softer parts the cavity communicates with the mouth. The articulation of the jaw is quite backwards, and the os quadratum or interarticular bone is wide, short, and hollowed on its posterior surface, for the purpose of receiving the muscle whose office it is to open the jaws and keep them open. The skull differs from that of the other lizards generally in the extreme smallness of the jugal and temporal bones, and in having the parietal bones divided longitudinally into two. a b Skull of Gecko: a, cranium; b, lower jaw; c, a tooth enlarged. (Cuv. Oss. Foss.') The vertebræ vary in number, and, according to Meckel, their body is hollowed into two conical cavities, very nearly like those of fishes: the spinal column is without any spinous processes or projections. The three or four first cervical vertebræ only are without false ribs or transverse articulated apophyses. These are gradually developed, and go on increasing in length and curvature to the fifth or seventh, but none of them are actually joined to the great anterior The sternum in the Common Gecko (Platydactylus guttatus of Cuvier; Gecko verus of Merrem and Gray) consists of a very solid plate, which receives anteriorly and laterally in two angular notches the coracoïd bones, which are wide and delicate, and the clavicles, which are narrow, elongated, and flattened, more especially at their sternal extremity. The rhomboïd and backward portion of this sternal plate affords attachment on the two posterior facings to three pairs of ribs. From the posterior or abdominal angle of this bone two small parallel bones or sternal prolongations are given off, along which three other pairs of ribs are affixed by ligaments. After these six pairs of sternal ribs come seven other pairs, which are curved at their free or abdominal extremity into an obtuse angle, so that they are at this end directed forwards without any junction to a mesial line as in the Chameleons. M. Duméril says that generally he has only counted seventeen. ribs, but he observes that there are twenty-four in the Banded Gecko (Platydactylus vittatus of Cuvier; Gecko vittatus of authors). Hence M. Duméril concludes that the number of ribs varies according to the species. The caudal and pelvic vertebræ require notice. The articulation of the former is either weak, or the body of the vertebra itself is apt to break in the middle, so that a slight effort separates them, and many individuals lose their tails. When these are regenerated, cartilage is consequently generally found in the place of the former bone, and the tail then presents a variety of forms. The bones of the limbs do not differ from those of the other Saurians so as to require any particular description, with the exception of those of the feet, and there the difference is striking with relation to the greater portion of the class. In the Geckotidæ the bones of the feet are so disposed as to receive the five toes of equal or nearly equal length, and which radiate as it were from a centre so as to form a nearly complete circle; for the external or great toe cannot separate itself from the others to extend itself backwards. The toes are not always furnished with nails; but they are often provided with very remarkable ones, which by their mobility and retractility remind the observer of the organization of the same parts in the cats (Felidae). Muscular System principally as relating to Locomotion. -The muscles of the Geckotida are highly irritable, as might be expected in such nimble creatures. Their hering to smooth surfaces makes it necessary that the repower of adsistance produced by the adhesion should be instantaneously overcome in case of danger; and we accordingly find that a Gecko which at one moment is fixed motionless to a spot, vanishes as it were in the next from under the hand stretched forth to capture it. Brain, Nervous System, and Senses.-The brain and nervous system are considerably developed in the Geckotidae, and the greater part of the senses are acute. Sight. The orbits, as we have seen, are large and without any flooring or base, and as the eye in this family is very large in proportion to the size of the animal, the projection of the posterior part of the globe may be seen in the inside of the mouth much in the same way as is observable in some fishes. There is scarcely any lid, and what there is is so small that an additional appearance of prominence is given to the eyeball. This lid is simple, circular, and adherent to the globe of the eye by an internal fold. There is a nictitating membrane. Most persons have seen that an epidermic scale which seems to be the external layer of the cornea comes off in serpents with the rest of the skin, and in the Geckos also the integument passes over the front of the eyeball. The eye in such animals never appears humid. M. Jules Cloquet has shown that in the serpents the tears probably are diffused between the epidermic scale and cornea in order to arrive at the nostrils. The pupil is sometimes rounded, but most frequently presents a linear slit, the edges of which are fringed, so that the animal can at its pleasure dilate or diminish the opening through which the light and the images are to be admitted to the retina. Like the cats therefore, the Geckos, though said to be nocturnal in their habits, can also see perfectly well in broad daylight. Hearing. The auditory apertures in this family are some times in the form of slits, sometimes in that of oval or cir- | themselves, and in the curves described by the lines which cular holes, and the edges are often rounded and sometimes mark them; sometimes they are separated longitudinally by dentilated. Wagler states that these apertures can be closed a groove, sometimes they are complete or continued throughin Ptyodactylus and Spheriodactylus, and it is extremely out the length, sometimes they exist on the last phalanges probable that the rims have a power of approximation ge- only; and, lastly, in the aberrant genera they are hardly disnerally. The tympanum lies deep, and the auditory cavity tinct. The modifications of this curious apparatus, as well as communicates with the back of the mouth or throat for the the absence or presence of the nails, afford the leading chaadmission of air, as in most pulmoniferous animals. M. racters on which Herpetologists have established the difDuméril says, that he has proved the sensibility of these ferent genera, and we here present the various forms colanimals to the least noises, and that their sense of hearing lected by M. Duméril. is very fine. 2 2, a 7, a Smell.-The structure of the nostrils in this family would not lead to the conclusion that their sense of smelling is very acute, though it is probably more highly developed than it is in the Frogs. Taste.-The Geckotida swallow their prey living, or nearly so, and almost entire, but the presence and form of the teeth render it probable that they can masticate; and this power, combined as it is with the form and structure of the tongue, which is soft, moveable, very fleshy, and furnished with papillæ, seems to indicate a certain degree of the sense of taste. 5, α 3 6, a 3, a 7 4, a 8, a Touch and Integuments.-The skin of the Geckos is generally delicate, and adheres but little to the muscles, from which it is easily detached. In the middle of the back, and sometimes on the sides, granular tubercles rounded on their edges, with others which project at the centre, and are even fashioned into facets, are to be detected in the greater number. When the skin is detached and held up to the light it is seen to be regularly furnished with small delicate, rounded, escutcheon-like bodies, set in the thickness of the skin. The form and distribution of these bodies vary according to the different species in the regions of the belly, of the neck, of the thighs, of the head, and of the tail. Feet and structure of the under part of the toes of Geckotida. The figure M. Duméril, who gives us this information, goes on to state marked with the numeral only, represents the foot; the figure marked with the that generally the skin of the Geckotida is grey or yel- dactylus Cepedianus; 3, Platydactylus Egyptiacus; 4, Platydactylus guttatus added letter a, represents the structure of the lower part of the toe. 2, Platylowish, but that there are species in which lively colours are (Gecko verus, Common Gecko, of Gray); 5, Platydactylus homalocephalus disposed on some parts of their bodies, and that it is even Ptychozoon, of Kuhl; Pteropleura, of Gray): 6, Platy dactylus Leachianus said that tints of red, blue, and yellow may be distin-scalabotes Leachianus; Griff., Anim. King.'); 7, Hemidactylus Qualensis (Peropus of Wiegmann); 8, Hemidactylus triedrus. guished, which the animal causes to appear and disappear nearly after the manner of the chameleons. Some travellers assured Wagler that certain Indian Geckos became luminous or phosphorescent during the night. In some of the species the skin is prolonged on the sides of the body and tail into membranes regularly festooned or fringed, and the Geckos generally moult or change their skins at certain periods of the year, when their colours, as is usual in such cases, become brighter. M. Duméril says that he has himself observed this in living individuals captured in their wild state at Cordova, in Spain, in the middle of the summer. There can be little doubt that there is considerable sensibility where the skin is constructed as it is in the Geckos; but, in considering the sense of touch, the curious organization of the feet and toes demands our particular attention. These are the great organs of station or fixation and progression, and the manner in which they perform their office is very interesting. M. Duméril, after referring to Wagler's reflections on this subject in his remarks on the Platyglossi, gives his own observations on, this part of the organization of the Geckos. He refers to the comparative shortness and general struc ture of the feet above given, and then proceeds to notice the particular conformation of the toes in the greatest number of species. The lower surface of these, and the sole, are very much dilated, widened, and furnished with small plates or lamellæ, following or overlying each other (lamelles placées en recouvrement) in a regular manner, but in a mode which varies in the different species. The nails, which are sometimes wanting on all the toes, are most frequently pointed, hooked, and more or less retractile, constituting a sort of claws, which remain constantly sharp. The toes are sometimes united at their base, and, as it were, semipalmated. In some of the species, Ptyodactylus and Spheriodactylus of Cuvier, for instance, the extremity of the tues expands, and widens considerably in form of a fan or semi-disk, as in the Tree-frogs. The same author then alludes to the organization of the feet in certain insects, particularly the Orthoptera and Diptera, which enables them to maintain an inverted position. The membranous and soft plates with which the lower surface of the toes of the Geckos are furnished present a Tariety of modifications in the different genera. Sometimes they are simple, or continued from one edge to the other, and those of this class offer distinctions in the furrows 7,6 2 4 2, a 3 3, a The numerals and letters indicate the same parts as they do in the upper figure, with the exception of 7, b, which represents a claw in profile. 2. Thecodactylus Theconyx: 3, Ptyodactylus Hasselquistii (P. guttatus, of Ruppell, House Gecko, Griff., (Anim. King."); 4, Ptyodactylus fimbriatus (Gecko fimbriatus of authors; Fimbriated Gecko, Griff., Anim. King."); 5, Phyllodactylus porphyreus: 6, Gymnodactylus scaber (Stenodactylus scaber, of Rüppell; Cyrtodactylus of Gray)? 7, Gymnodactylus pulchellus (Gony odactylus pulchellus of Wagler: Cyrtodactylus pulchellus, of Gray); 7, & represents a claw of the animal seen in profile. Digestive System.-The numerous teeth of the Geckos are similar in form and length, placed on the same line, and fixed in a longitudinal furrow on the internal edge of the jaw by the external surface of their roots. The ena elled crowns are cutting, and their base is rounded. From their position in the jaw, Wagler has derived his designation Pleurodonts, the teeth being attached laterally while they are free internally, or in the furrow destined for their reception. In the greater number the crown increases from above downwards. These teeth are so closely set that they seem to touch each other, and altogether form a very trenchant dentilated blade, though not long enough for cutting up substances of any thickness, nor does the bite of the animal inflict a wound. The œsophagus is very wide, and M. Duméril notices an extraordinary appearance therein, when it is remembered that the part is not exposed to the light. In many species, both living and dead, which he examined, he found the interior of this canal strongly coloured with different but uniform shades, sometimes of an orange-yellow, but principally of a deep black. There is no distinct limit between the esophagus and the stomach; the crop (jabot) is continuous, and the whole forms a kind of longitudinal sac, which appears to be suddenly narrowed at the point corresponding to the pylorus, which is not to be detected except by this diminution of diameter and its position on the free and lower edge of the liver. The intestine is arranged in sinuous folds, and about three times the length of the oesophagus and ventriculus taken together, it turns to the left, and is lost on the side of a true and large cœcum, furnished with an appendage, and terminating by a large tube which has its opening in the cloaca. The triangular liver is placed in the mesial line, but its upper angle is so much elongated, that in some species it forms a conical point, at least twice as long as the base. This point lies in front of the stomach in the space left by the two lungs when they are filled with air. Below, the liver enlarges, and is divided into many lobes or indistinct strips, with the exception of that on the left, which is longest. The gall-bladder is situated under the mesial lobe. M. Duméril states that there does not appear to be a pancreas, but he observed in the Common Gecko and in the Fimbriated Gecko (Ptyodactylus fimbriatus) a very small spleen situated on the left side of the stomach. Circulating System.-The shape of the heart varies. In the Common Gecko it is large and flat, but has nevertheless a tolerably regular conical form, the point of the cone being below, and the base, which is slightly notched, leaning on the root of the two lungs. In the Fimbriated Gecko, on the contrary, M. Duméril states the heart to be proportionally smaller, and apparently formed of three distinct but approximated portions, the two upper rounded and oval, resembling auricles, and the other and lower portions small and conical. He acknowledges that he has not followed out the vascular system, but presumes that it resembles in its distribution that of the other Saurians. Respiratory System and Organ of Voice.-The glottis consists of a longitudinal slit with two large lips, which form a sort of tubercle behind the posterior notched portion of the tongue, the movements of which it follows, and can consequently be lifted up and applied to the concavity of the palate. The trachea is very large, and the rings, which are cartilaginous anteriorly but membranous on the side next to the esophagus, cause it to be considerably flattened. The lungs form two sacs, as in the Salamanders, and are nearly equal in volume and length. Their internal cavity is simple, but there are polygonal cellules on their internal membranous linings, and in the lines forming these the arterial and venous vessels are ramified. The Geckotida are without any goître, and M. Duméril is unable to account for the production of the voice, but he inquires whether the cry which they emit, and which is supposed to be in some degree imitated by their names of "Gecko,' Geitje,' &c., may not be assisted by the movements of the tongue, and its reception in the concavity of the palate; analogous, we suppose, to the production of the sound with which a coachman or groom stimulates his horses by applying the tongue to the upper part of the mouth and suddenly withdrawing it. Urinary and Genital Organs.-There is no urinary bladder, nor do the rounded kidneys, whose ureters are not long and open directly into the cloaca, require particular notice. The organs of generation in the males (which are smaller, more agile, and more brightly coloured than the females) are double, and lodged on each side of the base of the tail, which has consequently a swollen appearance. The eggs, which are often deposited between stones, are quite round, with a rather solid, slightly rough, calcareous shell, of a uniform dirty white. M. Duméril has seen these eggs produce the young ones, which were well formed and very nimble. Peculiar Secretions.-The author last named states that he has observed in many species some peculiar organs, sometimes double, sometimes united in a single flattened elongated mass under the abdominal parietes in front of the pubis, in place of a urinary bladder. They appeared to be of a fatty nature, and were sustained in one part by the os pubis, and on the other possessed vascular or membranous single or double prolongations, risin in the thickness of the peritoneum as far as the liver. Though he knows not the office of these organs, he thinks it probable that they may be destined to afford nourishment to the animal in a state of hybernation. The pores of the thighs, &c. secrete a thick humor; and M. Duméril observes that these pores afford no generic character. Habits, Food, &c.-The Geckotidæ are none of them large in size, and the greatest number feed on small animals, such as insects, their larvae and pupa. These they catch either by lying in ambush or by pursuing their feeble prey in the holes and dark crevices to which it retires. The structure of their feet enables them to run in every direction over the smoothest surfaces, and they can even remain suspended beneath the large leaves which a luxuriant tropical vegetation so frequently puts forth. The sharp and retractile nails with which the feet of the greater number are armed enable them to cling to and make rapid progress on trees with the smoothest bark, to penetrate the holes of rocks, and to climb walls. Of sombre or varying colours adapted generally to the locality where their lot is cast, they will often remain for hours in positions as extraordinary as the flies and insects for which they watch, the wonderful apparatus with which their feet is furnished enabling them to overcome the general law of gravity, and without which they would instantly fall to the earth. The hues of their skins thus render them less objects of suspicion to the little animals for which they lie in wait, and also serve to dodge even the acute eye of the bird of prey that seeks to destroy them. Their eyes, as we have seen, enable them to discern objects in the dark, and are at the same time capable of bearing the rays of a bright sun; for many insects are nocturnal or crepuscular, while the great mass of them are diurnal. The pursuit of their prey leads them near the habitations of man, whose dwelling always attracts certain kinds of insects, and they sometimes fall victims to their appearance, which frequently inspires terror, and often disgust. A Gecko, confident in his powers of flight, appears boldly to await his adversary, and his sudden disappearance at a nearer approach adds to the horror which his uncouth form inspires. The poor Geckos too have a bad name. They are supposed to poison whatsoever they touch, be it animate or inanimate, and their saliva is said to vex the skin of those on whom it falls with foul eruptions. Many of these cuticular irritations, when they have actually existel from the intervention of these animals, may have arisen from the extremely sharp claws of a Gecko running over a sleeping man, or small blisters may have been raised by the adherent apparatus at the bottom of its feet. Geographical Distribution.-The form is found in all the four quarters of the globe, and is widely distributed in warm climates. In this distribution Europe, as far as observation has yet gone, claims by far the fewest number. Two species only have yet been found in this quarter of the globe, and even these are common to the northern coasts of Africa. The Prince of Musignano has noticed them in the Fauna Italica,' under the names of Ascalabotes Mauritanicus and Hemidactylus triedrus. The former is a Platydactylus of Duméril and others. In Asia the greatest number are found: thirteen species are recorded as Asiatic. Africa is said to possess twelve, and America eleven species, as far as researches have hitherto gone. In Australasia and Polynesia there are said to have been found twelve species. M. Duméril, in his Table, gives the following numbers:-In Europe, 2; in Asia, 13; common to both, none. In Africa, 12; in America, 12; common to both, none. In Australasia and Polynesia, 12. Of unknown origin, 4: 55. In addition to the 13 Asiatic species, there is another which is also found in South Africa and in the neighbouring islands. Some of the African species are found also in Madagascar, the Mauritius, and the islands of Seychelles, Teneriffe and Madeira. It is not clear that Mr. Gray's genus Gehyra, which he characterizes from a Gecko found in an island of the Pacific Ocean, is included in this enumeration. Besides the species which Mr. Gray describes in the Zool. Proc.' (1834), he alludes to the probability of two other species, one in the British Museum, and another in the Muséuni d'Histoire Naturelle, at Paris. = SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT, &c. There can be little doubt that the 'Ασκαλαβώτης of Aristotle and of the Greeks generally was a Gecko. Aristophanes and Theophrastus, as Gesner has shown, speak of those lizards which the Italians called Tarentola, whose bodies were short and thick, and which clambered about the walls in the interior of their edifices for the purpose of catening spiders, on which they fed, under the names of Ascalabotes and Galeotes. That the Stellio of Pliny was no other than a Gecko, Schneider has shown. Linnæus placed the Geckos under his great genus Lacerta, and recorded but three species (1766). Laurenti (1768) seems to have been the first modern who established the Geckos as a genus. Gmelin (1789-13th edit. of Syst. Nat.) introduced a section in the genus Lacerta, consisting of five species, under the name of Gekkones, and the term Gecko was used as a generic appellation for these Saurians by Lacépède (1790), Schneider (1797), Cuvier (1798), and Brongniart (1801). Daudin (1803) divided the genus Gecko into three sec. tions, taking for the basis of his division the number and connexion of the toes, the form of the tail, and the disposition of the scales. These sections consisted of the Geckos properly so called, the Geckottes, and the Geckos with a flat tail. M. Duméril, who has written so much and so well on this subject, and to whose writings we are so much indebted, states that in 1806 he profited by the foregoing works, and established in the Zoologie Analytique and in his public lectures the genus Uroplatus (1806), and he says that Oppel, in his Prodromus (1811), established the family Geckotida after his (Duméril's) indications. M. Duméril, who established also the genus Urotornus, adopts in great measure the system of Cuvier, and separates the Geckotide into two great divisions, each embracing subdiVisions. These divisions take the structure of the toes for their basis; the first consisting of those Geckotidae which have dilated toes; the second of those whose toes are not dilated. The subdivisions depend upon the variation in the structure of the lower part of the toes. The genera areAscalabotes, Platydactylus, Hemidactylus, Ptyodactylus, Thecadactylus, Stenodactylus, and Gymnodactylus (1836). Cuvier (1817-1829) placed these Saurians under his great genus Gecko, which he divided into the following sungenera:-Platydactylus, Hemidactylus, Thecadactylus, Piyodactylus, Sphæriodactylus; at the same time arranging those Geckos which have retractile claws, but slender or rather not enlarged toes, in three groups, under the names of Stenodactylus, Gymnodactylus, and Phyllura, the latter embracing those with a horizontally-flattened, foliated tail. Merrem (1820) places the Geckos in the 1st tribe (Gradiertia) of the class Pholidoti. The sub-tribe Ascalabotes, according to him, embraces the Iguanida, as well as Geckos. M. Latreille (1801-1825) seems to have adopted the views and descriptions of Lacépède in the first instance, and not to have gone much beyond a change of nomenclature in the last work published by him. M. Fitzinger (1826) makes his Ascalabotöids consist of the genera Sarrubus, Uroplatus, Ptyodactylus, Hemidactylus, Thecadactylus, Ptychozoon, Platydactylus, Ascalabotes, Stenodactylus, and Phyllurus. Mr. Gray (1827-1834) arranges the following genera under the family Geckotida:-Hemidactylus, Platydacty lus, Gecko, Pteropleura, Thecadactylus, Ptyodactylus, Phyllurus, Eublepharis, Cyrtodactylus, Phyllodactylus, Diplodactylus (vol. ix., p. 11), and Gehyra. Wagler (1830), under the family name of Platyglossi, makes the Geckotida consist of the following genera:Ptychozöon (Kuhl), Crossurus (Wagler-Uroplatus of Duméril in part), Rhacöessa (Wagler-one of Duméril's Uroplati). Thecadactylus (Cuvier), Platydactylus (Cuvier), Anoplopus (Wagler), Hemidactylus (Cuvier), Ptyodactylus (Cuvier), Sphæriodactylus (Cuvier), Ascalabotes (Lichtenstein), Eublepharis (Gray), Gonyodactylus (Kuhl), and Gymnodactylus (Spix). Dr. Cocteau (1835) arranges the Geckos in six divisions. 1, Platydactylus, containing five subdivisions, represented in part by Anoplopus of Wagler, Phelsuma (Cocteau), Pachydactylus (Wiegmann), Ptychozoon (Kuhl), and Pteropleura (Gray); with others resting principally upon the absence or presence of pores before the cloaca, and the development of the claws; 2, those Geckos which correspond to Thecadactylus of Cuvier; 3, Hemidactylus; 4, comprehending Ptyodactylus (Uroplatus, Dumeril, Rhacoessa, Wagler, Crossurus, Wagler); 5, Sphæriodactylus, comprehending Diplodactylus, Gray, and Phyllodactylus, Gray; 6, Stenodactylus, (Eublepharis, Gonyodactylus, Gymnodactylus, Cyrtodactylus, Pristurus, Phyllurus). M. de Blainville ('Nouvelles Annales du Muséum,' April, 1836) places the family of Geckos at the head of the family of Saurophians. The species forming the genus Platydactylus of Cuvier he designates as Geckos; those ranging under Hemidactylus as Demi-Geckos; the Ptyodactyli as Tiers-Geckos; the Stenodactyli as Quart-Geckos; and the Gymnodactyli as Sub-Geckos. The following cuts will convey an idea of the form of some of the Geckotida : The student who wishes to follow out the natural history of this family of Saurians should consult the works of Aldrovandi, Aristotle, Bonaparte (Prince of Musignano), Brongniart, Creveldt, Cuvier, Duméril, Edwards, Eichvald, Feuillée, Flacourt, Geoffroy, Gesner, Gmelin, Gray, Hermann, Houttuyn, Knorr, Kuhl, Lacepède, Latreille, Lesson, Lichtenstein, Linnæus, the Prince of Neuwied, Oppel, Osbeck, Pallas, Perrault, Pisa, Pliny, Rafinesque, Risso, Rüppel, Ruysch, Schneider, Schinz, Seba, Sparmann, Spix, Tilesius, Wagler, White, Wiegmann, and Wormius. GEDDES, ALEXANDER, LL.D., was born at Arradowl, in the parish of Ruthven and county of Banff, in Scotland, in A D. 1737. His parents, who were in humble circumstances, were enabled, by the kindness of the laird of the village, to give their son a respectable education. After spending seven years at Scalan, a Roman Catholic seminary in the Highlands, he was removed at the age of twenty-one to the Scotch college in Paris, where he diligently studied theology, and made himself master of most of the modern European languages. On his return to Scotland he resided for some time in the house of the Earl of Traquaire; and, after paying another visit to Paris, he accepted, in 1769, the charge of a Catholic congregation at Auchinhalrig in the county of Banff, where he remained for ten years, beloved by his people, and attentive to the duties of his station. He had resolved-in the early years of his life to make a new 6 translation of the Bible into the English language, for the use of the Roman Catholics; but pecuniary difficulties prevented him during his residence at Auchinhalrig from obtaining the necessary books. On his removal to London, in 1779, he was introduced to Lord Petre, who warmly approved of his purpose, and engaged to allow him 2007. ayear for his life, and to procure for him all the works that he considered requisite. Thus encouraged he published, in 1780, a pamphlet under the title of an Idea of a new version of the Holy Bible, for the use of the English Catholics,' in which he proposed to make the Vulgate the basis of his new translation. This plan being afterwards abandoned, he resolved to make an entirely new translation from the Hebrew and Greek; for if he had adopted the former method, he stated that he must have been perpetually confronting the Vulgate with the originals, and very often correcting it by them; or presented his readers with a very unfair and imperfect representation of the sacred text.' In accomplishing this work, his first object was directed to obtaining an accurate text, and no labour was spared by this indefatigable scholar to render the translation as complete as possible. He consulted the most eminent biblical scholars of the day, among whom were Dr. Kennicott, and Dr. Lowth, the bishop of London, who assisted him with their advice. The prospectus, which contained an account of his plan, was published in 1786; this was soon followed by a letter to the |