Cephalic Appendages Research Articles

On Microstrongylus genetiæ gen. and sp. nov., a Trichostrongyle Parasite of Genetta senegalensis

A Considerable number of specimens of this parasite were collected from the small intestine of a genette which died in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London.The cuticle of the cephalic extremity is dilated anteriorly. This swelling is terminated posteriorly by the cuticle incurving to meet a raised ring on the body-wall, about the level of the junction of the anterior and second fifths of the œsophagus. There are no cervical papillæ present, and it is probable that this ring may be regarded as replacing them. Just anterior to the middle of the œsophageal region and at the level of the excretory pore is a cervical groove which completely encircles the body. Laterally the cuticle on the anterior margin is thickened; it is also thickened on the ventral side, but less so than laterally. These thickenings are reinforced by a granular inclusion in the cuticle. The posterior margin is thickened only in the region of the excretory pore.

Scientific Serials

Bulletins de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris, tome 9ème, 3ème fascic. 1886.—On the relations between the organs of touch and smell, by Dr. Fauvelle. In this paper the author considers the proposition advanced by M. Pozzi that the attitude of an animal is always in accord with the exercise of its predominant organ of sense. On this assumption the biped station would be the consequence of the predominance of vision over smell, and the attitude of quadrupeds the result of the relatively higher development of their sense of smell. In refutation of this view the writer argues that the relations between the organs of sight and smell in bipeds and quadrupeds are the result, rather than the cause, of their different stations, while he shows that wherever in the animal series the organs of sight would seem to have lost their importance in proportion to the development of the sense of smell the latter is aided by delicate organs of touch situated on those parts of the body which form its anterior side when moving forward. Thus in the vertebrates all the organs of the senses are situated at the cephalic extremity of the body.—On a woman with a tail. The case, reported by M. Melikoff, was observed by Dr. Eliséeff, of St. Petersburg, author of an interesting work on men with tails. According to the statement of the woman, who suffered great pain from her caudal appendage, a similar abnormality had been observed in several female members of her family, in all of whom it had appeared between the ages of 12 and 17 years. Dr. Eliséeff refers this formation to embryogenic causes, such as an arrest of development in the fœtus, and observes that such cases are more frequent in males than in females, the latter, according to him, presenting a much more advanced corporeal development than men.—A case of double uterus, by Dr. Landowski.—On short-tailed dogs, by M. Duval.—Observations on the crania of several insane subjects, by M. Manouvrier.—On the weight of Gambetta's brain, by M. Duval. This paper, and the discussion to which it gave rise, are especially interesting from the new light which they throw on the assumed relations between the large volume of the brain and intellectual capacity, the weight of Gambetta's being only 1160 grammes, or, according to M. Duval, 1246 after making all possible allowance for accidental diminution by faulty methods of preparation, while the mean for persons not gifted with more than ordinary intelligence is 1360 grammes.—On a new variation of the ossa wormiana, by M. Manouvrier.—A case of pilosity in a young Laotian girl, by Dr. Fauvelle.—On acclimatisation in reference to French colonisation, by Dr. Fauvelle.—On the anthropological characteristics of the Indo-Chinese peoples, by Dr. Maurel.—On the origin of the bronze and tin of prehistoric times, by Mme. Clémence Royer. The writer believes that Europe supplied the sources whence bronze implements were fabricated by early man, while M. Mortillet considers that both the material and the production of the weapons, ornaments, and other objects of this kind which belong to prehistoric times must be referred to India and the Far East.—Enumeration of the megalithic remains of Nièvre, by Dr. Jacquinot. The number of such remains in the whole of France, as certified by official inquiry, amounts to 6310, of which thirty-five belong to Nièvre. Among these special interest attaches to the horizontal slabs of Saint Agnan, which Dr. Jacquinot considers to have been altars for human sacrifices.—Summary of the answers given by New Caledonians to the interrogatories of the Society of Sociology and Ethnography, by M. Moncelon. These answers supply interesting materials for the ethnographic study of these races, and show the importance of following a definite plan in pursuing such inquiries.—Anthropological observations of the Khmer tribes of Cambodia, by Dr. Maurel. The writer, who supplies numerous anthropometric measurements, believes that these peoples belong to the Mongolian group.

The Cephalic Appendages of the Gymnosomatous Pteropoda, and especially of Clione

ABSTRACT Eschricht formerly made known, on the three pairs of cephaloconi (“Kopfkegel”) of Clione borealis, some structures which he described and represented as real suckers; at the same time he drew attention to the analogy of their situation with that of the suckers of the Cephalopoda.1

On a Stalk-eyed Crustacean from the Carboniferous Strata near Paisley

In a paper published in the Geological Society's ‘Journal’ (vol. xiii. p. 363, 1857), I described several specimens of a Stalk-eyed Crustacean, from rocks of Carboniferous age, to which I applied the generic name of Pygocephalus , referring the genus to either the Decapodous or Stomapodous group of the Class. My friend and colleague, Mr. Geikie, F.G.S., has been so good as to draw my attention to what I believe to be another specimen of the same Crustacean, obtained by the Rev. Mr. Fraser, M.A., from one of the coal and ironstone mines in the Strath of the Clyde, about two miles from Paisley, in dark shale*, and, by the obliging permission of its owner, has placed it in my hands for examination and description. I say, I believe the new fossil to be another specimen of Pygocephalus , because, in consequence of the different position in which the present specimen is imbedded in the matrix, a strict comparison with the others is almost impossible; and my determination is based rather on general analogy of the forms than on a complete identification. While the other specimens presented a view of the ventral surface, this shows the lateral aspect of the animal, exhibiting a sideview of the carapace, of the thoracic and some of the cephalic appendages, and of the large and curved abdomen. The carapace, the lateral surface of which is convex from above downwards, is narrow and apparently truncated in front, but deep behind, its postero-inferior angle being somewhat produced, but

Brief sketch of the anatomy of a new genus of pelagic gasteropoda, named Jasonilla

This communication refers to a remarkable genus of pelagic Gasteropoda, characterized, like Macgillivraya and Cheletropis , by the presence of ciliated cephalic appendages, but having, as in the present instance, a beautifully transparent, cartilaginous and perfectly symmetrical shell. the author has seen but one species, which was frequently taken between Port Jackson and the Isle of Pines.

On the development of the retina and optic nerve, and of the membranous labyrinth and auditory nerve

The author has divided the observations contained in this paper into two parts:—the first of which treats of “The Development of the Retina and Optic Nerve; the second, of the Development of the Membranous Labyrinth and Auditory Nerve.” In the observations on the development of the retina, which have been made on the embryo of the chick, the author demonstrates its mode of evolution, and also the mode of development of the various layers of which this membrane is formed. They commence at the early period of the thirty-third hour of incubation, at which time the cephalic extremity of the embryo presents a slight protrusion of its walls, which by the thirty-sixth hour is very considerably increased, having become more elongated and protruded outwards, presenting a somewhat dilated end, and being somewhat constricted at its connection with the anterior cerebral cell from which it arises. This is the first indication of the development of this membrane.