FEMALE ORGANS OF CETACEA. 691 



which is common with the vent. The clitoris is short, and does 

 not project beyond the cloacal aperture. In the great Anteater 

 {Myrmecopliaga jubata) the vulva and vent have likewise a com- 

 mon external cloacal outlet. 



387. In Cetacea. The ovaria are narrow and elongate, with 

 the surface frequently fissured so as to appear convoluted : the 

 orifice of the ( pavilion' is rarely fimbriate, but the lining mem- 

 brane is produced into numerous folds, which sometimes project 

 like a short fringe. The uterus is ' bicorn ' with a short body : 

 the lining of the ( cornua ' is longitudinally plicate : the os tinea? 

 is prominent : the surface of the vagina has many complex trans- 

 verse folds. The vulva is a longitudinal fissure, fig. 608, a, anterior 

 to the vent, ib. b : its labia are composed of soft and yielding in- 

 tegument not loaded with oil : a short urogenital tract is marked 

 off by the entry of the urethra upon a longitudinal ridge of the 

 vagina : anterior to the urethra are two folds, like the ' labia 

 minor a,' between which is the clitoris : at the sides of the uro- 

 genital passage are the orifices of ' Malpighian canals.' In Balce- 

 nopttra the peritoneal fold forms a wide and shallow sac beneath 

 the ovary : the oviduct dilates at first, then contracts, and after a 

 short wavy course is continued straight to the corresponding horn 

 of the uterus. The lining membrane of this part is longitudinally 

 plicate ; the folds subside at the beginning of the ' corpus uteri,' 

 but again reappear, and are continued upon broader transverse or 

 circular productions of the lining. The third of these, progres- 

 sively increasing in depth, represents the ( os tinca3:' just beyond 

 this, at the beo-innino; of the vagina, is a semicircular fold, also 



y o o o * * 



multiplicate longitudinally : it is followed by four other trans- 

 verse folds progressively increasing in width : beyond these the 

 longitudinal plica? gradually subside. In Hyperoodon about ten 

 oblong processes surround the entry of the oviduct into the ute- 

 rine horn, into which they project : the uterine body presents a 

 few large smooth ridges and obtuse processes. The ' os tineas ' is 

 divided into five tubercles : about six inches intervene between 

 these and the first transverse fold of the vagina : between these 

 folds the membrane is produced into smaller wavy and longitu- 

 dinal ruga?. In Delphinus delphis and in Phoccena the entry of 

 the oviduct into the uterine horn is not defended by processes of 

 the lining membrane. The longitudinal and transverse produc- 

 tions of the uterine and vaginal inner surfaces resemble those of 



~ 



the Whale. The ' larger folds of the vagina appear like a suc- 

 cession of ora tinea?.' l 



1 xx. vol. iv. p. 175. 



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