Vol. XL VI March, 1924 -Vo. 



BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 



LUTEAL CELLS IN THE GONAM <>1 THE PHALAROPE. 



HARRY B. VOCOM. 

 DEPARTMENT OK ZOOLOGY. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. 







It has been shown by IVurl and Boring (1917, 1918) that there 

 are in the ovary of the domestic fowl certain interstitial eel,- 

 which are in many ways similar to, and which they claim are 

 homologous with the corpus hiteum in mammals. A thorough 

 study has convinced the authors that these cells are a con-tani 

 element in the ovary of all fowls but that they are not found in 

 the testes of normal male fowls. 



Boring and Morgan (1918) made a study of the gonads of both 

 male and female Sebrighl Bantams, a race of fowls in which tin- 

 males and females are feathered alike. They found in both o\ 

 and testis groups of cells like those described by Pearl and Bnrin^ 

 as luteal cells, and ascribed to these so-called luu-al cells the 

 function of influencing the type of feathering. Since luteal cell- 

 are found in tin- ovaries of normal females or hrn-lr.it In-ivd 

 fowls and not in the testes of normal males or cock-feathered 

 birds, but in the testes of hen-feathered Sebriijn Bantam-, they 

 reason that the normal feathering of fo\\l- \\oiild br <>i tin- ni.tlr 

 type were it not for the suppressing influence >t tin- Innnmm-- 

 secreted by the luteal cells. Eurthcr proof in f.i\>r \ the con- 

 tention is obtained from the well known fact- "t .i-iratioii where 

 hen-feathered females assume typical cm k-tV ather- upon the 

 removal of the ovary, and that the hen-feathered inalr Si-bright 

 becomes cock-feathered after the conipk-tr removal it" the testes. 



It has seemed that further evidence concerning tin- (unction of 

 luteal cells might be brought to bear if a hi-ti logical -uidy were 

 made of the gonads of birds otln-r than fo\\]-. ami especially some 

 bird in which the sex differences are rever-ed ; t hat is some race of 



mi 



