A CASE OF HERMAPHRODITISM IN SPELERPES 



BISLINEATUS. 



CATHARINE LINES CHAPIN, A.M. 

 DEMONSTRATOR IN ZOOLOGY, SMITH COLLEGE, NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



Hermaphroditism among Anura seems to be comparatively 

 common. Ecker and Wiedersheim's "Anatomic des Frosches," 

 as revised by Gaupp, devotes several pages to the subject, 

 dividing it into various types, the most common being that in 

 which the glands are essentially male with female elements. 



Miss King ('10) in her paper on anomalies in the genital 

 organs of toads, says: "Evidently hermaphroditism occurs 

 much less frequently among the Urodela than among the Anura, 

 as only two cases have as yet been reported for this group of 

 Amphibians. La Valette St. George ('95) has given a brief 

 description of a case of hermaphroditism in Triton tceniatus 

 and Knappe ('86) has noted the presence of a Bidder's Organ 

 in a young salamander; neither investigator gives any details 

 regarding the structure of the ovo-testes in these forms." 



Knappe mentions Triton also in his investigations but seems 

 to have found a Bidder's Organ only in a two-year-old Sala- 

 mandra maculata. Concerning the frequency of occurrence of 

 hermaphroditic salamanders, La Valette St. George says: "Fur 

 die Urodelen liegen, soviel mir bekannt, noch keine Angaben 

 iiber Zwitterbildung vor. 



"Spengel will solche niemals angetroffen haben, obgleich 

 er zahlreiche Salamander und Tritonen zerlegt und allein von 

 Triton cristatus iiber 100 mannliche Individuen untersucht hat." 



While collecting data concerning the spermatogenesis and 

 age of attainment of sexual maturity of Spelerpes bislineatiis l 

 I found that a series of sections through the testes of a 46 mm. 



1 Although this species has long been called bilineatus, Dr. Green in his origi- 

 nal description of it (Jour. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phila. Vol. I, Pt. II, 1818) gave it the 

 name of Salamandra bislineata. With the change in generic name the masculine 

 ending was adopted and the species is correctly Spelerpes bislineatus. 



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