288 FRESH FACTS [october 1899 



four in a row. The content of the thymus is a connective tissue meshwork 

 with included leucocytes, besides Hassall's corpuscles, and sometimes line 

 capillaries. 



The Saurian Diaphragm. F. Hochstetter. " Ueber partielle und 

 totale Scheidewandbildung zwischen Pleurahohle und Peritonealhohle bei 

 einigen Sauriern," Morph. Jahrb. xxvii. 1899, pp. 263-298, 1 pi. and 6 figs. 

 The question has often been raised whether the mammalian diaphragm — the 

 diaphragma dorsale — is a distinct and independent structure. Goette and 

 others have contributed to the answer. In the paper before us Herr 

 Hochstetter shows from studies of Stellio vulgaris, Lacerta agilis, and other 

 lizards, that there are Anlagen present which furnish adequate basis for the 

 evolution of the mammalian structure, and also for the very different diaphragm 

 of embryo-birds. 



Green Pigments. Marion I. Newbigin. " On the affinities of the 

 enterochromes," Zool. Anzeig. xxii. 1899, pp. 325-328. While acid acts on an 

 alcoholic extract of green leaves in such a way as to produce the pigment 

 phyllocyanin, which is insoluble in alcohol and ether, its action on an alcoholic 

 extract of green Algae results in the production of a pigment which is 

 exceedingly soluble in alcohol, and does not therefore precipitate from acidified 

 alcoholic solutions unless a considerable amount of water be added. In its 

 colour and fluorescence, in its spectrum, in its changes in colour and spectrum 

 on the addition of acid, in its solubilities, the pigment shows a remarkable 

 resemblance to the enterochromes. This resemblance is such that, taken in 

 conjunction with the recent observations and conclusions of Dr. M'Munn in the 

 case of " enterochlorophyll," and with the fact that that pigment occurs in the 

 faeces of Patella, it seems to justify the conclusion that "enterochlorophyll" at 

 least is an acid derivative of chlorophyll, produced by the action of the 

 digestive juices on the chlorophyll of the food. Whether the other enterochromes, 

 and notably chaetopterin, are produced in the same way, cannot as yet be 

 determined. There can, however, be no doubt that the enterochromes are at 

 least closely related to the pigment produced by the action of acid on the 

 chlorophyll of green Algae. 



Wanderings of Warbles. P. Koorevaar. " The larval stage of Hypo- 

 derma bovis," Ann. Nat. Hist. iv. 1899, pp. 69-73. Translated by E. E. 

 Austen from Tijdschrift der Nederlandsche Dierkundige Ver. v. 1898, pp. 

 29-34. Various experiments intended to throw light on the obscure corners of 

 this life-history have led Mr. Koorevaar to the opinion that the young larvae of 

 Hypoderma bovis at first pass beneath the skin ; and thence betake themselves 

 to the spinal canal and other places, to return later into the subcutis, and there 

 undergo further development under the well-known conditions. 



Luminous Organs. Leopold Johann. " Ueber eigentkumliche epi- 

 theliale Gebilde (Leuchtorgane) bei Spinax niger," Zeitschr. wiss. Zool. lxvi. 

 1899, pp. 136460, 2 pis. and 1 fig. Brown or black spots on the skin of this 

 fish turn out to be luminous organs. Their origin is like that of skin-glands ; 

 their elements are differentiated as luminous cells and lens-cells ; their lumin- 

 osity was observed by Dr. Th. Beer. 



A Strange Creature brought to Light. Charles Minor Black- 

 ford. "A Curious Salamander," Nature, lx. 1899, pp. 389-390, 2 figs. 

 [Letter]. From an artesian well, sunk 188 feet in limestone, near San Marcos 

 in Texas, various white and blind crustaceans have been obtained. Even more 

 striking, however, is a salamander, believed to represent a new genus and 

 species. It has been named Typhlomolge ratlibuni. It is from 3 to 4| inches 

 in length, and dingy white in colour, except on the external gills where the red 

 blood shines through. The eyes are completely covered by the skin, but are 

 seen from the outside as two black specks. 



