48 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



categories " adaptive " and " non-adaptive," the former 

 restricted to certain lines, and the latter more fundamental 

 and widespread. The " non-adaptive " characters have been 

 largely employed for the separation of the major groups. 



Other papers include : " On the Lizards of the Genus 

 Philochortus Matschie " (Proc. Zool. Soc. Feb. 20, 191 7) and 

 " Descriptions of New Lizards of the Family Lacertidce " {Ann. 

 and Mag. Nat. Hist. March 191 7), both by G. A. Boulenger. 



The genitalia of Tupaia are described by Wood Jones 

 (Jour, of Anat. vol. li. Jan. 191 7), who finds that these organs 

 show a mixture of characteristics, some reminiscent of the 

 Metatheria and some suggestive of the Primates. The animal 

 possesses a very long ventral pelvic symphysis, and this affects 

 the length of certain parts of the genital ducts. Little enough 

 is known of these animals, and what there is suggests that 

 they occupy an important position in the mammalian series. 

 Certain muddles in nomenclature have been cleared up by 

 O'Donoghue in " A Note on the Ductus Caroticus and Ductus 

 Arteriosus and their Distribution in the Reptilia " (ibid.). A 

 fresh examination of the conditions in Sphenodon has shown 

 this animal to be quite primitive in respect of its arterial roots. 



Other papers include : " An Easy Way of Demonstrating 

 the Nuclei of Nerve Fibres," by Reburn (Quart. Jour. Micro. 

 Set. vol. lxii. Feb. 1917) ; " Changes in the Composition of the 

 Entire Body of the Albino Rat during the Life-span," by 

 Hatai (Amer. Jour, of Anat. vol. xxi. Jan. 191 7); "Notes 

 on the Species of Cavia " (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. Jan. 191 7), 

 " A New Bat of the Genus Scotoecus " (ibid. March), "A New 

 Species of Aconcemys from Southern Chili " (ibid.), all by 

 Thomas ; and " On the External Characters of the Felidce," by 

 Pocock (ibid. Jan.). 



" The Chromosomes of Human Spermatocytes," now dealt 

 with by Wieman, 1 naturally arouse much interest and have 

 been the subject of many suggestions, including the extra- 

 ordinary one that in white men the number of chromosomes 

 is double that in black men. The ordinary somatic number 

 is apparently twenty-four in both races of men, and two of these 

 are chromosomes forming an X Y pair. In the primary sperma- 

 tocyte twelve bivalent chromosomes appear. The material 

 used was obtained fairly fresh and the results of importance. 



1 Amer.Journ. of Anat. vol. xxi. 1917. 



