500 DUNN. 



hither and thither, and the males especially make a quivering motion 

 with their tails. Finally after ten to twenty hours the females lay 

 the folded spindle-shaped jelly masses. Then the males swim once 

 more hither and thither over the strings of eggs (egg sacks), and it 

 looks as if they squirted out semen over the jelly masses. 



" In most cases only one end of this spindle-shaped string sticks fast 

 to a stone, rock or branch dipping into the water, on the base of a tree, 

 or on grass, while the other end is free in the water and can move up or 

 down according to the water level. If the water almost dried up, I 

 often saw the string hanging from a stone or a twig. 



"Unfortunately, I have not yet absolutely determined whether the 

 spermatophore of the male is taken up by the cloaca of the female or 

 whether fertilization takes place in some other way, for the act took 

 place at night. However, it is indisputable that the union of sperm and 

 egg takes place in the water and outside the body of the female. . . . 

 I believe that the sperm of Hynobius either remains only a short time 

 in the female cloaca and enters the egg capsule at the moment of egg- 

 laying, or that the sperm is emitted by the male directly over the eggs 

 after they have been laid. The sperm must be emitted by the males 

 shortly after the egglaying, for two hours after the eggs were laid I 

 could observe the attraction cone on the surface of the egg, which is the 

 first indication of the union of sperm and egg. 



"A brooding habit by the male ... is not seen in Hynobius. Both 

 males and females, shortly after the completion of the spawning, crawl 

 back on land. 



' The egg sack is a spindle-shaped outer layer about 17 cm. long, in 

 which the eggs, each protected by its own capsules, and numbering 

 about 50, are kept. A few hours after the egglaying, it is slim, folded, 

 and has an opalescent appearance. But there is no curling. Pres- 

 ently it begins to swell, for the egg capsule increases much in size by 

 inhibition of water, so that after 3-5 davs one can hardly see anv folds. 

 This strains the egg sack and the free end curls up. Then it has a 

 thick, skein-like appearance. After a few more days fine particles of 

 dust settle on the jelly mass, and it takes on a dirty light yellow 

 color. 



" If it does not rain for a long time and the water in the pond dries up, 

 the sack lies on the bottom and the outer layer dries but the eggs in 

 it do not die immediately, but live quite a while, (10-15 days) without 

 taking harm, and continue developing, because there is plenty of water 

 in the real egg capsule. 



" In most cases the end of the egg sack is stuck to some object. . . . 



