608 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884. 



recoguize-tl, but it ls supposed tbat " its center is perhaps represented by 

 the small rounded mass of cells which lies on the anal side of the an- 

 terior wall of the pharynx." Spermatoblasts are '' derived from the re- 

 peated su'.-divisiou of the spermatophores, but they do not form roande<l 

 or oval mass.es of regularly arranged cells placed on a nutrient blasto- 

 phore"; when they become converted into spermatozoa they are at first 

 l)yriform, and only later does tbe tail arise at the narrow end and become 

 of some length. The histolysis of the digestive tract was investigated, 

 and to the brown body is attributed a nutrient function. The cystid and 

 polypid are parts of a single individual, as is proved by the history of 

 the process of germination as well as by the organization of the complete 

 nutrient animal. 



The perigastric space is regarded as a true ccelon, but the jiolyzoa 

 are claimed to be pseudo-ccelia. [Biol. Centralblatt, iii, pp. 705-721; 



J. R. M. 8. (2), IV, p. 571.) 



Brachiopods. 



Anatomy of Arujiope. — Several species of Argiope have been dissected 

 and studied within the last two years by Dr. A. E. Shipley and Dr. A. 

 Schulgin, the former having worked at Naples on the A. Xeapolitana 

 ?md- A. cu7ieata, -dnd the latter on the A. Koipalevshii. The brachial 

 appendages, to which in typical Terebratulids the gills are attached, 

 are wanting in Argiope. There is, according to Schulgin, a feebly de- 

 veloped subcesophageal ganglion overlooked by Shipley, who mistook 

 the external sensory for the central nervous system. 



The relationships of the Bracbiopods are considered by both authors. 

 Dr. Shipley accepted essentially the views of Professor Gegenbaur. (See 

 S. I. Report for 1883.) Dr. Schulgin thought it " probable that the 

 Polyzoa and. Brachiopoda arose from a side branch or phylum, which 

 also gave rise to Annelids," and they maybe "grouped together under 

 the class of Vermoidea." {Zeitschr. f. Wis. ZooL, v. 41, pp. llG-141, 2 

 pi. ; J. R. M. S. (2), V. 5, pp. 49, 50.) 



MOLLUSKS. 



Acephals. 



A new Classification of Bivalve Shells. — Much dissatisfaction has been 

 expressed with all the current arrangements of the Acephals, or bivalve 

 moUusks, and Dr. M. Neumayr has proposed a new one which he 

 thinks has some advantages compared with the others. The shells are 

 considered from a i)alieoiit()logical point of view, and the data derived 

 from palceoutology being co-ordinated with those obtained from a study 

 of the hinge of the shell, Dr. Neumayr was led to segregate all the 

 known forms into three oiders, all differing from those of his ])redeces- 

 sors, and to which he has given new names. The definitions of the 

 groups, as rendered in English by Dr. von Martens, are as follows : 



" Qrd, 1. Pal^oconch^, or Cryptodonta, Shell thiDj without teeth, 



