320 J- Beaid 



Wheeler in his paragrapli 10 refuses to allow me, cannot bere with 

 safety be employed, for it breaks down entirely, when M. pulvinar is 

 broiigbt into the discussion. And Ibis brings ns to the remaining 

 paragraphs (9 and 10), in which Wheeler (pag. 268 — 269), verv 

 briefly, refers to this speeies. In a foot-note on pag. 289 he says 

 regarding it: — -»M. pulvinar is certainly peculiar in exhibiting two 

 well-marked periods of sexaal maturity during its life-time«. Wheeler 

 believes, that bere also the small males become eonverted into — 

 not bermaphrodites this time but — large feinales! And with at 

 least one such »peculiar« exception in the genus we are asked to 

 acknowledge in Wheeler's views of the protandric hermaphroditism 

 of Myzostoma »a simpler — and I trust also a more satisfactory 

 explanation of the sexual peculiarities of Myzostoma^ than has been 

 given by preeeding authors« ! 



The description, given in pag. 254, and intended to prove, 

 that the males of M, pulvinar become females, carries no con- 

 viction, for it is not shown, that the cells depicted in fig. 49 actually 

 become eggs. But no remarks of mine are necessary; for, apparently 

 since Wheeler's manuscript left bis bands, Prouho (7) has directly 

 challenged bis conclusions, and writes. — »je possedè des coupes 

 d'une jeune feraelle de M. pulvinar de la dimension d'un male pygmée, 

 me montrant, qu'à ce Stade, il y a déjà dimorphisme complet et 

 aucune trace de testicule, je maintiens que le M. pulvinar est bien 

 une espèce dioique avec male pygmée qui reste mfile et pygmée 

 tonte sa vie.« 



And now, in couclusion, what is the present actual state of the 

 whole matter? On grounds, which appeared to me convincing, in 

 1884 I announced, as the facts compelled me to do, the existence 

 of complemental or dwarf-males with hermaphrodites in M. glabrum. 



Since then, though more time has been expended on the question 



and so on.« And thus, it may be added, the fabled Phoenix of old finds its 

 realisation in the Myzostomidse or — in the vivid imagination of a zoologisti 

 To niake the couvse of events a matter of necessity it is only requisite that 

 the oldest individuai A shouid give place to the »junior partner« B as soon 

 as a new corner C enters the gali. That nothing in the above hypothetical 

 course of events has ever been made out is, perhaps, a trifling detail. It is 

 interesting, that even the decomposing body of the »senior« individuai is niade 

 use of as food for the late junior partner — something without exact parallel 

 anywhere else in the animai kingdom! 



