294 



THE CEPHALOPODA. 



^ 258, 



TheEg2;s, at tlieir escape from the ovary, are oval, and have a yellow, or 

 rose-colored vitellus, containing a germinative vesicle and dot. 



The vitelline membrane has transverse and longitudinal folds on its 

 internal surface, which extend into the vitellus, — giving the eggs a 

 reticulated aspect. '^^ 



The Spermatic particles are very active, of a cercarian, or a simply 

 capillary form, and, as a whole, give the sperm a white color. Those of a 

 cercarian form are proper to the Loligina, and consist of a cylindrical 

 body to which is rather abruptly attached a small and pretty long tail.'-> 

 Those of a capillary form are found with the •■ >roda, not only with thft 

 males of Octopus and Eledone, but also with Hectocui.ijiusß^ 



§ 258. 



The Ovary, always simple, is situated, at the base of the sac of th& 

 mantle, in a solid envelope (ovarian capsule) of a round or oblong form, 

 and derived from the peritoneum. At its circumscribed point the proper 

 ovary commences as a multi-lobulated body filling its cavity. ^^' The eggs, 

 ■which are developed in the parenchyma of these lobes, appear first as round 

 prominences ; they gradually increase, and, finally, are attached to the ovary 

 only by a small peduncle. At this epoch the ovary furnishes them with a thin 

 envelope (egg-capsule), through which, in the mature eggs, the reticulated 

 folds of the vitelline membrane can be seen.^-^ When the eggs are fully 

 matured, their capsules burst, and they fall into the ovarian capsule, after 

 which, their proper capsules fade and finally disappear. <''' From the ovarian 

 capsule they pass into the oviduct through an infundibuliform opening ; but, 

 beside this opening, some Octopoda have also two others belonging to an 

 aquiferous canal, and which, perhaps, play an important part in the fecunda- 

 tion of the eggs.**' The oviduct is simple, or double, and extends directly 

 in front opening at the base of the funnel near the rectum. With Argo- 

 nauta, and Treinoctopus, alone, the two female genital orifices are situated. 



1 See Kbllilrer, Entwickelunssi^esch. &c. p. 1, 9, 

 Taf. I. fig. 9-12. These longitudinal and transverse 

 folds have been observed in the eggs of Sepia and 

 Sepiola ; the longitudinal only are found in those 

 of Argonauta, Treinoctopus., Octopus, Eledone, 

 kc. 



'■i See my Beitrage z. Naturgeschichte d. wir- 

 bell. Thiere, in the Neuesten Schrift, d. naturforsch. 

 Gesellsch. in Danzig. III. 1839, Kft. II. p. 54, Taf. 

 II. fig. 47 {LoUso) ; Milne Edwards, Ann. d. So. 

 Nat. XVIII. 1S42, p. 337, PI. XII. fig. 6, PI. XIII. 

 fig. 7 t^Loli^o and Sepia), and Peters, in MiUler^s 

 Arch. 1S42, p. 334, Taf. XVI. fig. 14 {Sepiola). 



It is easy to observe the development of the 

 spermatic particles in the testicles. According to 

 my observations, the daughter-cells in the mother- 

 cells, are developed into as many spermatic parti- 

 cles the tails of which rupture one of the thin sides 

 of the mother-cell. 



3 Milne Edwards (loc. cit. PI. Xin. fig. 11, PI. 



XIV. fig. 5), has erroneously figured the spermatic 

 particles of Octopus and Eledone with a very 

 large body ; for it is only a small button-like en- 

 largement ; see Valentin, Uepert. 1837, p. 140, 

 and Phili/ipi, in Midler's Arch. 1839, p. 3U3, Taf. 



XV. fig. 11. This last has represented the tail of 

 that of Eledone too short. 



I have found the si)ermatic particles of Hecto- 

 cotylus tremoclopodis to be e.xactly like those of 

 £Udone. 



1 Cuvier, Mem. p. 31, PI. IV. fig. 6, a. b., Van 

 Beneden, loc. cit. PI. V. fig. 2, a.; Delle Cliiaje, 

 Descriz. Tav. XIV.-XVI., and Grant, Trans, of the 

 Zool. Soc. I. PI. II. fig. 9 (Octopus, Argonauta, 

 Eledone, LoUso, and LoUgopsis). 



■■! Delle Cliiaje, Descriz. Tav. XV. fig. 15, and 

 Kolliker, Entwick. &c. Taf. I. fig. 9 (Sepia): 

 Carus, Eriauterungstaf. lift. V. Taf. II. fig. » 

 (Eledone). 



3 With Sepia, the dehiscence produces a rent with 

 irregular borders (Külliker, loc. cit. p. 13) ; with 

 Rossia, and Sepiola, a simple round o))ening. 

 which, with Nautilus, according to a figure of 

 Owen's, has crenulate borders, and, according to 

 Delle Cliiaje, is regularly denticulated with Ele- 

 done ; see Grant, Transact, loc. cit. I. p. 84, PI. 

 XI. fig. 12, and Owen, Ibid. II. PI. XXI. fig. 18, 

 also. On the Nautilus, p. 42, PI. VIII. fig. 9, c. c, 

 or Isis, p. 35, Taf. III. or Ann. d. Sc. Nat. p. 142, 

 PI. XV. fig. 9, c. c, and Delle Ckiaje, lue. cit. Tav. 

 LV. (3) fig. 15. 



4 These two aquiferous canals form a communica- 

 tion between the ovarian capsules and the aquifer- 

 ous cells surrounding the branchial hearts (§ 250). 

 They are found with Octopus, Eledone, and 7'/"e- 

 moctopus ; see Kroirn, in Mailer's Arch. 1839, p. 

 357 ; KOllilcer, Entwick. &c. p. 11, and Delle 

 Cliiaje, Descriz. Tav. XV. fig. 1, q. (Treinocto- 

 pus). 



