104 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol.. XIX, 



I. Gravid uterus and embryos of GARCINE IN DIG A. 



In January, 1919, while collecting at Pun, I secured a 

 gravid specimen of A^. indica measuring 31 cm. in length. On 

 dissection the specimen was found to contain four embryos in its 

 uterus. 



The uterus shows certain peculiarities. The entire inner surface 

 is covered with spatulate villi-like trophonemata (pi. vii, fig. 4). 

 The covering of trophonemata is so thick that no part of the uterine 

 wall is to be seen between them. In a square inch of the wall of 

 the preserved uterus 198 villi were counted. A t5^pical trophonema 

 (pi. vii , fig. 5) is spatulate, and measures 7 mm. in length with an 

 average width of 2 mm. near the tip and 0*5 ram. near the base. 

 Examined under the microscope (pi. vii, fig. 6) the marginal arterial 

 loop and the thick plexus of capillaries all over the surface is 

 distinctly to be made out. 



Structures of this type have been described for a number of 

 Indian Batoids originall37^ by Wood Mason and Alcock ' and later by 

 Alcock ' ; to the two authors we also owe the very appropriate name 

 of '* trophonemata." I do not propose going into the histological 

 details of these structures, as these have been admirably described 

 b3" Brinckmann ^ and Widakowich * ; further, the material at my 

 disposal would not permit my going into these details. It is, how- 

 ever, of interest to note that the trophonemata of this species 

 greatly resemble those of Torpedo ocellata, described by Brinkmann. 

 It may also be mentioned that the uterus was full of a yellowish 

 milk-like secretion in which the embryos were enclosed. 



But for the embr3'os of Torpedo marmoraia described by De 

 Sanctis^ in fair detail, no good description of Torpedinid embryos 

 has been published. De Sanctis in his valuable paper divides the 

 embryos into five stages : — 



(i) Embrione squaliforme, opleurotrema, 



(2) Embrione Rai forme, oipotrcma, 



(3) Embrione Torpediforme ad archi inconipleti , 



(4) Embrione topedinetta hiana ad archi compleii, and 



(5) Embrione topedinetta macchiata e seuza fllli esterni branchiali. 

 The specimens (pi. vii, figs. 7, 8) described below are of interest 

 in that they belong to a stage intermediate between stages 4 and 

 5 of De Sanctis. 



Disc ovoid, incomplete, owing to anterior region of pectorals 

 not having iv\\y developed and fused with the disc. Snout 

 prominent, knob-like, rounded at the end. Nostrils small. 

 Anterior narial valves quite separate from one another, not having 

 fused as 5^et ; posterior valves ver}^ small and not fully developed. 

 Mouth small, nearly straight, protruding above the surface and 



1 Proc. Roy. Soc. London XIJX, p. 363 (1891). 



2 Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (6), X, pp. 4, 5 (1S92). 



S Mitt. Zool. Stat. Neapel XV'I, pp. 365-408, pis. xii-\iv (I903-I904^>. 

 * Zeitschr. Wiss. Zool. LXXXVIII, pp. 499-545, pis. xxx, xxxi (1907). 

 ^ Atti R. Accad. Sci. Fis. Mat. Napoli V, pp. 1-62, pis. i-iv (.1873). 



