(382 i>r- HAKRIS tl. WtLDEË, 



relative age of the laryngeal and tracheal cartilages, Wiedersheim 

 has already declared that: „Die in diesem Kehlkopfgerüste auftreten- 

 den Knorpel sind als die phyletisch ältesten hyalinen Stützelemente 

 des gesammten Respirationsapparates zu betrachten. Die Knorpel- 

 elemeute der Trachea und der Bronchien, welche phyletisch 

 jüngere Bildungen repräsentiren, sind offenbar erst in Folge einer all- 

 mählichen Verlängerung des Luftrohres und der daraus folgenden 

 Nothwendigkeit, durch Stützelemente ein präexistirendes Lumen zu 

 gewinnen, entstanden" (T. 290). 



With reference to the primordial muscular ring, although unfortu- 

 nately, upon purely theoretical grounds, one may be permitted to 

 suggest that the connective tissue raphes may represent more primitive 

 myoconimata and that the arytenoid cartilages were originally gill 

 arches, the medial portions of which still persist as the peculiar 

 branching processes at the posterior end of the 2"'' basibranchial. The 

 fact that these processes exhibit great individual variation is an in- 

 dication of a previous functional significance. I hope later to find 

 opportunity to investige these points, and may eventually be in a con- 

 dition to otter something more than theory regarding them. 



VII. The Nose. 



A. The Nasal Capsule. 



Preparation. On account of the rarity of this animal a de- 

 tailed anatomical account of the nose and its capsule has never been 

 given. 



CuviER, the first investigator of the subject, describes and figures 

 with great care, the bones of the skull, but as he undoubtedly worked 

 only with macerated specimens, the delicate cartilaginous parts are 

 not given. 



From that time on, no one attempted anything farther in this 

 direction until 1877 when Wiedersheim, although being able to obtain 

 but one specimen, described and figured both the osseous and carti- 

 laginous parts of the skull. With regard to the nasal capsule, however, 

 he says: „Nirgends machte sich mir der Mangel an genügendem Material 

 so sehr fühlbar, wie bei der Darstellung der direct unter der 

 Haut gelegenen, kolbig aufgetriebenen Nasenkapseln." Then follows 

 a partial description if the nasal cartilage as far as could be made 

 out by a macroscopic preparation of this difficult part, at the close 

 of which he says, referring to a figure: „Auf dieser Abbildung ist die 



