The Columella Auris in Amphibia. 601 



mandibular branch of the seventh nerve (VII) passes above this liga- 

 ment to its distribution, just as it passes above the Columella auris 

 in the frog." 



The real connection of the stilus with the special process of 

 the squamosum^^ {Processus columellaris) he seems to have missed 

 entirely. The reference to Huxley of a recognition of such a 

 connection by Gaupp in the passage quoted above is incorrect. It 

 should be remembered, however, that Huxley's observations were 

 based uj)on minute dissections, in which a strand of fascia could 

 easily be made to assume the appearance of a ligamentous structure, 

 and the obvious passage of the hyomandibular division of the seventh 

 nerve over the columella in the frog and the relation in mammals 

 would incline one a priori to a similar interpretation in urodeles. 

 Wiedersheim appears to have accepted his statement of relations, 

 and without paying special attention to the point, gave as the uni- 

 versal condition in urodeles that the facial nerve passed above the 

 suspensorial connection. Huxley's description doubtless influenced 

 his friend, W. K. Parker,^^ who in several forms described the 

 facial nerve as below the columella, yet sometimes located it above, 

 or was vagTie in his descriptions. 



One result of this study is to show that a "suspensorial connection" 

 does indeed exist, in all save four of the salamanders examined 

 (Diemictylus, Triton, Siren, Batracoseps) the nervus facialis being 

 below and in front (see, however, p. 610). The connection is not 

 primarily with the palatoquadrate, as has been heretofore believed, 

 but with the bone, partly overlying the palatoquadrate and partly 

 over the lateral semicircular canal of the ear, which we have regarded 

 as squamosum. This primary connection of the columella through 



"The correct relation was described subsequently by Cope ('88, '89), Wilder 

 ('03), Driiner ('11), and Kingsbury ('03) ; the relation to the facial nerve, 

 by the last two. 



"Parker, '77 (p. 559), in a footnote says: "Professor Huxley pointed out 

 this anomaly to me, showing me that this ligament cannot correspond to the 

 "suspensorio-stapedial" ligament of Menohranchns (op. cit., p. 192)." The 

 reference is to the squamoso-columellar ligament in Ambystoma, which is, of 

 course, above the facial nerve. See footnote on page 502 for Parker's descrip- 

 tion. 



