Nos. lAND^.] ANATOMY OF SCOMBER SCOMBER. 249 



Auiia; Trigeminus II. R to be the homologue of the anterior, or 

 trigeminal lateral component of the complex of Aniia; and Tri- 

 geminus II. H to be the homologue of the posterior, or facial 

 lateral component of the complex of Aniia, but having certain 

 motor fibers associated with it. The dorsal root of the facialis of 

 Lota seems to be the fasiculus communis component of Amia; and 

 the ventral root of the facialis to be approximately the facial root 

 of Amia. If this be so the roots or stems of the complex in Lota 

 would not differ materially from those in Scomber and Amia. 

 That there is some intermingling of the fibers of the several com- 

 ponents is, however, evident, and my attempt to establish an 

 homology between the three fishes is only intended to be an ap- 

 proximation. Goronowitsch, vmfortunately, does not give a full 

 and definite description of the peripheral distribution of the several 

 branches of the complex, contenting himself not only with what 

 seems to me a much too implicit reliance on the completeness of 

 the work of Stannius and Yetter, but also with what seems to me 

 the mistaken idea that, "Wenig Neues kann demnach eine Bear- 

 beitung des Verlaufes der Hauptaste bringen" (No. 32, p. 35). 

 That a careful study of the course and ultimate distribution of the 

 cranial nerves of fishes can, in the present state of the literature of 

 the subject, have but little morphological importance, and that all 

 important results are to be obtained only by a study of the central 

 origin of the fibers, seems to me certainly an error. To know 

 where a nerve goes, and what it does, is absolutely necessary in 

 all attempts to establish its homologies, and is hence equally as 

 important as to know where it comes from, what character of 

 fibers it contains, or how it is developed. Its peripheral distribu- 

 tion should, in fact, be, first of all, definitely known. 



The Ophthalmicus Superficialis Trigemini {opt) and 

 Ophthalmicus Superficialis Facialis {opf) arise, in Scomber, 

 close together but independently of each other, from the trigemi- 

 nal prolongation of the trigemino-facial ganglionic complex, leav- 

 ing the ganglion either in the trigemino-facial chamber, or imme- 

 diately beyond the trigeminal opening of that chamber. Running 

 upward and forward, as separate nerves, in the hour-glass-shaped 

 depression on the adjoining, orbital faces of the postorbital ossifi- 

 cation and alisphenoid, they reach the ventral surface of the 



