CoGHiLL, Cranial Nerves of Triton. 259 



the motor VII component which enter the m. depressor mandi- 

 bulae. 



After the r. jugularis VII receives the r. communicans it passes 

 around the cephaHc to the lateral border of the m. depressor 

 mandibulae, and gives fibers to this muscle and to the skin. The 

 only possible source for these general cutaneous fibers is the vagus 

 ganglion via r. communicans, since there are no general cutaneous 

 fibers in the roots ot the facial nerve. 



^. Other Branches of the Glossopharyngeus and Vagus. — 

 Druner's descriptions of the other branches of the ninth and 

 tenth nerves are accurate, with the possible exception of his r. 

 "N. cutaneous retrocurrens IX." This nerve, he believes, inner- 

 vates sense organs on the ventral surface of the head. Such a 

 nerve can not be made out with certainty in my preparations, but 

 since the corresponding nerve of Salamandra, according to 

 Druner, disappears during the metamorphosis, it may tend to 

 disappear in the adult of Triton. However, wherever such a 

 nerve may appear the fact should be emphasized that there are no 

 fibers of the lateral line system in the glossopharyngeus of Triton. 

 My preparations are perfectly clear on this point. The "N. 

 cutaneus retrocurrens IX," then, can not be a lateral line nerve, 

 for in my specimens the lateral line organs and nerves are well 

 preserved and stained. 



This nerve is deserving of further study, for if it really inner- 

 vates sense organs it must be a communis nerve, and the presence 

 of taste buds of this system in the skin of Amphibia would be an 

 interesting discovery\ Observations which I have begun on larvae 

 of Triton torosus may contribute something to this subject. 



general discussion. 



I. The Relation of the R. Maxillaris Superior to the R. Pala- 

 tums. — The connective between the r. buccalis and the palatine 

 nerve as I have described it above is of interest when compared 

 with the anastomoses between the corresponding nerves of 

 Amphiuma, as described by Kingsley ('02). But unfortunately 

 this author has not, in his treatment of this nerve, differentiated 

 the lateral line and cutaneous components, that is to say, the r. 

 buccalis and r. maxillaris; although he says the maxillaris superior 

 "equals not only the maxillaris superior but the buccalis as well," 



