146 J. DUESBERG 



The result of this process is an obvious and measureable reduc- 

 tion of the chondriosomal mass at the end of the divisions of 

 maturation and Sokolov sees in it a confirmation of the views I 

 have expressed as the result of my study of the behavior of the 

 chondriosomes in the spermatocyte-divisions of the rat ('07) . 



Wilson has studied the chondriosomes in the spermatogenesis 

 of two other species of scorpions, Opisthacanthus elatus (South- 

 ern California) and Centrums oxilicauda (Southern Arizona). 

 The results obtained from the study of the first named species 

 are very similar to those of Sokolov. Each spermatocyte con- 

 tains about twenty-four hollow spheroidal bodies, which are seg- 

 regated by the spermatocyte-divisions into four approximately 

 equal groups. Each spermatid thus receives as a rule six chon- 

 driosomes (in 73 per cent of the cases, on 200 numerations), 

 sometimes five (in 16 per cent of the cases) or seven. No other 

 numbers were observed. In the Arizona-scorpion, the process is 

 quite different. All the chondriosomal material becomes con- 

 centrated in a single definite body in the form of a ring. This 

 ring divides during mitosis in such a way that each spermatid re- 

 ceives exactly one-fourth of its substance, ''the process taking 

 place with a precision that is comparable to that seen in the dis- 

 tribution of the chromosome material." 



As Wilson points out the body in question represents a hitherto 

 undescribed type of chondriosome. The occurrence of this inter- 

 esting process makes one speculate as to what the field of sper- 

 matogenesis, though so widely explored, still has in store for the 

 investigator. It appears to me that conditions similar to those 

 found in scorpions, at least to those found in Euscorpius and in 

 Opisthacanthus, could be expected in the histogenesis of these 

 spermatozoa in which, as stated above, the chondriosomes are 

 represented by a constant or approximately constant number of 

 well-defined granules. There is some indication of a similar proc- 

 ess in Fundulus, but the small size of the cells unfortunately 

 makes an exact numeration impossible. The same difficulty 

 would certainly be met with in the study of the seminal cells of 

 other teleosts as well as of echinoderms and celenterates ; mol- 

 luscs and worms, however, would probably be a favorable 

 material. 



