Unfortunate Statements hy Stecker 71 



is an organ with a chitinized surface, it bears perfectly well the pressure of the glass cover 

 without alteration of shape. The organ described by Tnlk in Phalungium is certainly the 

 penis, but the organ which is seen projecting from the sexual orifice in the Gyphophthalmus 

 duricorius Jos., figured by Joseph in tig. 17, is not a penis, as Joseph thought, but the ovi- 

 positor of the female, as shown already in 1873 by Sorensen (a, p. 509, note 2). This 

 mistake of Joseph has thus been fatal to Stecker, because it is clear from the description of 

 the latter that he cannot have made a mistake analogous to that committed by Joseph. " The 

 penis," he says, "is very long but capable of being drawn back into the body, in which case 

 it shines through the abdominal segments. It... consists of two distinct portions, a corpus and 

 a glans, which exhibit a leathery consistency." Even without the express reference in the 

 note : " See the figure of the penis in Phalangiuni, in the paper of Tulk. I.e. PI. IV., figs. 21 — 2.5," 

 the reader will easily perceive that the penis in (rtioceWiMH according to Stecker's account agreed in 

 structure entirely with this organ in Plialaiigiain. Anyone having any confidence at all in 

 Stecker's statements would look upon the perfect agreement in point of structure between this 

 organ in Phalavcfium and in Gibocelluin, which Stecker referred to his "order" Cyphoph- 

 thalmidre, as affording a further proof of a comparatively near relationship between Palpatores 

 {Phalangiitm) and Cyphophthalmi {Gibocelliim). That Stecker, however, has not seen the 

 penis of any really existing Cyphophthalmoid will be clear to anyone who casts a glance on 

 our figures' of penis in four really existing Cyphophthalmi. In none of them could it be 

 described as " fairly long " or even " very long " ; it is on the contrary short or even very 

 short ; it cannot well be said to be divided into a corpus and a glans, and it differs in shape 

 altogether from that of Phalungium. 



4°. Concerning the ovipositor in Gibocelluin Stecker says (b, p. 341): "The ovipositor of the 

 female is also a long organ, which, as in Phalangium upilio... is situated under the integuments 

 through which it can be seen as a black line'-, by means of which the female is easily dis- 

 tinguished from the male." This latter statement is perfectly true of Phalangium, but as far 

 as we are aware not of any member of Sironoidte ; no one of these possesses a black ovipositor, 

 whilst at the same time the stratum of chitine is too thick to allow of any ovipositor being 

 visible through it. 



II. As an alternative lue may suppose that Stecker merely erred in looking upon Gibo- 

 cellum as an animal related to Opiliones, but that his statements in themselves are true at least 

 as regards its external appearance; if so, we have to draw attention to the folloxving points: 



V. Stecker states in his earlier treatise that on the dorsal face of the cephalothorax 

 a "roll-like elevation" is seen to extend between the first and the second pair of eyes forming 

 a curve, which elevation in his opinion corresponds to the anterior curved groove (sic !)■'' (our 

 " sulcus posterior cephalothoracis ") in Gyphopldhalmus duricorius Jos., and he agrees with 

 Joseph in considering that this marks the boundary between head and thorax, so that that 

 part of the body which intervenes between this curved line and the foremost of the straight 

 transversal grooves (which latter is the boundary between thorax and abdomen) would have 

 to be looked upon " as the pro- meso- and metathorax " (a, p. 238). According to this in- 

 terpretation, the posterior pair of eyes would be situated on the thorax. It seems that 



' PI. I., figs. 1.C — 1 y ; PI. IV., figs, lo — q; PI. V., •' In his second paper Stecker maintains the same opinion, 



figs. 1 m, 1 n and 2 o. and he continues : " Die Erliabenheit bei Gibocellum ist also 



- Italicized by us. nur als eine Varietat der Querfurchen zu deuten..." 



