374 ARTHUE DENDY. 



of whicTi will be considered in the next section. The wall of 

 the ovarian tubes is extremely thin and delicate, and in such 

 a state of collapse that the tubular character is extremely 

 difficult to demonstrate. The eggs project into the body- 

 cavity from the outer surface of the ovary in all stages of 

 intra-ovarian development, the larger ones being attached by 

 short epithelial pedicles (fig. 13) and containing much food 

 yolk, and the entire structure, when exposed by dissection, 

 appears as a mass of eggs held together by a tbin, transparent 

 membrane, but readily separable into right and left halves 

 except in front and behind. 



The oviducts, owing to their great length, are in their 

 natural position much convoluted in the hinder part of the 

 body-cavity (fig. 31), but do not extend forwards much, if at 

 all, beyond the ovary itself. They have a common origin 

 from the posterior end of the ovary (figs. 4, 12, 27), with 

 which they are directly continuous. There are no receptacula 

 ovorum, but the receptacula seminis (figs. 4, 11, 12, 27) are 

 well developed, and each opens as usual by two short ducts 

 (fig. 11) into the oviduct of its own side at only a very short 

 distance from the ovary. The receptacula seminis may 

 contain spermatozoa, and it is difficult to believe that the 

 latter enter the body of the female through the integument, 

 as has been suggested for P. capensis.^ Both the extreme 

 toughness of the integument and the presence of receptacula 

 seminis seem to argue against such a hypothesis. 



In 0. oviparus (fig. 4) I was able to recognise a division 

 of the oviduct into three parts, though by no means sharply 

 defined. All three parts are narrow, except where swollen out 

 by the contained eggs. The first is very short, and extends 

 from the commencement of the oviduct in front to the recep- 

 taculum seminis behind. Its wall is much folded, and provided 

 with little irregular protuberances (figs. 11, 12, Pr. 0.) on 

 the side opposite to the receptaculum. The middle and last 

 portions of the oviduct are of about equal length; the former 

 has very thick glandular walls and the latter very thin 

 ' Compare Sedgwick (4). 



