168 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



but mainly of the fatty acid (palmitin and stearin) " ester " of octadecyl 

 alcohol, and another substance soluble in chloroform. 



Migrations.* — T. Southwell points out in an interesting paper that 

 the periodic movements which we are accustomed to call " migrations " 

 are of widespread occurrence, and by no means confined to birds. He 

 gives the following instances : the mackerel and the herring (very local 

 movements in both cases), the lemmings, the field mice, the eared seals, 

 and most cetaceans, e.g. the bottle-nose whale (Hyperoodori), the white- 

 beaked dolphin, and the right whale. 



Nidamental Organ of Dogfish.f — V. Widakowich describes the 

 structure and function of the nidamental organ in Scyllium canicula. 

 The structures implicated are the modified internal wall of the oviduct, 

 and four kinds of glands. There is a white albumen gland, a reddish 

 shell-gland, between these a large tubular mucus gland, and finally 

 numerous small mucus glands in the wall of the oviduct. The complex 

 tubular structure of the glands is described in detail. The shell is 

 built up of many thin lamellas, which seem to arise from the coalescence 

 of cylindrical threads. 



Metamerism in Integumentary Structures .J— Otto Grosser dis- 

 cusses alleged cases of metameric arrangement in integumentary struc- 

 tures, e.g. scales in reptiles and stripes in mammals. His results are 

 somewhat negative. In none of the instances is the metamerism really 

 demonstrable, unless perhaps Mayer's case of segmentally arranged 

 transitory scales in young embryos of Scyllium and Pristiurus. The 

 apparent segmental arrangement is probably secondary, and due to 

 mechanical factors. 



Dorsal Gland of Dendrohyrax.§ — Th. Mollison gives an account of 

 this gland, which secretes a scent substance having a musky smell. 

 The smell is not sufficiently strong to be effective in repelling enemies ; 

 its function is more likely to attract individuals of the same species. 

 Its position is marked by a brighter spot amongst the hair. The hairs 

 upon this spot do not arise over the gland, and the distal portions only 

 are brightly coloured. The gland is probably functional only at certain 

 times, e.g., the pairing season, since even in the adult its duct is closed 

 by an epithelial plug. 



Morphology of Reptile Brain. || — L. Unger gives an account of the 

 cerebrum in Gecko. One or two of his special points may be quoted. 

 He has demonstrated the presence of a non-medullate commissura septi, 

 forming a continuation of another non-medullate commissure which 

 radiates into the hemispheres. There is a bundle of fibres of the 

 Fasciculus septa-par ol f actor ius uniting the septum with the area 

 parolfactoria. 



Secretion in Urinary Ducts in Mammals. T — 0. V. C. E. Petersen 

 describes secreting gland-cells in the ureter, pelvis renis, and vesica of 



* Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Soc, viii. part 1 (1905) pp. 15-21. 



t Zeitschr. wiss. Zool., lxxx. (1905) pp. 1-21 (2 pis.). 



% Tom. cit., pp. 56-179 (8 figs.). 



§ Morphol. Jahrb., xxxiv. (1905), pp. 240-5 (1 pi.). 



|| SB. Acad. Wiss. Wien, cxiii. (1904) pp. 141-60 (2 pis.). 



f Anat. Anzeig., xxvii. (1905) pp. 187-99 (4 pis.). 



