156 Miscellaneous. 
in a singular position. ‘The legs, which resemble those of the lower 
Crustacea in their general characters, present at the base behind a 
sort of process, at the apex of which are the genital orifices. 
Those of the first pair are much slenderer than the rest, and it is in 
them that the oviducts terminate. 
The male glands are lodged within the legs, and open upon the 
processes by as many apertures as there are spermatogenous capsules. 
Thus the ten posterior legs are male, and the two anterior female. 
Hence fecundation must take place within the pouch in which the 
body is suspended, and the utricle serves at once for absorption by 
its outer surface and for reproduction by its inner surface, as a true 
incubation takes place in its cavity. The author has observed all the 
details of the embryogeny of this singular parasite. 
He also remarks upon the great development of the liver, and its 
position in the midst of the venous network of the carapace, which 
directly receives the nutritive fluid from without. Bile is secreted 
in great quantities, although scarcely any digestion can be said to 
take place; hence he infers that the liver must be regarded as a 
purifier or modifier of the fluids intended for nutrition, and that its 
function in digestion in the higher animals is probably to be regarded 
as a secondary one.—Comptes Rendus, Nov. 13th, 1865, p. 838. 
On the Development of the Axolotl (Siredon mexicanus vel Hum- 
boldtii). By A. Dumérit. 
On the 17th April last, M. Duméril communicated to the Aca- 
demy of Sciences some observations on the development of young 
Axolotls from ova deposited in the Menagerie at the Muséum d’ His- 
toire Naturelle ; and from that date to the month of September the 
development of these animals continued without presenting any phe- 
nomena calling for special notice. The animals having then attained 
a length of 0:21 metre, nearly equal to that of their parents (0°25 m.), 
one of them, which had not been particularly observed for a fort- 
night, suddenly attracted attention by presenting an aspect quite 
different from that of the other specimens of the same age. It no 
longer possessed branchial tufts, or only retained traces of them ; 
the membranous crests of the back and tail had disappeared ; the 
form of the head was slightly modified ; and there appeared on the 
body and limbs numerous yellowish-white spots, which contrasted 
strikingly with the general blackish colour. On the 28th September 
a second individual had undergone the same change, and on the 7th 
October a third presented it in a less advanced form. 
On the 10th October M. Duméril was enabled to observe this 
metamorphosis from its commencement. On this day some yellowish- 
white points made their appearance on the limbs of a specimen, and 
the portion of the crest nearest to the head was effaced. Between 
this day and the 25th October the crest disappeared throughout its 
whole extent, the branchial lamelle and subsequently the appendages 
supporting them gradually diminished in length, until on the 6th 
November there were only three little projections, scarcely apparent 
above the skin, on the sides of the neck. The head had decreased 
