84 Miscellaneous. 



It is at this point that it receives the excretory duct of the super- 

 ficial submaxillary gland. 



The superficial submaxillary gland is a glandular mass of a rose- 

 colour, and of an oval form, a little larger than the parotid, situated 

 immediately beneath the skin, and applied against the pectoral 

 muscle. The excretory duct which it emits is 9 centims. long ; it 

 runs forward, crossing the sterno-mastoidian, and opens into the 

 excretory duct of the deep-seated submaxillary at the point already 

 indicated. The superficial submaxillary gland is the first that 

 makes its appearance when an Echidna is deprived of its skin ; it 

 has, however, hitherto escaped the notice of anatomists. 



The common excretory duct of the deep-seated and superficial 

 submaxillary glands presents a most remarkable arrangement, which 

 escaped the notice of Cuvier and Duvornoy. This arrangement has 

 been partially described by Owen, who regards it as unique in the 

 class Mammalia. 



The excretory duct, after having slightly dilated, passes forward, 

 describing certain flexuosities and diminishing pretty rapidly in 

 size. After having skirted the inner margin of the inferior maxil- 

 lary, it reaches the symphysis of the chin. From its inner side 

 lateral branches are given off, which, in their turn, divide several 

 times, and open upon the floor of tho mouth by very numerous 

 orifices arranged in a single longitudinal row stretching from the 

 base of the tongue to the symphysis of the chin. 



I have had the good fortune to be able to examine the fleshy 

 parts of the head of the New-Ouinea Echidna (Acanthoglossus 

 Bruijnii), a species still so rare that the Museum of Paris alone 

 possesses the few individuals at present known. In this we find 

 the arrangement of the terminal part of the excretory duct of the 

 submaxillary glands vary a little. This duct swells into a fusi- 

 form reservoir, with very glandular walls, especially behind, extended 

 from the base of the tongue to the symphysis. From the inner 

 surface of this reservoir issue four or five secondary ducts, which 

 open directly upon the floor of the mouth. 



With regard to the sublingual glands, I have nothing to add to 

 the observations of Cuvier, who described them for the first time. 

 They seem to have escaped the notice of Prof. Owen. — Comptes 

 Rendus, November 2-4, 1879, p. 910. 



American Jurassic Mammals. 



Prof. Marsh has recently described some additional remains of 

 Mammals from the Jurassic strata of the Rocky Mountains. One 

 of the most interesting is the Ctenacodon serratus, which agrees in 

 its main features with the genus Plagiaulacc of Falconer. The 

 others are Dryolestes arcuatus, Tinodoa robustus, and T. lepidus. 

 These forms, as well as those already described, show a great re- 

 semblance to known types from the Purbeck beds of England. 



