VISCEEAL AXATOMr OF THE CHAEACINID.E. 73 



^ that of the body ; in Sarcodaces I ; ia Citharinus and Bryeonaethio])s ^ ; in 

 Uydrocyon, Salminas, Alestes, Lojwrbms, and Xenocharax from -^^ to i^ ; in Ano- 

 stomus ixwil Eiignathichtlnjs x-^; m FrochUodtis -n,-; and in Ichtlnjohorus -gi-. In some 

 forms, lor example Macrodon, Lebiasina, Serrasalmo, Dlstlchodus, Aiiucyrtus, and 

 Xenocharax, the duct dilates at its oriHce ; tliis is especially noticeable in the Ery- 

 thrinoids, in whicli it terminates on a large papilla. Iq Serrasalmo, according to 

 Valenciennes, the opening is furnished Avith a valve. 



Dill'erences are also ol)servable in the width or stoutness of tbe duct, but these are not 

 readily susceptible of measurement or of expression iu definite terms. In one case, 

 Macrodon, as stated by Sagemelil *, tbe ductus pneumaticus is beaded by alteruatino- 

 widenings and narrowings, in the manner of a rosary. 



I ought to state that, through an error of judgment in tlie early stages of this 

 investigation, all comparisons mude with the lengtb of the fish include the caudal fin. 



This concludes the remarks 1 have at the present time to otfer upon the alimentary 

 canal and its ai^pendages. Of the other abdominal viscera, the ovaries alone have 

 yet claimed my special attention. 



Other Organ.s. 

 The car lis. 



On the question of the type of ovary represented amongst tbe Characinidae, tbe 

 literature of the subject contains contradictory statements. Thus Job. Miiller t states 

 that the ovaries are closed sacs, shut off from tbe body-cavity, and opening together 

 on the exterior of the body. Valenciennes %, on the other hand, states in tbe most 

 explicit manner that tbe ovaries are of the Salmonoid type, and that the ova fall freely 

 into the body-cavity. This statement" he makes for each of tlie following forms : 

 Erythrvms, Ilacrodon, Lebiasina, Curimatus, and Farodon. Of Myletes be states that 

 the ovaries fill two-thirds of the body-cavity, without, however, speaking of their 

 character. With reference to the two first-mentioned forms — Erythriims and 

 Macrodon — Valenciennes himself makes apparently contradictory statements : thus, in 

 one place (vol. xix. p. 4U3), speaking of Erythritias he says : " La nature a donnc aux 

 poissous dont nous traitons ici une organisation scmblable a cellc des Saumons ; en ce 

 qui coucerne les organes gcnitaux, nous les voyous en elfet coustitues par deux rul)ans 

 portant dans les femelles les oculs sur des rcplis transverses ; ces oeui's tombeat dans 

 I'abdomen pour s'cchapper par deux trous pcrces do cliaque c6te de I'anus." liut 

 on page 4SI of the same volume, speaking of the same fishes, he says, "Les sacs 

 ovariens n'ont ])oiut de communication avec I'interieur de la cavitc al)dominalc, de 

 sorte que ces organes ne sont pas fails commc ceux de beaucoup dc genres de la famille 

 des Saumons ou des Auguilles." 



* Sagi'iiifhl, " Dus Cranium dur CliaraeinidtMi," p. lOS. 



t JoU. iluUcr, " UuUTsucluuigeu iiber die Eiiigeweidc der Fische," Abhandl. dcr Burl. Akad. u. Wissenschal'luii, 

 1S43, p. IS!). 



X Cuvicr L't Yaluacienuos, ' Uistoire Naturelle des Poissons,' vols. xix. & xxii. 



11* 



