122 VERANY AND VOGT ON THE HECTOCOTYLI 



to subserve fecundation. I can only state, that the long white 

 thread described by Cuvier, whose length is more than a metre, 

 is merely a bundle of very long and delicate, independent fila- 

 ments, closely resembling the spermatozoa of the Cephalopoda." 



M. Kolliker, who during his stay at Messina in 1842 found 

 upon many female Argonauts the Hectocotylus described by M. 

 Delle Chiaje, originated a new r epoch in the history of this ani- 

 mal. M. Kolliker discovered in addition a new species of Hec- 

 tocotylus upon the Tremoctopus violaceus, and obtained some 

 fifteen specimens of it. In examining their structure he very 

 soon convinced himself, to use his own words, that these sup- 

 posed worms are nothing more than the males of the Cepha- 

 lopoda we have just mentioned. 



After having communicated his ideas upon this subject to the 

 Italian Scientific Congress, sitting at Genoa, M. Kolliker pub- 

 lished a note in the ' Annals of Natural History,' vol. xvi. 1845. 

 The Manual of Comparative Anatomy, by M. von Siebold, being 

 in course of publication at the same time, M. Kolliker entrusted 

 three specimens of his treasure-trove to M. von Siebold, accom- 

 panying them with a manuscript note containing the results of 

 his observations. Upon his part M. von Siebold examined the 

 Hectocotyli, and, while confirming many of the conclusions of 

 M. Kolliker, he differed from him with respect to other points 

 of structure. Notwithstanding these discrepancies, M. von 

 Siebold adopted the views of M. Kolliker, who considered these 

 Hectocotyli to be the males of the Octopods upon which they 

 are found. The observations of M. von Siebold are contained 

 in his excellent ' Comparative Anatomy of the Invertebrata*/ 

 which is now also extensively circulated through France in a 

 good translation. Lastly, M. Kolliker published a very elabo- 

 rate memoir, accompanied with figures, in his Second Report of 

 the Zootomical Institution at Wurzburg, for the year 1849f. 



M. Kolliker begins by describing at length the form of the 

 Hectocotylus of Tremoctopus violaceus, specimens of which he 

 met with upon almost all the females of this Cephalopod, which 

 he found in August and September at Messina. He distin- 



* Lehrbuch der vergleichenden Anatomic der Wirbellosen Thiere ; von C. Th. 

 von Siebold. Berlin, 1848. 



f Bericht von der Koniglichen zootomischen Anstalt zii Wurzburg. Leipzig, 

 1849. 



