THE COASTS OF SICILY. 61 



lutely true for the class of the Fishes ; for the group 

 of the Myxinoides, Lampreys, and more especially 

 the Amphioxus, can leave no doubt on this subject. 

 The Ainphioxus is a small fish which lives in the 

 sands of the sea, where it conceals itself and moves 

 about with incredible rapidity. Its body, which is 

 perfectly transparent, terminates in a point at both 

 extremities, a circumstance from which it has derived 

 its name. The Amphioxus has been found on the 

 coasts of Cornwall, in the Baltic, at Naples, and at 

 Messina, where I caught a- great number at the 

 distance of a few yards from the whirlpool of Cha- 

 rybdis. It has been investigated successively by 

 Goodsir* in Great Britain, by Costa in Italy, by 

 Retzius, Rathke f> and more especially by Miiller, 



* John Goodsir, one of the most distinguished physiologists of 

 Great Britain, is Professor of Anatomy in the University of Edin- 

 burgh, and has published several important memoirs. He was one of 

 the first who announced, in relation to the mechanism of secretions, a 

 doctrine which seems to be more and more thoroughly confirmed by 

 facts. According to this distinguished physiologist, the secreted fluids 

 do not exude directly from the membranes which yield them, but 

 they first accumulate in the epithelial cells, which always cover the 

 secreting surfaces. These cells are, therefore, the fundamental 

 element of every secreting system. The facts discovered by 

 Goodsir in reference to the digestion of fatty matters, and the 

 conclusions which he has deduced from them, afford the most 

 probable explanation that has been offered in reference to this very 

 obscure point, notwithstanding the many attempts that have been 

 made to elucidate it. 



f Rathke is one of the most distinguished anatomists and natu- 

 ralists of Germany, and his researches have been extended to 

 almost every department of the animal kingdom. He has specially 

 occupied himself with embryology, and amongst other works we. 

 owe to him some highly interesting researches on the formation of 



