On the Development of the Oviduct in Teleosteans. 345 



after birth, and which were given to me by Prof. M'Intosh, 

 no further development has taken place, except that the ova 

 are more mature. The germinal epithelium extends round 

 the whole inner surface of the tubular ovary, which ends 

 blindly, both anteriorly and posteriorly. It will be necessary 

 to examine stages both anterior to and subsequent to those I 

 have had, in order to trace the development. 



It will be seen, on comparing the description I have given 

 of the development of the cavity of the ovary in the sprat 

 with the figures and description given by Balfour and Parker 

 concerning Lepidosten-s,^ that the mode of development is in 

 the two cases exactly the same, except in one respect, namely, 

 that peritoneal openings of segmental tubes were found within 

 the ovarian cavity in Lepidosteus, while in the sprat I have 

 not observed these. The specimen of Lepidosteus in which 

 the formation of the front part of the ovarian tube was 

 observed, was 11 cm. in length. 



With regard to the male genital duct in Lepidosteus it was 

 found that there existed in the adult a system of tubes 

 placing the tubules of the testis in communication with the 

 urinary tubes of the mesonephres, and so with the segmental 

 duct, and no duct homologous to the female oviduct could be 

 found. N'o observations seem yet to have been made on the 

 development of this communicating system in the male 

 Lepidosteus, which resembles what exists in Elasmohranchs. 

 It is still uncertain what is the real nature of the genital 

 ducts in other Ganoids. As for the male duct in Teleosteans, 

 Brock 2 sees reason to believe that the vas deferens in them is 

 of the same nature as the female oviduct, and not a Mullerian 

 duct at all; but no embryological evidence on the question has 

 yet been adduced. 



More work is still urgently required on the development 

 of the genital ducts in Teleosteans, Ganoids, and Dipnoans. 



1 Philosophical Transactions, 1882. 



2 " Geschlechtsorgane der Muraenidae, " Mitt. Zool. Stat,, Neupel 1881, 



