THE SPERMATOPHORES OF DIEMYCTYLUS. 



EDWIN O. JORDAN. 



Since several months will probably elapse before I shall have 

 fully ready for publication my study of the habits and develop- 

 ment of the newt (Dianyctylus viridescens, Raf.), I here describe 

 in advance some of the more remarkable features in the process 

 of fertilization. Although the process in its main outlines has 

 been recently observed by Zeller, 1 it seems pardonable briefly 

 to supplement his description, both because I observed the proc- 

 ess independently while still in ignorance of Zeller's observa- 

 tions, and because, working as I was with the advantage of 

 abundant material, I was able to discover several interesting 

 facts that appear to have escaped Zeller completely. 



The fertilization of the Urodela has been until lately very 

 imperfectly understood, and this lack of positive knowledge is 

 the more surprising now that it has been demonstrated by the 

 fine observations of Gasco and Zeller that a few days of ordi- 

 narily careful observation at the suitable time of year are all 

 that is required in order to obtain a comprehensive knowledge 

 of the process. F. Gasco has been the pioneer in this field. 

 He was the first to describe the method of fertilization in 

 the European triton (Triton alpestris), and a year later he fol- 

 lowed this with a minute and spirited account of the amours of 

 the Axolotl, worthy of the highest praise. 2 As pointed out by 

 Zeller, however, Gasco's discoveries have not as yet received 

 due recognition, and in the recent text-books of zoology the 

 old view of direct cloacal contact is still adhered to. Nearly 

 a hundred years before Gasco, in 1785, Spallanzani had proved 

 that, at least in the case of several European aquatic sala- 

 manders, the fertilization of the eggs is internal, and that there 



1 E. Zeller, Ueber die Befruchtung bei den Urodelen. Zeilschr. f. wzss. Zoo/., Bd. 

 XLIX., 1890, p. 583. 



2 F. Gasco, Gli amori del tritone alpestre, Geneva, 1880; Les amours des 

 Axolotls, Zoo/. Anz., IV., 18S1, pp. 313, 328. 



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