March 31, 18S7] 



NA TURE 



509 



Tlic Edible Snail. In describing the liver, the terms 

 left and right have been transposed. Mention should be 

 made of the salient features, in structure and distribution, 

 of the teeth of the radula. 



The Lancclct. To the description of the supposed ex- 

 cretory canals of Lankestcr (p. 178) there should be added 

 that of the much more likely one of Ilatschek {Zool. 

 An::ci};er, vol. vii.). We accept the senior author's views 

 on oviposition, but Quatrefages' observation should have 

 been mentioned unless finally disproved. 



The Doi^/isli. The remarks on ossification (p. 194) are 

 erroneous. The statement (p. 211) that the labial carti- 

 lages probably " belong to the same category as the extra- 

 branchials " is unfortunate, in view of Dohrn's discovery 

 that the latter are displaced rays of the gill-septum. 



In describing the relative positions of the roots of the 

 spinal nerves (p. 252) the terms dorsal and ventral have 

 been transposed. The description is irreconcilable with 

 Fig. 36. 



Tlie Rabbit. The description of the shoulder-girdle 

 needs revision, with respect to the coracoid element and 

 the relations of the clavicle. The statements concerning 

 the morphological value of the pisiform would be better 

 free of bias, in view of the tendency of current research. 

 In describing the pelvic girdle, mention of the cotyloid 

 bone has been omitted, and consequently we find the 

 statement that the pubis forms a portion of the acetabulum 

 (cf. Parker, P.Z.S., 18S2 ; also Leche and Krause, Inicrnat. 

 Joiirn. of Ana/ ami Hist., vols. i. and ii.) The Eustachian 

 cartilage is deserving of note. 



The structural differentiation of the lining membrane 

 of the stomach and base of the rectum need description. 

 The duct of the infra-orbital gland is insufficiently noted ; 

 the description of tlie c;ccum needs revision. It is inter- 

 esting to find that the authors have not discovered the 

 ducts of the rectal glands. 



The statement explanatory of the uterus masculinus 

 must be withdrawn or considerably modified, in face of 

 Kolliker's belief that it is a derivative of the Wolffian ducts 

 (" Entwickelungsgesch.," 2nd edition, p. 98 1). Its struc- 

 tural features and relationships are much more intelligible 

 on this view. 



The description of the fifth ventricle needs modifica- 

 tion, and that of the spiral valve of the portal vein might 

 well be inserted (Hyrtl, Silcb. Akad. JVicn., 1879). 



T/ie Fo7ul and Pigeon. Note of the more important 

 muscles of the syrinx, as also of the larynx of the 

 mammal, might advantageously be added. 



The ventricle of the olfactory lobe is not mentioned, 

 either in the bird or rabbit. 



In conclusion, we would wish to draw attention to the 

 satisfactory manner in which the authors have apportioned 

 the several chapters of this successful volume in accord- 

 ance with their respective value — no light task of its kind. 

 The thoroughness of the book is one of its most striking 

 features. G. B. H. 



EM BR YOGENY OF THE ANTHROPOID APES 

 Rechcrchcs Aitatomiques et Embiyologiques sur les Singes 

 Anthropoides. By J. Deniker. (Paris, 1886.) 



TH I S w^ork was presented to the Faculty of Science of 

 Paris as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of 

 Natural .Science, and was approved of by it as sufficiently 

 meritorious to warrant the bestowal of that degree on the 

 author. It consists essentially of a comparison of the 

 foetus of the gorilla and of the gibbon with that of man, 

 and also with young and adult anthropoids. 



The embryogeny of theanthropoid apes,notwithstanding 

 the great interest which it presents, is unfortunately little 



known, probably owing to the difficulties of obtaining 

 embryo specimens. The author has therefore done w-ell 

 to utilise the opportunity which presented itself to further 

 our knowledge of the subject, by publishing the descriptive 

 anatomy of the fcetus of the gorilla and the gibbon which 

 he has had the opportunity of studying. His account 

 of the anatomy of these specimens is rendered more 

 valuable by the comparison he has made between them 

 and the human embryo, and between them and the adult 

 animals of their respective species. 



The work begins by a careful description of the external 

 characters of the embryo gorilla and gibbon : the attitude, 

 external form, coloration, and integumentary characters are 

 respectively detailed with much care. The placenta and 

 foetal membranes were fortunately preserved with the foetus 

 of the gibbon, and their characters are described and 

 figured, but unfortunately these parts were not obtained 

 with the young gorilla, and so could not be described. 

 A rt'.r///«^ is given of the observations of Owen, Huxley, 

 Turner, and others on the placentation of apes and 

 monkeys. The next section contains an account of the 

 weight and dimensions of the various parts of the body of 

 the respective fcetus. Of the former little can be said 

 on specimens preserved in alcohol, but the dimensions of 

 the entire body, the head, trunk, and extremities, are 

 carefully detailed in a tabular form, with the correspond- 

 ing measurements in the human foetus at the fourth and 

 fifth month, and of the adolescent gorilla. A second t.able 

 shows the relations which the dimensions of the several 

 parts bear to the length of the body, and a third table 

 those between the trunk and the extremities, and between 

 the different segments of the latter. These tables show 

 several interesting points in regard to the proportions 

 which the various parts of the body bear to one another 

 in the course of development. During the second half of 

 intra-uterine life the upper extremity in the anthropoids is 

 much shorter in relation to the length of the trunk than 

 in the adult, and the same relation holds good with 

 respect to the length of the fore-arm as compared with that 

 of the upper arm. In the human foetus of the same age, 

 on the other hand, the upper extremity presents almost 

 the same proportions that it does in the adult. The rela- 

 tive length of the superior extremity as compared with 

 that of the inferior changes likewise considerably in the 

 course of development. Thus in man during the earlier 

 stages of embryonic life the lengths of both extremities are 

 alinost equal, but in the anthropoid apes, at an early 

 period even, the length of the superior Innb exceeds that 

 of the inferior. 



The skeleton of the fcetus is next compared with that 

 of the adult anthropoids. In treating this part of the 

 body the author naturally devotes considerable attention 

 to the various parts of the skull, and has drawn up several 

 valuable tables of its measurements in the foetus and 

 adult. The second chapter on the skeleton is devoted to 

 a description of the vertebral column, and the limb 

 bones ; while the third treats of the dimensions of the 

 individual bones. The points of ossification of the skull 

 are found to be the same in man and the anthropoid 

 monkeys, but the rate of their development in the 

 monkeys in many important respects differs from what 

 obtains in man. In general it may be stated that the 

 frontal region ossifies more rapidly, whereas the occipital 



