60 DR. A. GtJNTHER ON THE ANATOMY OF'REGENIA. [Feb. '26, 



The following papers were read : — 



1. On the Anatomy of Regenia ocellata. By Dr. A. 

 GiJNTHER, For. Mem. Z.S. 



The specimen of Regenia ocellata which hved in the Society's 

 Menagerie for nearly half a year came from the West Coast of Africa 

 and was 35 inches in length, and 20^ in its greatest circumference. 

 It was very sluggish in its habits, and made more lively movements 

 only when taken out of the cage and handled for some minutes ; it 

 then attempted to free itself by strokes of its powerful tail. The 

 body always appeared broad, swollen, depressed ; but its extent 

 would be considerably increased, by inflation and expansion of the 

 lungs, whenever it was touched. When first brought to the Gardens, 

 it was offered frogs, fishes, and other living animals, but it never 

 touched them, and, unlike other Monitores, it did not take to the 

 water ; subsequently it was fed with eggs and small pieces of meat. 



The structure of the internal parts is very much like that of the 

 other Saurians of the family Monitores, showing, however, some 

 very remarkable peculiarities. The tongue is entirely the same as in 

 the Snakes, except that it is flesh-coloured, and the anterior portion 

 of the two points in which it terminates is cartilaginous, although 

 soft and flexible ; it is retracted into a thin and short sheath at its 

 base, and stretched out as frequently and as far as that of a snake *. 

 The pharynx and the upper part of the oesophagus are of a black co- 

 lour. The latter passes without distinct separation into the stomach, 

 which has an elongate rounded form, one side being so much more 

 dilated than the other that it may be called a curvatura major ; 

 its muscular membrane becomes more developed in the pyloric por- 

 tion, and forms a true pylorus. 



The commencement of the intestine is very peculiar : the portion 

 behind the pylorus is for the length of 9 lines without any villi, but 

 provided with numerous small glands ; it is a duodenum, which is 

 separated from the small intestine by a broad circular valve, at least 

 2\ hues deep : this valve, which is absent in Iguana, shuts the duo- 

 denum in so effective a way, that it requires considerable pressure to 

 drive fluid backwards from the small intestine into the stomach. 

 The valvulae couniventes commence immediately behind that valve, 

 and are provided with numerous very delicate and branched villi ; 

 they become more irregular towards the middle of the length of the 

 intestines, and the folds of the mucosa assume a reticulated appear- 

 ance, and are finally longitudinal in the middle part of the small intes- 

 tine ; the villi are here coarser and less numerous than in the upper 

 portion, and not more fringed, having an average length of 2 lines. 

 They cease altogether in the posterior part, in the ilium, whilst col- 

 lections or rounded ovate patches of glands {glandulce Peyeriance) 

 make their appearance ; they are seen on the mesenterial side of the 

 ilium as well as on the border opposite it. The opening of the 

 ilium into the ccecum is comparatively small ; and the latter is sepa- 

 rated from the rectum by a fold of the mucosa, which is at least 



* The lower parts of the cavity of the mouth had been taken away before the 

 specimen came into my hands. 



