980 MESSRS. LISTER AND FLETCHER ON THE [DeC. 13, 



closed ; but we do not know if lie had any evidence whether the 

 animal had ever had young. 



In 1851 Prof. Poelman^ of Gand, published an account of his 

 observations on a female specimen oi Ilalmaturusbennetti, in which 

 he found "que la meme partie (median vaginal canal) communique 

 librement avec le vestibule genito-urinaire." Prof. Owen was the 

 first who met with this condition in this species. We subjoin his 

 account of his discovery, which was published in 1852\; — "In a 

 specimen of Macropus (Halmaturus) bennetti which I dissected in 

 1845, I detected a natural aperture of communication between the 

 median cul-de-sac and the urogenital canal. I had the pleasure of 

 showing the specimen to Dr. Poelman during a recent visit of that 

 eminent comparative anatomist to the Hunterian Museum, and of 

 thus confirming the observation which he had, independently, made 

 of a similar modification of the female generative organs in a speci- 

 men of the M. bennetti dissected by him at the University of 

 Gand." 



Prof. Owen, in his " Notes on the A.nRtomy of Dendrolagusinustus," 

 published iu 1852^ says: — "The lateral bent vaginal canals are 

 shorter in proportion than in 3J. major ; but the median vaginal 

 cul-de-sac was closed, as in that species." This specimen was the 

 first living representative of the species exhibited in Europe. It 

 lived in the Society's Gardens for four years. Of its early history 

 there is no record, as far as we know ; but it was probably captured 

 when young. If this rare animal had bred during its sojourn in the 

 Menagerie, such an interesting event would naturally have been 

 mentioned in Prof. Owen's paper. There is no allusion to any such 

 event ; and it would seem very probable that the female in question 

 was a virgin. 



In a paper published in 1857^, Vrolik described the anatomy of 

 a female specimen of Dendrolagus inustus. From this we gather 

 that he found the median canal closed. 



In 1866 Alix^ met with the open condition in a female of ZTa/wza- 

 turus bennetti, and, being unaware of the papers of Owen and Poel- 

 man, published his discovery as a new one. To this Profs. Poelman* 

 and Owen' promptly replied. From the former's reply we subjoin 

 tlie following extract (p. 399) : — " J'ajouterai que, depuis la publi- 

 cation de ce travail [that is, his paper already referred to] j'ai eu 

 1' occasion de verifier cette disposition anatomique [that is, the open 

 condition] chez d'autres individus appartenant a la meme espece 

 {H. bennetti), et en ce moment je ne conserve plus aucun doute sur 

 £on existence constante." From Prof. Owen's reply we quote as 



' Bull, de I'Acad. Roy. de Belgique, xviii. 1851, p. 599. 



"" P. Z. S. 1852, p. 106. 



3 Ibid. 



* W. Vrolik, " Ontleed kiiiidige nasporingen omtreiit Dendrolagus invshis," 

 Verbandelingender Kouinklijke Akadeniie van Wettenschappen, &c. &c. Amster- 

 dam, vol. V. of series iv., 1857. 



^ Compt. Eend. Paris, Ixii. 1866, pp. 146-148. 



6 Ibid. pp. 399^00. 



'' Ibid. pp. 692-596. 



