132 



ME. F. E. BEDBABD ON THE VISCERAL ANATOMY [Feb. 5 , 



When the animal was opened by a longitudinal incision through 

 the abdominal walls a little to the left of the middle line, consider- 

 able traces of the ventral mesentery were apparent. From the 

 bladder a fold of membrane arose, which was in parts at least an 

 iach deep : this fold passed along the ventral body-wall about half- 

 way to the ribs, and gradually died away. Close to the ribs it 

 was resuscitated for the space of about an inch ; but this section 

 of the ventral mesentery was not continuous with the posterior 

 section or with the falciform ligament in front. In all mammals 

 (that I have examined) the bladder is attached to the parietes by a 

 fold of membrane, which is, doubtless, so far the equivalent of the 

 primitive ventral mesentery. But in no mammal, except Ornitho- 

 rlijjnchm^, have I noticed this fold to extend so far forward as in 

 the Marsupial which forms the subject of the present paper. 1 

 could not, however, discover the least trace of any blood-vessels in 

 any part of it. It was completely anangious. 



§ The Stomach and Intestines. 



The stomach in general appearance is very like that of the 

 Kangaroo, but the cardiac cul-de-sac is not bifurcate, and the 

 present species agrees in this with D. imistus, with Dorcoi>sis, and 

 with Peti'ogale. In structure the stomach of the present species 

 appears hardly to differ from that of D. inustus ; but I am able to 

 give a somewhat fuller account than that given by Sir K. Owen, 

 and I have thought it worth while to have a drawing (fig. 1) pre- 

 pared of the interior of the organ. 



Fig. 1. 



Stomach of Dendrolayus, with the interior displayed. 

 0, oesophageal orifice ; gl, glandular patches. 



The stomach is sacculated by two principal bands, which run 

 laterally ; but there are also others. At the cardiac extremity 



^ "On some Points in the Visceral Anatomy of Omithorhmchus'' F. Z.S . 

 1894, p. 715. 



