MOLLUSCA 



105 



much elongated so as to be vermiform ; mantle-flap as in 

 Neomenise ; ctenidia in the form of a pair of branchial 

 plumes, one on each side of the anus ; foot aborted, its 

 position being indicated by a longitudinal furrow ; odonto- 

 phore greatly reduced, the radula only represented by a 

 single tooth ; gonads and nephridia as in Neomenia. 



The order Chsetoderma contains the single genus Chss- 

 toderma (fig. 12). 



Further remarks on the Jsopleurom Gastropods. — The 

 union of the Chitons with the remarkable worm-like forma 

 Neomenia and Chsetoderma was rendered necessary by 

 Hubrecht's discovery (25) in 1881 of a definitely consti- 

 tuted radula and odontophore in his new genus Proneo- 

 menia, founded ou two specimens brought from the arctic 

 regions by the Barents Dutch expedition. 



By some writers — e.g., Kef erstein — ^the Chitons have been 

 too intimately associated with the other Gastropoda, whilst, 

 on the other hand, Gegenbaur seems to have gone a great 

 deal too far in separating them altogether from the other 

 MoUusca as a primary subdivision of that phylum, inas- 

 much as they are inti- 

 mately bound to the 

 other Glossophora by 

 the possession of a 

 thoroughly typical 

 and well - developed 

 odontophore. They 

 undoubtedly stand 



J nearer to the archi- 



MoUusca than any 

 other Glossophora in 

 having retained a com- 

 plete bilateral sym- 

 metry and the primi- 

 tive shell-sac, though 

 the metameric repe- 

 tition of this organ 

 and of the ctenidia is 

 a complication of, and 

 departure from, the 

 primitive character. 

 It is not improbable 

 that in the calcareous 

 spines and plates of 

 the dorsal integument 

 of Neomenia and Chse- 

 toderma, which occur 



Fio. 13.— Diagrams of the alimentary canal of S'lsO on the part 01 

 laopleiira (tmm Hubreoht). o, mouth ; o, the dorSUm uncovered 

 anus; d, alimentary canal; I, liver (digestive , in- /-ji •- 

 Bland). A. Neomenia and Proneomenia. B. by snell in Uillton, we 

 Chsetodenna. C. Chiton. Jl^yg t]ie retention of 



a condition preceding the development of the solid Mol- 

 luscan shell, or a reversion to it. The minute calcareous 

 bodies may have the same relation to a compact shell which 

 the shagreen denticles of the sharks have to a continuous 

 dermal bone. 



The anatomy of the Gastropoda Isopleura has been largely 

 elucidated within the past year by the researches of 

 Hubreclft and of Sedgwick, who have been the first to 

 apply the method of sections to the study of this group. 



The leading points in the modifications of mantle-flap, 

 foot, and ctenidia are set forth in the preceding summaries, 

 and in the accompanying references to the figures. With 

 regard to other organs, we have to note the form of 

 the alimentary canal (fig. 13), which is simplest in 

 Chaetoderma, symmetrically sacculated in Neomenia, and 

 wound upon itself, forming a few coils, in Chiton. The 

 latter has a compact liver with arborescent duct, which is 

 represented by the sacculi in Neomenia and by a single 



caecum in Chsetoderma. Salivary glands are present in 

 Chiton and in Proneomenia. The radula is highly devel- 

 oped in Chiton, and, though present in Proneomenia, has 

 not been described in Neomenia. A single tooth in Chse- 

 toderma appears to represent the radula in a reduced state. 

 The circulatory organs of Chiton alone are known with 

 any degree of detail (fig. 10, C). There is a median dorsal 

 blood-vessel — the aorta- — -which is enlarged to form a 

 ventricle in the posterior region of the body. On either 

 side the ventricle is connected to a well-developed auricle, 

 which pours into it the aerated blood from the gills 

 (ctenidia). The extent to which vascular trunks are 

 developed has not been determined, but vessels to and 

 from the ctenidia, and in the mid-line of the foot, are 

 known. As in other MoUusca, the vessels do not extend 

 far, but lead into lacunse between the organs and tissues. 

 Dorsal and ventral vessels have been detected in Neomenia 

 and Chsetoderma, but no specialized heart. 



A B 



Fio. 14.— Diagrams of the excretory and reproductive organs of Isopleura (after 

 Hubrecht). 0, ovary ; P, pericardium ; N^ nephridium ; u, external aperture 

 of nephridium ; g, external aperture of the genital duct of Chiton ; r, rectum ; 

 CI, cloacal or jiallial chamber of Neomenise and Chsetoderma ; Br, ctenidia 

 (branchial plumes). A. ChsBtoderma. B. Neomenia. C. Proneomenia. D. 

 Chiton. 



The heart of Chiton lies in a space which is to be 

 regarded as a specialized part of the coelom, and, as in 

 other Molluscs, is termed the pericardium. In front of 

 this space in Chiton lies the ovary (fig. 1-i, D). In the 

 other Isopleura the genital .bodies (gonads) lie in the peri- 

 cardium, which has a longer form and extends dorsaUy 

 above the intestine. Opening into the pericardium equally 

 in all the Isopleura (fig. 14) is a pair of bent tubes which 

 lead to the exterior. These are the nephridia, which in 

 Chiton are essentially renal in function. Their disposition 

 has been determined by Sedgwick (26), who has shown that 

 each nephridium is much bent on itself, so that, as in the 







Br 



