GENERATIVE ORGANS OF SOME CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. 503 
1 
to be composed of globules, nearly transparent, of from about zc3o to 2vss of an 
inch in diameter. Different parts of the organ were examined, without any 
difference of result; no capillary spermatozoa could be detected, and the globules, 
except when moving in currents, were motionless. The anal appendages were 
small. They were not specially examined as to their structure. 
The female was also about two feet long, but thicker in proportion to its 
length than the male. At the time it was obtained, it was not quite dead.* The 
ovaries were large and long, extending nearly the whole length of the abdomen. 
Their upper portion abounded in ova, from the size of a grape seed to that of a 
mustard seed, and smaller. The larger were not perfectly transparent; they 
contained a turbid fluid, which, under the microscope, exhibited globules of about 
atvo of an inch in diameter, and smaller. The confining membrane was thick and 
strong. The lower portion—more than one-half of the whole—had a milt-like 
appearance. Under the microscope it exhibited globular nucleated particles, of 
about cco of an inch in diameter. The oviducts were large,—their infundibulum 
above the liver. To each oviduct a glandular body was annexed, just below 
which was a little enlargement of the tube ; and towards the termination of each 
duct in the cloaca there was also an enlargement of it. 
9. Of the Raia Oxyrhynchus.—Of this fish I have notes of two specimens, both 
examined at Malta, and both females. In one, opened on the 2d April, an egg was 
found in each oviduct, below its gland. The shell inclosing it was not perfectly 
formed ; its lower moiety, which was perfect, was of a greenish brown, tough and 
strong; its upper portion was greyish, tender, and very easily broken.+ Much 
thick, tenacious, mucus-like matter enveloped it. There was no appearance of 
an embryo. . 
The other fish was obtained about the same time. The precise date is not 
given. In this instance, also, an egg was found in each oviduct. Each ege was 
contained in a horny shell, the horns of which were short, as if not fully formed. 
A tough glutinous matter, of the colour of the shell, was found covering it, seem- 
ingly the material of which it was formed. ‘The oviducts were red; their glan- 
dular structure large. The ovaries contained many ova; and there were several 
eggs loosely attached to the ovaries. They were of a spherical form,—the largest 
about the size of the yolk of a pigeon’s egg. . 
In conclusion, recurring to the preceding notes, it is worthy of remark, that 
whilst there is a certain resemblance to be seen in the generative organs of the 
several species, there are also well-marked differences—differences which, it may 
be inferred, have relation to foetal development. Under this head, do not the 
observations justify at least three divisions? 1s¢, The viviparous fish, of which 
the Squatina is an example, an instance, like that of the torpedo, of the ovum 
* See Plate XXII., fig, 12, + See Plate XXII, fig. 13. 
VOL. XXII. PART III. 6 0 
