434 General Notes. [ April, 
ZootocicaL Nores:— Dr. C. Bulow (Archiv. fiir Naturge- 
schichte, 1883) gives the result of experiments on the subject 
carried on by him at Rostock. Bonnet beheaded a worm eight 
times, and regeneration followed each time, but the ninth time 
only a bud appeared. The results obtained by Reaumur, O. F. 
Miiller, and others, are recapitulated. From the results obtained 
it is concluded that the head of an earth-worm is composed of 
eight segments, occasionally of nine, but more often of a smaller 
number, especially when the animal is cut into relatively small 
parts. When the new head does not contain the normal number 
of head-segments, the mouth-parts always serve their purposes. If 
a worm be cut in pieces, each containing eight or nine segments, 
each piece is tolerably sure to become a perfect worm. When 
a worm was cut into fourteen pieces, one died, but the rest repro- 
duced both head and tail. Dr. v. Linstow (Archiv: für Naturg. 
1883) describes the Nematodes, Trematodes, and Acanthocephali 
of Nematode species (76) is large, compared with that of the 
Trematoda (15), and of the Acanthocephali (3), but this is ac- 
counted for by the fact that the larvæ of the two latter families 
live in aquatic invertebrates, which are scarce in the unwa- 
tered plateau of Turkestan. Eighteen new species of parasitic 
nematodes are described, including an Ascaris of the sturgeon, 
one of Silurus glanis, and one of Pastor roseus; a Physaloptera 
of Tropidonotus hydrus; a Filaria of Phalacrocorux carbo, and one 
species of Gordius and Mermis (8) appear to be new. Of the 
Acanthocephali two species of Echinorhynckus, from Petræca 
cyanea and Astur palumbarius, respectively, are new, as are six 
om of Distomum and one of Monostomum among the trema- 
todes. 
Amphibians and Reptiles —M. P. Albrecht notes the presence 
of true ossified epiphyses upon the spinous processes of many of 
the vertebre of Hatteria punctata, strikingly resembling the 
same epiphyses in mammals. The skeleton examined (an adult) 
had, besides the pro-atlas, 8 cervical, 17 dorso-lumbar, 2 sacral, 
and 15 caudal vertebre. The extremity of the tail was in neo- 
genesis. A pair of these epiphyses occur on the 7th and 8th cer- 
vials, and on the dorso-lumbars from the 2d to the roth, inclu- 
sive, and on the 14th and 15th of that series. The remaining 
two dorso-lumbars, the sacrals, and the first four caudals have 
a single epiphysis evidently formed by the union of the right an 
left elements. The epiphyses increase in size to the 16th dom 
lumbar, and thence diminish—D. J. v. Bedriaga (Archiv. Jir 
Oo 
