320 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vor. XXXV. 
By the work of Pütter another of the reactions of these organisms 
— thigmotaxis — is placed on a satisfactory scientific basis, and 
light is thrown on many other phenomena. HS 
Notes. — Burchardt’s recent article (/enaische Zeitschrift, Bd. 
XXXIV, pp. 719-882) on the body spaces and connective tissue of 
Amphioxus is of general interest because of the accompanying bibli- 
ography, which is intended to be complete for this important and 
much studied animal. The list is arranged chronologically and 
includes some six hundred references. One is reminded of Baedeker 
on finding that important papers are indicated by an asterisk. 
Metcalf (* Notes on the Morphology of the Tunicata,” Zoologische 
Jahrbücher, Bd. XIII, 1900, pp. 495-602, Heft IV) gives us a paper 
extending over a wide range of morphological and systematic topics. 
A brief notice like the present one cannot mention all the results of 
interest contained in such a paper as this. Among them the follow- 
ing are perhaps the most important: The homology of the vertebrate 
hypophysis and the neural gland of the Tunicata is a “ suggestion the 
truth of which, while it may be probable, is still insufficiently estab- 
lished.”  Reéxamination of the structure of the interesting deep-sea 
genus Octacnemus leads to the conclusion that its affinities are with 
those simple ascidians that reproduce by budding, rather than with 
the Salpidae, as supposed by Herdeman. It is proposed to institute 
a family, the Octacnemidz, for it. A new species of the molguloid 
genus Bostrichobranchus, viz., B. molguloides, is described. 
A contribution to the postembryonal development of Molgula is 
made by Marc de Selys-Longchamps and D. Damas (Arch. de Biologie, 
Tome XVII, 1900, pp. 385-483). The development of the stigmata 
is studied with special care. Six pairs of protostigmata are recog- 
nized, the first two pairs forming simultaneously. The later multi- 
plication and coiling up of the stigmata and the formation of the 
infundibule are followed out. The larval sense organ is found to 
persist into adult life in M. ampulloides. The study of the devel 
opment of the sexual glands leads to the conclusion that there is no 
bilateral symmetry in the disposition of the germinative epithelium. 
In studies on some distomes, Jacoby describes (Arch. f. Naturges, 
- I, 1900) a species, Distomum heterolecithodes Braun, which is 
remarkable for the fact that the vitelline gland, which is usually 
symmetrical, is developed only on one side of the body. In eleven 
cases studied the organ was sinistral, while in four the author found 
