412 
Another Word on the Muscles of Nematodes. By Anton 
Schneider. Koll. und Sieb. Zeitschrift, pit. 2. 1869. 
General. — TheHistology o f the Ccccilice. By Franz Leydi g . 
Koll. u. Sieb. Zeitschrift, xviii, p. 575, noticed in the Archives 
Suisse, No. 139. — The little group of Coecilise offers so many 
remarkable peculiarities in its zoological aspects that the 
essentially histological treatise of Dr. Leydig deserves great 
attention. His researches were conducted on two species, 
the Ccecilia lumbricoidea, Dand., and the Cnecilia ( Siphonops ) 
annulata, Mikan. The structure of the integuments of the 
Coecilia?, excepting the scales existing in some species, agrees 
with that of Batrachians in general. The nature of the 
epidermis was, it is true, long misapprehended. ' Led by 
Mikan, many authors saw in it nothing but a mucosity 
secreted by the cutaneous pores, or even by the anus. 
This error recurs even in the beautiful work of Johannes 
Muller on the anatomy of Amphibia. Rathke was the first 
to recognise in the supposed mucosity a true epidermis. Dr. 
Leydig now' finds the epidermis to he covered in by a distinct 
homogeneous cuticle, and it is reflected into the numerous 
excretory canals of the cutaneous glands. The scales first 
discovered by Schneider have been much discussed by natu- 
ralists, the more so because they are entirely absent in all 
other living Batrachians. One species, C. annulata, is com- 
pletely devoid of scales. The histological study of Ccecilia 
lunibricoidalis (sic) has proved to Dr. Leydig that the deep layer 
of the scale is formed by a solid, stratified connective tissue, 
filled with stellate cells. Its superior surface is ornamented 
with brilliant corpuscles, disposed in rather irregular con- 
centric ranges. M. Mayer calls them globules, M. Mandl 
cellules ; they are, in reality, calcareous concretions. 
The skin of the Ccecilia; presents a laminated structure, 
already mentioned by many authors. This structure is due 
to numerous cutaneous folds, in the thickness of which are 
lodged the glands. The scales are placed between these 
lamina;. They are not by any means free, but are attached 
to the corium by a delicate connective tissue. 
The eyes of the Coecilise are deserving of special attention 
on account of their rudimentary condition. The Ccecilia 
annulata, although living at a depth of several feet in the 
mud of marshes, has, nevertheless, very small ocular bulbs. 
These bulbs correspond to a transparent place in the skin, 
and present all the essential parts of a normal eye. The 
crystalline lens, however, retains its embryonic character; in 
fact, it is formed, not of fibres properly so called, but of cells, 
some rounded, some elongated into tubes. The muscles of 
