50 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
the conus arteriosus. The arterial system in general is distinctly 
reptilian, and while in some respects it may recall conditions in other 
orders of reptiles, it most closely resembles that of certain Lacertilians, 
but it is undoubtedly less specialized, and shows certain interesting 
points of similarity with that of the Urodeles. The same general 
remarks also apply to the veins, which are more primitive than those of 
Lacertilia, though nearer to the latter than to the other reptiles. 
Looked at broadly the blood vascular system of the Tuatara is much 
more primitive than that of any other reptile so far described, and 
differs from even the Lacertilia so markedly that a separate order 
(Rhynchocephalia) is thoroughly justified. J. A. T. 
Aortic Ligament in Indian Fishes. — D. R. Bhattacharya ( Proc , 
Zoo. Soc., 1920, Plates I— II, and 5 figs.). Existence of a longitudinal 
ligament inside the aorta and extending over its entire length, first 
noted in the Siluroid fish, Pseudeutropius garua. Observations on the 
dorsal aorta in over eighty species of fishes, both marine and fresh-water, 
are recorded. The disposition and attachments of the ligament, as also 
the histology of the structure, are carefully described. The ligament 
is a white flat sheet of elastic tissue, supported by regularly arranged 
white rounded masses of connective tissue which occur beneath the 
body of each vertebra, and fit into a depression on the ventral side of 
the centrum, acquiring a strong attachment with the connective tissue 
of the veretebral column. The structure is confined to some of the 
Teleost fishes alone, being absent in other groups of Yertebrata, and 
even among the Teleostomes it seems to be more of a generic feature 
than of a family one. It is suggested that the ligament acts as a longi- 
tudinal valve preventing forward regurgitation of blood. B. L. B. 
Glands of Oviduct in Tortoise. — R. Argaud ( Comptes Rendus Soc. 
Biol., 1920, 83, 828-9). There is a two-fold glandular development 
in the oviduct of Gistudo europaea. There are mucinogenous unicellular 
glands arising from the temporary transformation of ciliated cells. 
There are also definitive glands, with ramified tubes, whose very 
granular cells appear only at the time of reproductive maturity. Their 
role seems to be to secrete protective membranes around the ovum. In 
young specimens there is no glandular differentiation at all. J. A. T. 
Occasional Absence of Paired Fins in Fishes. — Sunder Lal 
Hora ( Records Indian Museum , 1921, 22, 27-32, 2 figs.). Description 
of a specimen of Barilius barila in which both the ventral fins were 
absent, without any hint of injury. In Barilius dogarsinghi the ventral 
fin of the left side was absent. In Nemachilus hangjuplchulensis the 
ventral fin of the right side was lacking, and the other was abnormal. 
In Rita rita the pectoral fin of the right side was absent, the musculature 
was degenerate, and the shoulder girdle was abnormal. In no case was 
there trace of injury, and the peculiarities may be interpreted as 
mutations or as due to some injury to the embryonic primordia. Atten- 
tion is directed to two Indian genera of fresh-water fishes, Channa and 
Apua, which are distinguished from their nearest relatives by the 
.absence of the ventral fins. J. A. T. 
