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Show 376 DR. M. WATSON ON T H E [May 1, follicles above referred to. In respect therefore of the anal pouch and glands H. crocuta agrees more closely with Proteles than with any species of its own genus. Turning now to the female organs of other species, and comparing them with those of H. crocuta, which have not, so far as I know, been previously described, I find that Owen * gives a description of the ovary and its containing pouch, which almost exactly corresponds to that given above. He does not, however, say to what species the description applies, merely stating that it refers to the genus Hycena. Murie2 figures the ovary of H. brunnea, but gives no description; and it is difficult to decide from the drawing as to whether the organ is contained in a pouch, similar to that found in H. crocuta, or the contrary. The uterus of H. crocuta appears to correspond accurately in form to that of H. brunnea as figured by Murie3, agreeing with it especially as regards the elongated form of the corpus uteri. The os uteri of H. crocuta is smooth and non-papillose, in which respects it agrees with Owen's4 generic description. The characteristic peculiarities of the internal female generative organs of H. crocuta are therefore to be found in the presence of the single passage leading from the os uteri to the exterior of the body for the conveyance of both the urinary and genital products; in none of the species hitherto described does the same arrangement obtain. John Hunter5 states that in H. striata the common vagina, by which term I understand him to refer to the urino-genital canal, is only 11 inch in length, whilst the proper vagina measures 5 inches. This description agrees with Murie's figure and description of the same parts in H. brunnea. He describes the urethra as opening externally in the anterior angle of the slit-shaped vulva, the opening being distinct from that of the vagina. In both H. striata and H. brunnea, then, the female urethra extends from the neck of the bladder to the vulva, or, at least, close to it, leaving the urino-genital canal only about an inch in length. In H. crocuta, on the other hand, as we have seen, the urethra opens into the urino-genital canal close to the os uteri, and consequently we have the urino-genital canal measuring about 8 inches in length. Moreover in H. crocuta we have two Cow-perian glands of large size opening into this canal, glands which appear to be absent in the other species of the genus; at least, they have neither been described nor figured by Hunter, Owen, or Murie. The external parts of H. crocuta also differ materially from those of allied species. W e have before drawn attention to the enormous size of the clitoris, and its perforation by tbe urino-genital canal in this animal, as well as to the absence of any trace of a vulva properly so called. In respect of each of these points, H. crocuta appears to differ from other species. Hunter0 says of H. striata : - " Below the anus opens the vagina : there are no external lips ending in a projecting point, as in many 1 Anat. of Vertebrates, vol. iii. p. 701. 2 Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. vii. pl. lxiii. fig. 1, o. 3 Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. vii. pl. lxiii. fig. 1, u. 4 Anat. of Vertebrates, vol. iii. p. 701. s Essays and Observations, by Owen, vol. ii. p. 57. 6 Ibidem. |