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Show 428 ON THE GENERATIVE ORGANS OF HYiENA CROCUTA. [Apr. 16, may have been borne out by the presence of an anal pouch, which, according to him, was mistaken forjthe female organ-an explanation which is rational enough if we consider that H. crocuta formed the subject of the hypothesis, but one which, as I have already shown, loses all its force if we regard it as referring to either of the other species of Hyaena. I would add that the other statements of the historians already quoted, to wit that the Hyaena changes its sex every year, and that the female is rarely caught, are equally explicable in accordance with this view. The first of these I regard as another attempt to solve the problem of generation, seeing that the animals, to the eye of the observer, were uniformly of the male sex; whilst the latter is merely a statement of fact. It may be urged that the geographical distribution of H. crocuta, confined as that animal is to the region of Africa lying south of the Sahara1, and consequently beyond the ken of the Greeks, is against this view. But I may be permitted to point out that it is almost certain that in their time, as now, trading caravans from the coast visited these districts and conveyed to the Greeks information regarding the animals which inhabited them ; otherwise it is impossible to account for the accurate knowledge which Herodotus undoubtedly possessed regarding the African continent as far to the south-west as the valley of the Niger2. In all probability the statements of travellers regarding the bisexual nature of the Hyaena, originating with H. crocuta, were transferred by the Greeks to //. striata, with which they were better acquainted-statements which when taken as referring to the latter species are absolutely devoid of meaning, but which, when regarded as applying to the former, admit, as it appears to me, of a rational explanation. I have, in conclusion, to acknowledge the kindness of Dr. Alfred Young in preparing the illustrations for this paper. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. PLATE XXIV. View of the male perineum and penis of Hycena crocuta. From above downwards are seen the orifice of the anal-gland pouch, and anus'; below the latter is the scrotum, together with the bare perineal integument ; lowest of all is the penis, surrounded by its prepuce. PLATE XXV. Fig. 1. Male generative organs and extremity of rectum of Hyana crocuta. G. P, glans penis; Pr, prepuce; S, scrotum seen from the side; P, penis ; C. P, crura penis, covered by the ischio-cavernosi muscles; B. U, Bulb of urethra, covered by the bulbo-cavernosi muscles; R. P, retractor penis muscle; B, bladder; TJR, urethra ; T, T, testicles, that on the right side lying in its serous sac ; V. D, vasa differentia ; R, rectum ; A. G, anal gland; L. A, levator ani muscle. Fig. 2. Intrapelvic portion of urethra laid open, showing elevated fold of mucous membrane on its floor, together with the opening of the utriculus on the summit of this fold. Fig. 3. Glans penis and prepuce of Hycena crocuta. The prepuce is retracted to show the small recurved spines which invest the glans. 1 ' Geographical Distribution of Mammalia,' by Andrew Murray. 2 Heeren's ' Ancient Nations of Africa,' vol. i. p. 192. |
