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Show 520 DR. M. WATSON ON THE SPOTTED HYiENA. [May 3, length and half an inch in breadth, placed one on either side of the commencement of the urethra. The two lobes are, moreover, inseparably united by an intermediate isthmus, which extends across the upper wall of the urethra. The prostate gland of H. crocuta appears therefore to resemble closely that of H. striata as figured by Leuckart1, but is more flattened from above downwards than in that animal. The absence, or apparent want of differentiation, of the prostate gland from the surrounding tissue in the first specimen which I examined of the male H. crocuta, taken in conjunction with its large size and clear differentiation in both the other specimens, each of which was known to be of great age, seems to show that this gland, like the anal scent-glands, only attains its full size at a period somewhat later than that at which the animal attains sexual maturity. In addition to the careful investigation of the anatomy of the male and female generative organs, I made a particular examination of the other viscera of both the specimens forwarded to me by the Society. With regard to these, however, I noticed nothing of importance with which to supplement my previous description, beyond some few variations in respect of the number of pulmonic lobes in the different specimens. In the male previously described by Mr. Young and myself2, the lung of the right side was subdivided into six lobes, whilst that of the left was subdivided into three. In the female, the anatomy of which forms a portion of the present communication, I found that the right lung was subdivided mto five lobes, this being due to the fact that the fissure which separates lobes 1 and 3 of our first specimen did not exist, and that consequently these two lobes were fused to form a single one. The left lung of this specimen agreed exactly with the description previously given. In the second male which I examined I found that the anterior vertical fissure (previously described by us) in the left lung had likewise disappeared, so that the lobes 1 and 2 were almost completely fused. In the right lung of the same specimen there was a mere indication of the fissure which, in the joint paper referred to, separates lobes 1 and 2, whilst the fissure separating lobes 1 and 3 had completely disappeared. Consequently the lobes 1, 2, and 3, which in the specimen examined by Mr. Young and myself were perfectly distinct, were fused together and formed a single mass of pulmonary tissue. In this specimen, therefore, the right lung was subdivided into four lobes only, and not into six (as in the specimen described in our former paper). Thus it would appear that the number of lobes into which the lung is divided varies in different specimens of the same species of Hycena, and that consequently no weight can be placed on the number of pulmonic lobes in any attempt to define the specific characters of the various species of Hycena. I am indebted to the kindness of my friend Mr. Alfred Young for the drawings from nature which accompany this paper. 1 Cyclopaedia of Anatomy, art. VESICULA PROSTATICA 2 P. Z. 8. 1879, p. 87. |