The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 04 (of 10)Warburton, Cecil
Science
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 04 (of 10)
Warburton, Cecil
Animals
The =heart= is always short, and never has more than a single pair of
lateral openings; it is longest in the Sididae, which show some
approximation to the Phyllopods in this, as in the slight degree of
difference between their anterior and posterior thoracic limbs. The
pericardium lies in the one or two anterior thoracic segments, dorsal to
the gut. From the heart the blood runs forwards to the dorsal part of
the head, and passes backwards by three main channels, one entering each
side of the carapace, while the third runs down the body, beneath the
alimentary canal to dilate into a large sinus round the rectum. This
ventral blood-channel gives a branch to each limb, which forms a
considerable dilatation in the epipodite, the blood from the limb
returning to the pericardium by a lateral sinus. From the rectum a large
sinus runs forwards to the pericardium along the dorsal wall of the
body. The blood which enters each half of the carapace is collected in a
median vessel and returned through this to the pericardium.
Those spaces between the viscera which are not filled with blood are
occupied by a peculiar connective tissue, consisting of rounded or
polyhedral cells, charged with drops of a fatty material which is often
brightly coloured.
The =reproductive organs= are interesting because of the peculiar
phenomena connected with the nutrition of the two kinds of eggs. The
ovaries or testes are epithelial sacs, one on each side of the body,
each continuous with a duct which opens to the exterior behind the last
thoracic limb. In the female, the opening is dorsal (Fig. 10), in the
male it is ventral (Fig. 11). The external opening is usually simple;
but in the male there is sometimes a penis-like process, on which the
vas deferens opens (_Daphnella_).
The eggs are of two kinds, the so-called “summer-eggs,” with relatively
little yolk, which develop rapidly without fertilisation, and the
so-called “winter-eggs,” containing much yolk, which require to be
fertilised and then develop slowly.
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