On the male generative organs of Chlamydophorus truncatus and Dasypus sexcinctus / by M. Watson.
- Watson, Morrison.
- Date:
- 1878
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: On the male generative organs of Chlamydophorus truncatus and Dasypus sexcinctus / by M. Watson. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![2. Dasypus SEXCINCTUS. If now we compare the male organs of Chlamydophorus with those of Dasypus sexcinctus, we shall find that the resemblance between them is very striking. A full description of the male organs of D. sexcinctus after that already given of those of Chlamydophorus trun- catus would be superfluous, seeing that the one would to a large extent be a mere repetition of the other; and I shall therefore confine my- self to the indication of some points of interest in the anatomy of Dasypus which appear to have been overlooked1. The penis is enormous, and in a specimen measuring 13 inches in length, exclu- sive of the tail, is 4 inches long. It closely resembles that of Chla- mydophorus in form, its extremity being simple and not bifid as in the allied genus Tatusia. The integumental covering of the penis is annulated in character, the annulation extending from the base to the extremity of the organ on its dorsal or abdominal aspect, but inter- rupted on its lower surface toward the tip of the organ by a cutaneous patch presenting an altogether different appearance. This patch, which is situated immediately behind the extremity of the penis, is oval in form, and measures 1| inch in length. It surface is charac- terized by the presence of numerous closely placed transverse ridges of a hard and corneous nature. These ridges give to the patch somewhat of the appearance of a fine file, and, in the absence of a distinct glans, in all probability fulfil the function of the recurved spines so frequently seen on the latter in many mammals. The pre- puce is very small, and, when the penis is fully extended, disappears entirely, being stretched so as to form the cutaneous covering of the latter. In the flaccid condition, however, and when the organ is re- tracted, the penis is withdrawn entirely within the prepuce and almost concealed from view. Improbable as it may appear that an organ of the length of the penis can be really retracted within so small a pre- puce, I am in a position to know that such is the case, having exa- mined two specimens, in one of which the penis was exserted, as in fig. 4, whilst in the other it occupied the position shown in fig. 5. The retraction is accomplished by two retractor muscles, which, arising from the lower surface and outer border of the sacrum, pass forward along the whole length of the dorsum penis even to the tip, fibres being inserted into every part of that surface. These muscles, which exactly repeat those of Chlamydophorus, when contracting, have the effect of throwing the penis into a series of spiral curves, its extremity being bent inwards, as shown in fig. 5, so as to complete the concealment of the organ under its sheath. That these muscles are really the agents in producing this retraction is proved by the fact that the concavity of the terminal curve of the penis is formed by the dorsal aspect of the organ, on which these muscles are placed, whilst the convexity of the curve is formed by its ventral surface which is readily distinguished by the presence of the file-like patch already referred to. The penis is formed, as in Chlamydophorus, 1 I have been unable to consult Prof. Alexandrini's monograph of Dasypus, in Mem. Accad. d. Sci. Bologna, tom. vii. 185(5. [5]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2245536x_0007.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
