QL 366 M66 1917 Sp Coll ,,^ X.N ffiDDUOTION TO THE STUDY OF THE PEOTOZOA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE PARASITIC FORMS BY E. A. MINCHIN, M.A., PH.D., F.B.S. PROFESSOH OF PROTOZOOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON >, KOV ILLUSTRATED MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY LI5RARY O^S HGi-c, f-'ASS. W. H. 0 !. SECOND IMPRESSION LONDON — J^DWARD ARNOLD 1917 * [All rjyhts rfferv PREFACE THIS book, as its name implies, is intended to serve as an intro- duction to the subject with which it deals, and not in any way as a complete treatise upon it. The science of " protozoology," as it is now generally termed, covers a vast field, and deals with an immense series of organisms infinitely varied in form, structure, and modes of life. In recent years the recognition of the importance of the Protozoa to mankind in various ways, and especially from the medical point of view, has focussed attention upon them, and has brought about a great increase of our knowledge concerning these forms of life. To set forth adequately and in full detail all that is now known about the Protozoa would be a task that could not be attempted in a volume of this size, but would require a work many times larger. The aim of the present work is essentially didactic — that is to say, it is intended to furnish a guide to those who, having at least some general knowledge of biology, desire a closer acquaintance with the special problems presented by the Protozoa. First and foremost, it attempts to define the position of these organisms in Nature, and to determine, as far as possible, in this way exactly what should be included under the term " Protozoa," and what should be excluded from the group. Secondly, its function is to guide the student through the maze of technicalities necessarily surrounding the study of objects unfamiliar in daily life, and requiring, consequently, a vocabulary more extensive than that of common language ; and with this aim in view, care has been taken to define or explain fully all technical terms, since confusion of thought can be avoided only by a clear understanding of their exact significance and proper application. Thirdly, it aims at introducing the student to the vast series of forms comprised in the Protozoa and their systematic- classification, based on their mutual affinities and inter-relationships, so far as these can be inferred from their structural peculiarities and their life-histories. And, incidentally, attention has been drawn specially to those parts of the subject where the Protozoa throw vi PREFACE great light on sonic of the fundamental mysteries of living matter — as, for example, sex — and a special chapter dealing with the physiology of the Protozoa has been added. In so wide a field it is almost necessary to exercise some favour- itism in the choice of objects, and greater stress has been laid in this work upon the parasitic forms, both on account of the many interesting biological problems which they present, and also because they come into closer relationship with the practical needs of human life than the non-parasitic species. The author wishes, however, to point out clearly that he is not a medical man, but one who approaches the study of the parasitic Protozoa solely from the standpoint of a naturalist who is more concerned, so to speak, with the interests of the parasite than with those of the host. Conse- quently, purely medical problems — such as, for example, the symptoms and treatment of diseases caused by trypanosomes and other Protozoa' — are not dealt with in this book, since the author deems it no part of his task to attempt to instruct medical men concerning matters with which they are better acquainted by their training and experience than himself. The needs of medical men have, however, been specially kept in view, and the author hopes that the book will succeed in supplying them with useful informa- tion, at least from a general zoological or biological standpoint. In a science, such as protozoology, which is growing actively and receiving continually new additions, and in which most of the data are based upon an elaborate and delicate technique, there are necessarily many controversial matters to be dealt with. In such cases the points at issue have been reviewed critically, and the author has, wherever possible, attempted to give a lead by indicating more or less decisively what is, in his opinion, the most probable solution of the problem under discussion. Such judgments, how- ever, are not intended to be put forward in a dogmatic or polemical spirit, since the author recognizes fully that any conclusion now reached may be upset entirely by fresh evidence to the contrary. The vast literature of the Protozoa would, if cited in full, easily fill by itself a volume of the size of the present one. It has been necessary, therefore, to restrict the limits of the bibliography as much as possible, both by selecting carefully the memoirs to be cited and by abbreviating their titles. The works selected for reference comprise, first, comprehensive treatises which deal with the subject, or with some part of it in a general way, and in which full references to older works will be found ; secondly, classical memoirs on particular subjects, also containing, as a rule, full bibliographies ; and, thirdly, such memoirs of recent date as have PREFACE vii been deemed worthy of citation. In the many cases where the same authors have published several works on a given subject, only the last of them is cited — for example, the volume of researches published recently by Mathis and Leger (473) covers the ground of the earlier memoirs published by these authors, which are therefore not cited ; similarly, the memoir upon amoebae by Nagler (95) covers the earlier work of Hartrnarm and Nagler upon Amoeba diploidea. Since it was quite impossible to make the bibliography in any way exhaustive, the aim has been to make it, like the rest of the book, introductory to the subject. It is hoped that any reader who, desirous of pursuing further some special subject, consults the references cited will find in them and in the further works quoted in them the means of acquiring complete information with regard to modern knowledge concerning all the points in question. The following classes of memoirs are not cited, however, in the bibliography, unless there was some special reason for doing so : faunistic works, papers describing new species, and writings of a polemical character. New memoirs on Protozoa are being published continually, so rapidly, and in so many different periodicals (some of them very difficult to obtain), that the author fears he may himself have overlooked many such, especially of those publications which have appeared very recently, while the book was in course of preparation. T\>r such omissions, some of which have already come under his notice, he can but apologize, and at the same time promise that they shall be rectified in future editions, if the patronage of those interested in the subject enables further editions of this book to be published. The present edition does not, however, profess to deal with works published later than 1911. In order to further the object of making this book a guide to the technicalities of the subject, the plan has been adopted of printing in heavier black type in the index the numbers of those pages on which the term cited is fully explained, or, in the case of taxonomic names, is referred to its place in the systematic classification. In this way the index can be used as a glossary by anyone wishing to ascertain the significance of a technical term, or, though necessarily to a more limited extent, the systematic position of a genus, family, or order of the Protozoa. All that is necessary for this purpose is to look up the word in the index, and then to turn to the page or pages indicated by black type. The author has, in a few cases, modified the technical terminology in current use, or has made additions to it. The adjective in general use relating to chromatin is " chromatic," with its various deriva- viii PREFACE lives ("achromatic," etc.); since, however, these adjectives have- a totally different meaning and use in optics, they have been altered to chromatinic, etc., in so far as they relate to chromatin. New terms used in this book are chromidiosome (p. 65, footnote), endosome (p. 73), as an equivalent to the German Binnenkorper, and cjregarinula (p. 169). In conclusion, it is the author's pleasant duty to return thanks to those of his colleagues who have kindly rendered him assistance in his task. He is especially indebted for much help and many valuable suggestions and criticisms to Dr. H. M. Woodcock, whose unrivalled knowledge of recent bibliography has been throughout of the utmost assistance ; and to Dr. J. D. Thomson and Miss Muriel Robertson for many helpful discussions upon matters of fact or theory. Dr. A. G. Bagshawe, Professor J. B. Farmer, F.R.S., Mr. W. F. Lanchester, Dr. C. J. Martin, F.R.S., and Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell, F.R.S., have kindly read through some of the chapters, and have given valuable advice and criticism. In justice to these gentle- men, however, it should be stated that they are in no way responsible for any of the theoretical opinions put forward by the author. The majority of the figures have been specially drawn from the original sources, or from actual preparations by Mr. R. Brook-Greaves and Miss Mabel Rhodes, to both of whom the author's best thanks are due. LISTER INSTITUTE OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE, CHELSEA, S.W., July 1, 1912. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGES I. INTRODUCTORY — THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF THE PROTOZOA AND OF THEIR PRINCIPAL SUBDIVISIONS - - 1 — 12 II. THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA ... 13 — 28 The Four Types of Nutrition, 13-15 ; Problems of Parasitism, 15-28. [II. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA — EXTERNAL FORM AND SKELETAL STRUCTURES .... 29 — 39 IV. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA (continued) — THE PROTO- PLASMIC BODY - ..... 40 11 V. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA (continued) — DIFFERENTIATIONS OF THE ECTOPLASM AND ENDOPLASM - 45 — 64 A. Ectoplasmic Organs — (1) Protective, 45; (2) Kinetic and Locomotor, 46 ; (3) Excretory, 60 ; (4) Sensory, 61. B. Endoplasmic Organs, 62. VI. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA (continued) — THE NUCLEAR APPARATUS — CHROMATIN, NUCLEUS, CHROMIDIA, CENTEO- SOMES, AND BLEPHAROPLASTS - - 65 — 99 VII. THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA ... - 100 — 124 Types of Fission, 100 ; Division of the Nucleus, 101 ; Division of the Cell-Body, 122. VIII. SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA - - - 125 — 161 Nature of the Sexual Process, 125 ; Occurrence of Sexual Phenomena and their Importance in the Life of the Organism, 128 ; Maturation and Reduction, 142 ; Examples of Syngamy and Reduction in Protozoa, 147 ; Theories of the Origin and Significance of the Syngamic Process, 154. ix x CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGES IX. POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES OF THE PROTOZOA - - 162 — 185 A. Polymorphism, 162-176 ; B. Life-Cycles, 177-185. X. THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA - 186 — 211 (1) Nutrition and Assimilation, 187; (2) Respiration, 195; (3) Excretion and Secretion, 197 ; (4) Transmutation of Energy, 199 ; (5) Reactions to Stimuli and Environments, 201 ; (6) Degeneration and Regeneration, 208. XI. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE PROTOZOA: THE SARCODINA - 212 — 256 A. Rhizopoda — I. Amoebaea, 218 ; II. Foraminifera, 231 ; III. Xenophyophora, 237 ; IV. Mycetozoa, 239. B. Actinopoda — V. Heliozoa, 244 ; VI. Radiolaria, 249. XII. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE PROTOZOA : THE MASTIGOPHORA 257 — 279 I. Flagellata, 257 ; II. Dinoflagellata seu Peridiniales, 276 ; III. Cystoflagellata seu Rhynchoflagellata, 278. XIII. THE H^MOFLAGELLATES AND ALLIED FORMS - 280 — 322 I. Trypanosoma, 283 ; II. Trypanoplasma, 309 ; III. Crithidia, 312 ; IV. Leptomonas, 313 ; V. Leishmania, 316 ; VI. Prowa- zekia, 319. XIV. THE SPOROZOA : I. THE GREGAEINES AND COCCIDIA - - 323 — 355 I. Gregarinoidea, 326 ; II. Coccidia, 341. Comparison of the Life-Cycles of Gregarines and Coccidia, 354. XV. THE SPOROZOA: II. THE H^IMOSPORIDIA - - - 356 — 397 (1) Haemamrebse, 357; (2) Halteridia, 365; (3) Leucocytozoa, 369 ; (4) Haemogregarines, 371 ; (5) Piroplasms, 378 ; Affinities of the Haemosporidia, 388 ; of the Telosporidia, 395. XVI. THE SPOROZOA: III. THE NEOSPORIDIA • - 398 — 429 I. Myxosporidia, 399 ; II. Actinomyxidia, 409 ; III. Micro- sporidia, 411 ; IV. Sarcosporidia, 419 ; V. Haplosporidia, 423. Incertce Sedis, 425. XVII. The INFUSORIA - - 430 — 461 I. Ciliata, 430; II. Acinetaria, 455. CONTENTS xi CHAPTER PAGES XVIII. AFFINITIES AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE MAIN SUBDIVISIONS — DOUBTFUL GROUPS - - 462 — 474 General Phylogeny of the Protozoa, 463. Spirochsetes, 466 ; Chlamydozoa, 470. BIBLIOGRAPHY ... . 475 — 504 INDEX - .... 505—517 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE PROTOZOA CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY --THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF THE PROTOZOA AND OF THEIR PRINCIPAL SUBDIVISIONS THE Protozoa are a very large and important group of organisms, for the most part of minute size, which exhibit a wide range of variation in structural and developmental characters, correlated with the utmost diversity in their modes of life. Nevertheless, however greatly adaptation to the conditions of life may have modified their form, structure, or physiological properties, a certain type of organization is common to all members of the group. The most salient feature of the Protozoa is their unicellular nature ; that is to say, the individual in this subdivision of living beings is an organism of primitive character, in which the whole body has the morphological value of a single " cell," a mass of protoplasm containing nuclear substance (chromatin) concentrated into one or more nuclei. However complex the structure and functions of the body, the organs that it possesses are parts of a cell (" organellse "), and are never made up of distinct cells ; and at least one nucleus is present, or only temporarily absent, as a constant integral part of the organism. The unicellular nature of the Protozoa, though a constant character, cannot, however, be used by itself to define the group, since it is also a peculiarity of many other distinct types of simple living things. As an assemblage of organisms of primitive nature from which, in all probability, the ordinary plants and animals have originated in the remote past by divergent processes of evolution, the Protozoa, have always possessed very great interest from the purely scientific and philosophical point of view. Of recent years, however, they have also acquired great practical importance from the relations that have been discovered to exist between Protozoa of parasitic habit and many diseases of man and animals. Hence the study of the Protozoa has received an immense impetus, and has been 1 2 THE PROTOZOA cultivated zealously even by many who are not professed biologists, with the result that our knowledge of these organisms has made very great strides in the last two decades, and is advancing so rapidly that it becomes increasingly difficult for any single person to keep pace with the vast amount of new knowledge that is pub- lished almost daily at the present time. While the attention that is now focussed upon the Protozoa has led to a most gratifying increase of scientific and medical knowledge concerning particular forms, it tends frequently to a certain vague- ness in the notions held with regard to the nature and extent of the group as a whole. This is owing largely to the fact that many are now attracted to the study of the Protozoa whose aims are purely practical, and who investigate only a limited number of species in minute detail, without having an adequate foundation of general knowledge concerning other forms. Hence it is important to attempt to frame a general definition of the Protozoa, or at least to characterize these organisms in such a way as to enable a dis- tinction to be drawn between them and other primitive forms of life. This object may be attained logically in two ways — either by considering the distinctive characters of the group, or by enu- merating the types of organisms which constitute it ; in more technical phraseology, by determining either the connotation or the denotation of the term Protozoa. To attempt this task will be the object of the present chapter. The name Protozoa was first used in 1820* as an equivalent of the German word Urthiere, meaning animals of a primitive or archaic type. This fitting designation superseded rapidly the older term Infusoria (Infiisionsthierchen), used to denote the swarms of microscopic organisms which make their appearance in organic infusions exposed to the air. The word Infusoria is now em- ployed in a restricted sense, as the name of one of the principal subdivisions of the Protozoa (pp. 12 and 430). The first attempt at a scientific definition of the Protozoa was given by von Siebold, who defined them, from a strictly zoological standpoint, as unicellular animals. This definition, or a modifica- tion of it, is still the one given, as a rule, in zoological textbooks ; and from this time onwards the animal kingdom was subdivided universally into the Protozoa and the Metazoa. The Protozoa, as organisms in which the individual is a single cell, are regarded as those which come first (TT^WTOS) in the ascending scale of animal life, or in the course of organic evolution ; the Metazoa, in which the individual is an organism composed of many cells, come after the simpler forms of life in rank and time. * For the detailed history of the growth of scientific knowledge of the Protozoa. .see Biitschli (2), pp. i-xviii. DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF THE PROTOZOA 3 Siebold's generalization was a great step in advance, introducing clear and orderly ideas into the place of the chaotic notions pre- viously held, and setting definite limits to the group Protozoa by excluding from it various types of organisms, such as Sponges, Rotifers, etc., which had hitherto been classed as Protozoa, but which were now referred definitely to the Metazoa. Nevertheless Siebold's definition presents many difficulties, especially when con- sidered from a wider standpoint than that of the zoologist. This will be apparent if the two words of the definition given above, ;' unicellular animals," be considered critically. 1. " Unicellular."-— Accepting the standpoint of the cell-theory, it has already been noted that many other organisms besides Protozoa must be regarded as single cells. Moreover, it is found that many organisms which must be classed as Protozoa appear constantly in a multicellular condition ; such are the well-known genus Volvox and its allies, besides examples of other orders. In all cases of this kind, however, the constituent cells are morphologically equivalent, and are to be regarded as complete individuals more or less inde- pendent, showing as a rule no differentiation, or, if any, only into reproductive and vegetative individuals ; and the multicellular organism as a whole is to be regarded as a colony of unicellular individuals primitively similar but secondarily differentiated, it may be, in relation to special functions. Such multicellular Protozoa present, in fact, a perfect analogy with the colonial forms seen in many groups of animals higher in the scale, especially the Coelentera, where also the members of a colony, primitively equivalent and similar amongst themselves, may become differentiated secondarily for the performance of distinct functions by a process of division of labour among different individuals. It is not possible to con- found the multicellular Protozoa with the Metazoa, in which the organism is not only composed of many cells, but exhibits also cell-differentiation based on mutual physiological dependence of the cells on one another, leading to the formation of distinct tissues ; that is to say, aggregations or combinations of numerous cells, all specialized for the performance of a particular function, such as contraction, secretion, and so forth. The essential feature of the Protozoa, as contrasted with the higher animals or plants, is to be sought in the independence and physiological completeness of the cell-individual. The Metazoa are tissue-animals, in which the primitive individuality of the cell, is subordinated to, or has a restraint imposed upon it by, the corporate individuality of the cell -aggregate. In the Protozoa the cells are complete individuals, morphologically and physiologically of equal value. If, however, as feAv will doubt, the Metazoa have been evolved from simple unicellular ancestors, similar to th<> 4 THE PROTOZOA Protozoa, then there must have existed an unbroken series of transitions between these two types of living beings. Hence, as in all attempts to classify living beings, sharp verbal distinctions between Protozoa and Metazoa are rendered possible only through the extinct/ion of intermediate forms, or by ignoring such forms if known to exist. It is expedient rather to recognize distinct types of organization characteristic of the Protozoa and the Metazoa respectively, and to compare and contrast them, than to attempt to limit these groups by precise definitions. 2. " Animals."- -This part of the definition raises more difficulties than their cellular nature. In the higher forms of life the distinc- tion between animals and plants is an obvious and natural one ; it is by no means so in the lower organisms. In the ranks of the simplest living creatures, those of animal nature are not marked off by any sharply defined structural or other features from those of vegetable nature, and cannot be separated from them in any scheme of classification which claims to be founded upon, or to express, the true natural affinities and relationships of the objects dealt with. As will be explained more fully in the next and subsequent chapters, the distinction between animal and vegetable is, at its first appear- ance, nothing but a difference in the mode in which the organisms obtain their living. Forms that are obviously closely allied in all their characters may differ in this respect, and in some cases even one and the same species may nourish itself at one time as a plant, at another as an animal, according to circumstances. In short, the difference between plant and animal is primarily a distinction based upon habits and modes of life, and, like all such distinctions, does not furnish characters that can be utilized for systematic classifica- tion until the mode of life has continued so long, and the habit has become so engrained, as to leave an impress upon the entire structural characteristics of the organism. The Protozoa cannot therefore be defined strictly and con- sistently as organisms of animal nature, for, though the vast majority of them certainly exhibit animal characteristics, it is impossible to exclude from the group many which live temporarily or permanently after the manner distinctive of the vegetable kingdom, and which are plants, to all intents and purposes, leading on in an unbroken series to the simplest algae. For this reason it has been proposed to unite all the simplest and most primitive forms of life in one "kingdom" under the title Protista (Protistenreich, Haeckel), irrespective of their habit of life and metabolism, whether animal or vegetable. The kingdom Protista is then to be considered as equivalent in systematic value to the animal and vegetable kingdoms, which in their turn are restricted in their application to true animals and plants as ordinarily DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF THE PROTOZOA understood. The term Protista thus unites under a single systematic category the vast assemblage of simple and primitive living beings from which the animal and vegetable kingdoms have taken origin, and have developed, by a continuous process of natural evolution, in different directions in adaptation to divergent modes of life. The conception of a Protistan kingdom separate from the animal and vegetable kingdoms is open to the objection that it contains organisms which are indubitably of animal or vegetable nature respectively. The relations of the Protista to other living things may be repre- sented graphically by the accompanying dia- gram (Fig. 1), where the circle represents the Protista, the two triangles the animal and vegetable kingdoms respectively. It is seen that the separation of the Protista as a systematic unity cuts across the ascending series of evolution ; to express it figuratively, it is a transverse cleavage of the phylogenetic " tree." A truly natural classification of living things, however, is one which expresses their genetic affinities and follows their pedigrees and lines of descent ; it should represent a vertical cleavage of the ancestral tree. Judged by this standard, the kingdom of the Protista •can only be regarded as a convenient makeshift or compromise, rather than as a solution of a FIG. 1. — Graphic representa- difficult problem — that, namely, of giving a tion of the relation of the natural classification of the most primitive forms of life. animal and vegetable king- doms to the kingdom of the Protista (Protistenreich). The Protozoa are represented by the portion of the triangle representing the animal kingdom which lies within the circle representing the Protista. Whether the kingdom Protista be accepted or not as a natural and valid division of living beings, it is imperative to subdivide it further, not only on account of its vast extent and unwieldy size, but also because it comprises organisms very diverse in nature, requiring for their study the application of methods of technique and investigation often entirely different in kind. Hence in actual practice the Protista are partitioned among at least three different classes ' of scientific workers — zoologists, botanists, and bacteri- ologists— each studying them by special methods and to some extent from different points of view. It is necessary, therefore, to consider from a general standpoint the principal types of organization comprised in the kingdom Protista, and we can recognize at the outset two chief grades of structure, bearing in mind always that transitional forms between them must exist, or at least must have existed. In the first grade, which is represented by the Bacteria and allied groups of organisms, a type of organization is found which is probably the more primitive, though by many regarded as the 6 THE PROTOZOA result of degeneration and specialization. These organisms do not conform to the type of structure of the cell, as this word is usually understood, since they do not exhibit, speaking generally, a division of the living body substance into a nucleus distinct from the cytoplasm ;* but the chromatin is distributed through the proto- plasmic body in the condition of scattered lumps or granules (" chromidia "), and in many cases it constitutes, apparently, the whole or a very large proportion of the substance of the body. f?m$jjtm&?) <% ^fm^r ® r B FIG. 2. — Amosba proteus. A, An individual in active movement ; the arrows indicate the direction of the currents in the protoplasm ; at r is seen a pseudo- podium which is nearly completely retracted and has assumed a rnulberry- like appearance ; c.v., contractile vacuole, ; /., fsecal matter extruded at the end of the body posterior in movement ; the nucleus is obscured by the opacity of the protoplasm. B, An individual in the act of capturing its prey (P1), an Infusorian (Urocentrnm) ; two pseudopodia have flowed round it, as shown by the arrows, and met at the point c, enclosing the prey ; another Infusorian (P2) is seen in a food vacuole in the body; N., nucleus; other letters as in A. After Leidy (226), magnified 200 diameters. Further, the body in organisms of the bacterial type is of definite form, limited in many cases by a rigid envelope or cuticle, and special organs of locomotion are either absent or present in the form of so-called " flagella," structures perhaps different in nature from the flagella of truly cellular organisms. But the most remark- able and significant feature of organisms of the bacterial type is seen in the many different modes of metabolism and assimilation : The significance of the terms " nucleus," " cytoplasm," " chromidia," etc.,, will be explained more fully in subsequent chapters. DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF THE PROTOZOA 7 seen to occur amongst them. Although their metabolism is in general distinctly of a vegetative or saprophytic type, it often exhibits peculiarities not found in any true plant.* In the second grade of the Protista, the organism possesses the characteristics of a true cell, in that the body shows a differentia- tion of the living substance into two quite distinct parts — the cytoplasm, or general body-protoplasm, in which is lodged at least one nucleus, a body representing a concentration and organiza- tion of the chromatin-substance. In some cases the nuclear sub- stance or chroinatin niav be in the scattered, chromidial condition tj end-----, ^fa^ /////mi / ,-: • > • f j f * FIG. 3. — Actinosphcerium eichhornii. ect., Ectoplasm; end., endoplasm ; c.v.1, a contractile vacuole at its full size ; c.v.2, a contractile vacuole which has just burst ;f.v.,f.v., food vacuoles ; D., a large diatom engulfed in the protoplasm ; ps., pseupopodia ; N., one of the numerous nuclei. After Leidy (226), magni- fied 250 diameters. during certain phases of the life-history, but such a condition is comparatively rare and probably always temporary. The body- protoplasm may be limited by a firm envelope, or may, on the other hand, be naked, in which case the body-form may be quite in- definite. Organs of locomotion, when present, are of various kinds ; and these organs may serve also for the capture and ingestion of food. And, finally, the metabolism is always one of the four types * For a summary and review of different modes of metabolism among bacterial organisms, see article " Fermentation " in Thorpe's " Dictionary of Applied Chemistry " (Longmans). 8 THE PROTOZOA described in more detail in the next chapter— namely, animal-like (holozoic), plant-like (holophytic), fungus-like (saprophytic), or at the expense of some other living organism (parasitic). The cellular organisms that constitute the second or higher grade of the Protista are commonly partitioned between botanists and zoologists as Protophyta (unicellular algae and fungi) and Protozoa respectively. It has been pointed out already, however, that this c/r^iJ ^s E**^ o«Vooly<\0 te^ll^ m$££m w FIG. 4. — Euglena spi- rogyra. ces., CEsopha- gus;st., stigma; c.r., reservoir of the con- tractile vacuole; P,P, paramylum - bodies ; N., nucleus. After Stein. FIG. 5. — Trichomonas eberthi, from the intestine of the common fowl, fll., Anterior flagella, three in number ; p. ft., posterior flagellum, forming the edge of the undulating membrane ; chr.L, " chromatinic line," forming the base of the undulating membrane; chr.b., " chromatinic blocks " ; bl., blepharoplast from which all four flagella arise ; m., mouth-opening ; N., nucleus ; ax., axostyle. After Martin and Robertson. DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF THE PROTOZOA 9 method of subdividing them is purely arbitrary and artificial ; it leads to the result that many forms are claimed by both sides, and are always to be found described in both botanical and zoological treatises. It is nevertheless convenient for many reasons to retain the group Protozoa, even though we are obliged to include in it some forms which are plants in every sense of the word. The systematist who desires to give a rigidly logical definition of the Protozoa is, then, confronted with a dilemma : either to exclude from it forms with plant-like metab- olism which naturally belong to it, or, by admitting such forms, to impair the universal applicability of the definition given. Such difficulties arise in every attempt to apply rigid verbal definitions to natural groups of living things ; they are the direct outcome of the fact that all organisms have undergone and are undergoing a process of evolution, whereby they adapt themselves to new conditions of life and acquire new characters, as a result of which any two forms now distinct are or have been, connected by intermediate forms. B FIG. 6. — Trypanosoma remaki of the pike. A, Slender form (" var. parva "). B, Stout form (" var. magna "). After Minchin, x 2,000. FIG. 7. - - Gregarina polymorpha, parasite of the digestive tract of the mealworm ; " syzygy " of two individuals attached to one another. In each individual, N., nucleus; pr., proto- rnerite, or anterior segment of the body; d., deutomerite, or posterior segment. After Schneider. 10 THE PROTOZOA The attempt, therefore, made in the following paragraph to give a diagnosis of the Protozoa must not be regarded as a definition of the group in the rigidly logical sense, but merely as the construc- tion of a general type, the characters of which are liable to a certain amount of variation in special cases — a compromise between the claims of logic and the versatility of Nature. The Protozoa, then, are Protista in which the organization is of the cellular type, with nucleus distinct from the cytoplasm. They are uni- cellular, in the sense that the cell constitutes an entire individual, which may exist singly and in- dependently or in the form of cell- colonies ; but in the latter case the cells are not subordinated to the individuality of the entire cell- aggregate by the formation of n-. - » ! .•» iH . •-.& 1 i :ty$ ~ •"•*• Ht •»f^&i^M^ FIG. 8. — Stentor roesdii, fully expanded. oes., (Esophagus; N, band-like macro- nucleus ; c.v., contractile vacuole, con- nected with a long feeding- canal (/.c.) stretching down the body ; H, gelat- inous house into which the animal can retract itself completely ;/., fibres attaching the extremity to the stalk to the house. After Stein. c.v- an. FIG. 9. — Nyctotherus cordiformis, parasite of the rectum of the frog. "" N, Macronucleus ; n, micronucleus ; gr., mass of granules in front of the ^ macronucleus ; ces., oesophagus; c.v., f^ contractile vacuole ; an., anus L_ (cytopyge). After Stein. tissues. The body protoplasm is naked or clothed with a firm envelope, which is usually not of the nature of cellulose. Proto- plasmic organs are usually present for purposes of locomotion and for the capture and ingestion of food. Chlorophyll is usually absent as a cell -constituent, and the metabolism is usually of the animal type. To these characters it may be added, though not as special peculiarities of Protozoa, that reproduction takes place DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF THE PROTOZOA 11 and that tfi-. always by some form of fission — that is to say, division of the body into smaller parts ; that the phenomena known as " syngamy " and " sex " occur, perhaps universally, throughout the group it is very characteristic of Protozoa, as compared with other Protista, to exhibit in their life-history a develop- mental cycle, more or less complicated, in the course of which the organism may appear under very different forms at different stages in its develop- ment. The Protozoa, as thus under- stood, are commonly divided into four main subdivisions, termed "classes." Other methods of classifying the Protozoa have been suggested, which will be considered later ; for the present the old- established subdivisions are sufficient for our purpose. CLASS I., SARCODIXA.* — Protozoa in which the proto- plasmic body is naked or non- corticate - - that is to say, without a limiting envelope in the form of a cuticle, membrane, or stiff cortical layer ; consequently the body tends to be either more or less spherical in floating forms, or to have an irregular, con- tinually changing shape in creeping forms. Organs serving for locomotion and capture of food are furnished by tem- porary extensions of the living pi-otoplasm, termed pseudo- podia. A skeleton or shell may be present. Examples FIG. 10. — Acineta grandis. st., Stalk ; th.f theca ; s., suctorial tentacles. After Saville Kent. The name is derived from sarcode, the term coined by Dujardin to denote u-mg substance subsequently named by von Mohl protoplasm, the term now universally employed. 12 THE PROTOZOA • are Amoeba (Fig. 2), Diffl.ugia (Fig. 16), Adinosphcerium (Fig. 3), etc. CLASS II., MASTIGOPHORA.* — Protozoa in which the organs of locomotion and food-capture in the adult are flagella, slender fila- ments which are capable of performing active whip-like, lashing movements. The body-protoplasm may be naked or corticate. Examples are Euglena (Fig. 4), Trichomonas (Fig. 5), Trypanosoma (Fig. 6), etc. CLASS III., SPOROZOA. — Protozoa occurring always as parasites of other organisms, and without definite organs for locomotion or ingestion of food in the adult condition. The reproduction takes place, typically, by formation of resistant seed-like bodies, termed spores, containing one or more minute germs, termed sporozoites. Examples are Gregarina (Fig. 7), Coccidium (Fig. 152), the malarial parasites (Fig. 156), etc. CLASS IV., INFUSORIA. — Protozoa in which the organs of loco- motion and food-capture are cilia, small vibratile filaments dis- tinguished from flagella by their smaller size, by differences in their mode of movement, and by being present usually, in primitive forms at least, in great numbers like a fine fur over the whole or a part of the surface of the body. The cilia may be present through- out life (subclass Ciliata), or only in the early stages of the life- history (subclass Acinetaria). The body -protoplasm is always cor- ticate. Examples are Stentor (Fig. 8), Nyctotherus (Fig. 9), Acineta (Fig. 10), etc. Bibliography. — For a list of general works on Protozoa, see p. 476. * Derived from the Greek /ido-nf, a whip, equivalent to the Latin flagettum. CHAPTER II THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA PROTOZOA, as simple protoplasmic organisms, can only exist in an active state in a fluid medium. Hence the free-living, non-parasitic forms are aquatic, either marine or fresh-water in habitat. A certain number of species, however, are semi-terrestrial in their mode of life, creeping on damp surfaces or living in a minimum of moisture. Examples of such forms are the Amoebae, etc., found in the soil, or Mycetozoa, which in the plasmodial phase (p. 239) creep ort tree-trunks, logs, and so forth. None of these forms, however, can remain active in perfectly dry surroundings, but pass into a resting state when desiccated. It has been stated already that the methods by which Protozoa gain their livelihood vary greatly in different cases. Considered generally, these methods may be classified under four types : I. The majority of Protozoa nourish themselves after the manner of animals — that is to say, they are entirely dependent for food and sustenance on other organisms which they capture, devour, and digest. Such forms are said technically to be holozoic, a word sig- nifying " completely animal-like "; they are unable to utilize simpler chemical substances in order to build up the protein constituents of the living body, but require proteins ready-made for their sustenance. II. A certain number of Protozoa — all, with rare exceptions, belonging to the class Mastigophora — possess in their body-sub- stance peculiar colour-bearing corpuscles, so-called cJiromatopJiores or chromoplasts, containing chlorophyll or a pigment of allied nature, by means of which they are able to decompose carbon dioxide in the sunlight, liberating the oxygen and making use of the carbon in order to build up the protein and other constituents of the living body. Such organisms are entirely similar in their metabolism to the ordinary green plants, and are hence termed holophytic. or " completely plant-like." The holophytic condition, in which the chlorophyll-bodies form an integral part of the structure of the body, and are to be regarded simply as proto- plasmic organs, must be distinguished carefully from a state of things often 13 14 THE PROTOZOA found in holozoic Protozoa of all classes — namely, the presence in the body substance of symbiotic independent organisms of vegetable nature, as described below. III. A certain number of Protozoa that have no chlorophyll or similar pigment in their bodies are, nevertheless, free from the necessity of preying upon other organisms in order to obtain their sustenance, since they are able to live upon organic substances in solution, the products of the metabolism or decay of other living organisms. Such forms are termed saprophytic (or saprozoic). since their mode of life is similar to that of a saprophyte, such as a fungus. It is not necessary that they should be supplied with ready-made proteins in their food, since they are able to build up their protein constituents from substances of simpler chemical nature. Many examples of saprophytic forms are found amongst the free-living Flagellata. Lauterborn (17) has coined the useful term sapropelic (from the Greek 7rrj\6s, mud) to denote a mode of life which must be regarded as a special type of the saprophytic method, partly also of the holozoic — namely, the mode of life of those fresh- water organisms that live in a mud or ooze composed almost entirely of the decaying remains of dead plants and other debris of a similar nature. A very characteristic fauna occurs under these conditions. IV. Finally, many Protozoa of all classes live as parasites — that is to say, at the expense of some other living being, which is termed the host. These four modes of life can be used only to a very limited extent for classificatory purposes ; it is only possible to do so in those cases where a particular habit of life, long' continued, has resulted in definite structural characteristics, and more especially in the loss of organs requisite for other modes of life — as, for example, in the case of the subdivision Phytoflagellata, of the order Flagellata, where the holophytic habit has become so ingrained that only structural features proper to vegetable life are retained. In other cases it is clear that a given habit of life in different organisms does not necessarily indicate close affinity between them. In the first place, we find closely allied forms living in different ways. Examples of all the four methods of metabolism described above are to be found in the single order Flagellata, and through- out the Protozoa there are commonly to be found parasitic forms closely allied to free-living forms. In the second place, different- types of metabolism may be found as transitory phases in the life of one and the same individual or species. Thus the common Euglena (Fig. 4), a flagellate possessing chromatophores and living normally in a holophytic manner, is able to maintain itself as a saprophyte if deprived of the sunlight necessary for a holophytio mode of life (p. 188) Striking examples of variability in the mode of nutrition are seen also in the section Chryso monad inn. of THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA 15 the Flagellata, where a given species may be either holozoic or holophytic,* according to circumstances. The bionomics of Protozoa — that is to say, their relations to their environment and to other organisms — constitute a very important branch of knowledge, both practical and theoretical, especially in the case of parasitic forms. Considering the subject from the point of view of the four modes of life already described, it is clear, in the first place, that the holophytic forms are entirely independent of all other living organisms, and require for their continued existence only sunlight and a suitable environment, containing the necessary inorganic substances, at a temperature which permits the continuance of vital processes and activities. Saprophytic organisms, however, in so far as they require for their sustenance materials produced by living bodies, are dependent directly or indirectly upon other organisms for their existence. Purely holozoic forms, also, cannot exist without other forms of life upon which, or upon the products of which, they can feed. But neither holozoic nor saprophytic organisms are dependent, as a rule, upon any other particular form of life, but only upon living things generally ; though in some cases such forms may be specialized in their nutrition to such an extent as to be unable to exist without some particular food. A parasitic form, on the other hand, is entirely dependent, as a rule, for its existence on some particular organism or limited group of organisms which constitute its host or hosts. It must, however, be understood clearly that an organism living in or upon the body of another organism is not necessarily a parasite by any means. In the first place, a distinction must be drawn bet\veen parasitism and symbiosis, by which is meant an association of two organisms for mutual benefit, f Good examples of symbiosis are seen in some of the Sarcodina, Radiolaria, and Foraminifera, the proto- plasm of which contains constantly intrusive organisms, known as zoochlorettce or zooxanthellce, according as they contain a green or a yellow pigment. Zoochlorellse are green algae of the order Proto- coccacece ; zooxanthellae are holophytic flagellates of the suborder Cryptomonadina — e.g., Cryptomonas schaudinni, symbiotic in the foraminifer Peneroplis (Winter, 28). These organisms penetrate ' For example, the species Cliromulina flavicans. See Biitschli (2), vol. ii., p. 865. t The term " symbiosis " is often much misused, especially by medical writers, by whom it is commonly applied to any association of two distinct organisms ; for instance, " pure mixed cultures " of amoebfe with some species of bacillus, where the amoebae are simply feeding on the bacteria, are often spoken of as " symbiosis," although the advantage is clearly only on one side in such an asso- ciation. It should be understood that the term " S3rmbiosis " is a technical term of long standing in biology, and is used not merely in its strict etymological sig- nificance of '' living together/' but in the special and restricted sense of " living together for the mutual benefit of the two organisms concerned." 16 THE PROTOZOA into the body of their host, lose their flagella, and nourish them selves by means of their pigment, which has the nature and proper- ties of plant-chlorophyll ; that is to say, it decomposes carbon dioxide in the sunlight and liberates oxygen. The carbon dioxide is obtained from the respiratory processes of the host, which in its turn utilizes the oxygen produced by the symbionts (p. 197), and thus each organism supplies the needs of the other. When the host enters upon its reproductive processes and breaks up into a vast number of swarm-spores, the symbionts develop flagella and swim off, doubtless to seek for lodging elsewhere. It is a matter of convenience to distinguish as epizoic those organisms which live upon, or are attached to, and as entozoic those which live within, the body or substance of the particular form of life with which they are associated. Epizoic forms may be entirely harmless to the creature upon which they occur ; they may simply utilize its body as a coign of vantage where they readily obtain their food, which may consist in some cases of nutritious substances dropped or rejected by the animal that carries them ; or they may obtain the benefits of shelter or transport, especially when the epizoic form in question is itself of sedentary habit. Every naturalist is acquainted with the sea-anemones that live habitually upon hermit-crabs, probably to the advantage of both animals — at all events, to the detriment of neither. There are many similar cases among Protozoa. The appendages of Crustacea, especially of the Cladocera and Copepoda, are often thickly beset with sessile Vorticellids and Acinetaria, which obtain a convenient lodging, but provide their own board. Other forms occur similarly on the stems of hydroids, as, for example, Acineta papillifera on Cordylopliora lacustris. Amoebae are found creeping on the exterior of Calcareous Sponges, nourishing themselves on diatoms and other organisms. Similar instances could be multiplied indefinitely. On the other hand, epizoic forms may be dangerous parasites, nourishing themselves at the expense of the animal they infest, and sometimes inflicting much damage upon it. It can be easily understood that an epizoic form which at first lived harmlessly upon some animal, drawing its supplies of food from the surrounding medium, might acquire the habit ultimately of obtaining its nourish- ment from the living substratum upon which it has planted itself. Examples of epizoic parasites are the flagellate Costia necatrix (p. 272) and the ciliate Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (p. 450), both of which are epizoic parasites of fishes, attaching themselves to the skin and destroying the epidermis ; as a result, the way is left open for fungi and bacteria to penetrate the skin, and so produce ulcera- tion and suppuration, which may be fatal. All certain instances of Protozoa acting as external parasites are THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA 17 found amongst aquatic animals, and it can be readily understood that a delicate protoplasmic organism could only pass from one host to another in a fluid medium, or by the help of special mechan- isms adapted to aerial transport or transmission by contact. It should be mentioned, however, that some human contagious skin- diseases are suspected to be due to the agency of parasites of the nature of Protozoa.* Like the epizoic forms, there are many entozoic Protozoa which inhabit the bodies, and especially the intestines, of other animals, but which are in no way to be regarded as parasites ; they feed merely on various substances to be found there, such as waste particles of food, excreted or fsecal matter, or on other organisms, such as bacteria, yeasts, and the like — in short, on substances which from the point of view of the host are superfluous, or even harmful. Many examples of such organisms could be cited ; a good one is the common Chlamydophrys stercorea, found in the fseces and digestive tract of man and many animals. The common intestinal flagellates belonging to the genus Trichomonas (Fig. 5) and other genera are, similarly, not to be regarded as true parasites in any sense of the word. The common LopJiomonas blattarum (Fig. 45) from the intestine of the cockroach feeds chiefly upon bacteria and yeasts. Many of these intestinal Protozoa are perhaps useful, rather than harmful, to their hosts. On the other hand, the vast majority of organisms, Protozoa or otherwise, that live in the interior of other living creatures are there for no good or useful purpose ; their habitat is alone sufficient to render them suspect. Two modes of parasitism may be distin- guished from a general point of view. On the one hand, the para- site may merely intercept the food- of the host and rob it of its sustenance. On the other hand, the parasite may nourish itself upon the living substance or vital fluids of its host. Organisms which rob the host of its food may do so in one of two ways. They may appropriate the raw food-material, which they then ingest and devour after the strictly holozoic method of feeding ; examples of this mode of life are possibly to be found in the extensive infusorian fauna to be found in the stomachs of ruminants. Or they may absorb the fluid products of the digestion of the host by diffusion through the surface of the body of the parasite ; examples of this mode of parasitism are to be seen, probably, in the case of the Gregarines so common in the guts of insects. Parasites of the * For example, the so-called Coccidioides immitis, a name given to bodies found in certain South. American skin diseases ; see Blanchard (633), p. 168. Molluscum contagiosum has also been attributed to parasites referred by some to the Protozoa. In both these instances, however, the exact nature of the parasitic bodies is far from clear ; the parasite of molluscum contagiosum should probably be referred to the Chlamydozoa (p. 470). 18 THE PROTOZOA type that may be denoted as food-robbers are in general very harmless to their hosts. Those parasites, however, that nourish themselves on the sub- stance of the host may produce the most dangerous effects on its health and well-being. As in the case of the food-robbers, parasites of this kind may absorb their food in one of two ways. They may devour solid portions of the host's body in a holozoic manner ; an example of this is seen in Entamceba liistolytica (Fig. 90), the parasite of amoebic dysentery, which devours portions of the host's tissue, such as epithelial cells, or blood-corpuscles. But more usually the parasites absorb their nourishment in a fluid form through the surface of their body, doubtless by the help of enzymes secreted by them. Hence it is typical of true parasites to have lost all trace of special organs for the capture, ingestion, or digestion, of solid food. Just as in the epizoic mode of life a harmless or even beneficial commensalism may degenerate by insensible gradations into dangerous parasitism, so the same is true of the entozoic habit. An organism which begins by being a scavenger readily becomes a food-robber. LopJiomonas, for instance, may be seen to contain starch-grains and other substances which probably belong to the food of its host. A further but easy gradation leads to the entozoic organism devouring portions of its host. A good example of this is seen in two of the entozoic amoebae of the human intestine : the common Entamceba coli (Fig. 89) appears to be chiefly a scavenger, harmless to its host, and not deserving the reproach of parasitism ; on the other hand, E, histolytica is a dangerous parasite. So also an entozoic organism, which begins by merely absorbing the pro- ducts of digestion, may end by absorbing the substance of its host. It is highly probable that in many entozoic organisms the mode of feeding may vary according to circumstances, and that an organism which may be a harmless commensal under some conditions may become a more or less dangerous parasite under others. The entozoic Protozoa which are truly parasitic may inhabit a variety of situations in the bodies of their hosts. In some cases the host is another species of Protozoon, into the body of which the intruder penetrates, living either in the cytoplasm or the nucleus. Amoebae are ver}7 subject to the attacks of intranuclear parasites, and the young stages of many Acinetans are parasitic upon other Infusoria. When the host is one of the Metazoa, the invading organism may be in like manner intracellular or intranuclear in habitat ; or it may penetrate into the tissues, living amongst and between the constituent cells ; or it may inhabit, finally, one of the internal cavities of the body, such as the digestive tract, general body-cavity, spaces containing blood or lymph, cavities of the renal THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA 19 or urinary organs, etc., either living free in the cavity it inhabits, or attached to the lining epithelium. As diverse as the modes of parasitism among Protozoa are the effects they produce on their hosts. Some parasites produce no perceptible disturbance in the well-being of their host ; even when they destroy cells and portions of tissues, the damage may be slight, and is quickly made good without appreciable permanent injury being done. From this condition of more or less perfect harmless- ness there is a continuous gradation in the ascending capacity for harmfulness, culminating in species which bring about the death of their hosts with greater or less rapidity. Hence parasitic Protozoa are commonly distinguished as pathogenic or non-pathogenic ; but since there is no precise limit to the degree of sickness or indis- position which justifies the application of the term " pathogenic," it is perhaps more convenient to distinguish them as lethal or non- lethal. It is not possible, however, to lay down hard-and-fast distinctions in these matters, since a parasite which is not lethal under some circumstances may become so under others ; for instance, an animal living a free and natural life may be quite well able to resist the attacks of parasites to which it succumbs in captivity. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that such terms as "lethal " or :' pathogenic " can only be applied to a parasite in its relation to a particular host, since, as will be shown below, a parasite which is harmful to one host may be harmless to another. It is far from clear in what way the pathogenic effects of parasitic Protozoa are produced. If the action and reaction of host and parasite were relations dependent simply on the number or relative total bulk of parasites present in a given host, the problems of parasitism would be comparatively simple ; but in many cases this is obviously very far from being the case. The effect produced by a given species of parasite upon a given species of host is a specific reaction, which differs markedly when one of the two dramatis personce is changed. It is not uncommon to find insects with their digestive tract or body-cavity crammed with parasitic Gregarinr>s of relatively large size, but apparently none the worse for it. On the other hand, large mammals may succumb to the effects of minute parasites in relatively scanty numbers — in the sense, that is. that the aggregate bulk of the parasites may be infinitesimal compared to the bulk of the host. A better comparison is furnished by considering closely-allied species of parasites and hosts respec- tively. A rat may have its blood swarming with Trypanosoma lewlsi, without apparently being any the worse for it. On the other hand, in a man dying of sleeping sickness, caused by T. gambiense, or in a ruminant dying of nagana (tsetse-fly disease), caused by T. brucii. the trypanosomes may be so scanty as to be exceedingly 20 THE PROTOZOA difficult to detect.* These facts suggest strongly that the parasites produce specific toxins ; but the " sarcocystine " produced by para- sites of the genus Sarcocystis (Sarcosporidia)f is almost the only case up to the present, in which a toxin has been isolated from a Pro- tozoan parasite. Laveran and Pettit (19), however, claim to have obtained " trypanotoxins " from trypanosomes. Considering the facts of parasitism generally, as a problem of natural history, two guiding principles must be borne in mind clearly : the first is that any organism, parasitic or otherwise, tends to be adapted in the best possible manner to the circumstances of its natural environment ; the second is that, so long as a parasite is entirely dependent on its host for its existence, it is to its utmost disadvantage to bring about the death of its host. When, therefore, a given parasite is constantly lethal to a particular host or hosts, one of two explanations must be sought for : either the case is one of a disharmony — that is to say, of imperfectly-adjusted relations between the host and parasite ; or the parasite must obtain from the death of the host advantages in the matter of the continuance of the species sufficient to compensate for the temporary loss through destruction of individuals. The conditions to which a parasite requires to be adapted are different in many ways from those that influence the life of a free- living organism. When once a parasite has obtained a footing in its proper host, the problem of food-supply is solved for it, since it finds itself lodged in the midst of abundant nutriment so long as its host lives. On the other hand, if the species is to be main- tained, it is essential that the parasite should be able to infect new hosts, a difficult undertaking, and one in which the chances are all against the parasite in most cases. To insure dissemination of the species a large number of offspring must be produced, and special mechanisms and adaptations may be necessary to insure their reaching their destination. Hence, the more parasites become specialized and adapted to their peculiar mode of life, the more the organs and functions of nutrition tend to become simplified, and the greater the tendency to elaboration and extreme fertility of the reproductive function. Considered generally, a parasitic Protozoon reproduces itself within a given host with one of two results : in the first place, with that of overrunning the host and establishing itself there ; in the second place, with that of producing forms destined to infect new hosts. Forms produced in the first manner may be termed the ' multiplicative phases " ; their function is to produce a stock of the parasite. From the stock are given off what may be termed * Compare Laveran and Mesnil (391), pp. 146-150. •f- Laveran and Mesnil (18) ; Teichmann (25) ; Teichmann and Braun (26). THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA 21 the " propagative phases," which as a rule do not multiply further in the host in which they are produced, but await their chance of being transferred to a new host ; and if such a chance be not given to them, they die off and are replaced by fresh propagative forms from the stock (see further below, Chapter IX., p. 166). So long as the nutritive or multiplicative function is the most important one in the life of a parasite, and until it has matured its propagative phases, the death of the host is the greatest disaster that can befall it. The ideal host, from the point of view of a para- site, is one that is " tolerant " to it — that is to say, one that can support the presence of the parasite and keep it supplied with the nutriment it requires, without suffering in health or vigour to any marked extent. When once, however, the parasite has made the necessary provision for propagating the species, the life or death of the host may become a matter of indifference to the parasite, or may even in some cases be necessary for the dissemination of the offspring. This will be apparent from a consideration of the methods by which parasitic Protozoa infect new hosts. The passage of a parasite from one host to another includes two manoeuvres : the passing out from the first host, and the passing into the second. Primitively it may be supposed that this migra- tion was effected simply by the unaided efforts of the parasite itself — that is to say, that the active motile parasite would force its way out of one host, move freely in the surrounding medium, and sooner or later attack and penetrate a fresh host. This primitive method of transference doubtless occurs in many cases, especially amongst epizoic forms (e.g., Ichthyophthirius, p. 450). In the case of entozoic parasites its occurrence is less common, but it is found in a certain number of cases. The young stages of many Acinetaria, parasitic in Ciliata, probably seek out their hosts and penetrate into them ; after a period of juvenile parasitism they leave the host's body and become free-living, non-parasitic organisms. Active migration of this kind, however, is very rare amongst entozoic parasites. In the first place, the conditions of life within a living body, in the midst of organic fluids, are so different from those in the open water, whether salt or fresh, that it is hardly to be expected that a delicate unicellular organism adapted to the one mode of life could stand the sudden change to the other. In the second place, it is clear that active migration of parasitic Protozoa could only be effected wThen the host is an aquatic animal, and not when it leads a terrestrial life. The only instances of active migration known with certainty to occur in the case of Protozoa parasitic on terrestrial animals are those in which the parasite can penetrate a mucous membrane, and is thus able to pass from one host to another when two such surfaces are in contact. In this way the trypanosome of dourine in horses 22 THE PROTOZOA (T. equiperdum) passes from one host to another during coitus, and the transmission of the parasite of syphilis is another instance. Speaking generally, and excluding for the moment those cases in which the transmission is brought about by means of an inter- mediary host, the propagative phases of the parasitic Protozoa take the form of inactive, resting stages in which the body of the parasite is protected against adverse external conditions by tough protective membranes. In the form of resistant cysts or spores, the parasites in a dormant state offer a passive and inert resistance to the elements ; they are disseminated like seeds, and they ger- minate when they reach a suitable environment, but not till then. Many, perhaps the majority of parasitic Protozoa, occupy posi- tions in the body of the host whence the propagative phases can pass without difficulty to the exterior. This is the case when the para- site is lodged in organs which have ducts or passages leading directly or indirectly to the exterior — such as, for instance, the digestive tract and its dependencies, or the urinary organs and ducts. In all such cases the propagative stages of the parasite pass harmlessly to the exterior. The host may in this manner get rid entirely of its parasites, without, however, necessarily acquiring immunity to fresh infections ; or, on the other hand, the parasite may keep up its numbers in the host by continual multiplication to produce a stock from which are sent forth incessant relays of the propagative phases destined to infect new hosts. In the majority of parasitic Pro- tozoa the relations to the host are of this type, and the parasites are neither lethal nor pathogenic tc any great extent. On the other hand, there are many instances in which parasitic Protozoa occupy a position in the body of the host whence escape by anatomical channels is not possible. This is the case when the parasite inhabits some closed space in the body, such as the ccelome or general body-cavity, or the blood-system ; or when it attacks deeply-situated cells or tissues of the body. In some cases where natural means of exit from the body occur, they may be unsuitable for the dissemination of the parasite, as in the case of those forms parasitic in the genital organs of one sex of the host. In cases of this kind there are at least six known methods whereby parasitic Protozoa are disseminated and transferred to fresh hosts. 1. The resistant stages of the parasite may be set free by the death and decajr of its host. This appears to be the manner in which some of the tissue-infecting parasites of the order Myxo- sporidia, especially the family Myxobolidce, are disseminated ; they are for the most part parasites of fishes, and are often very deadly in their effects. 2. The parasite may cause tumours and ulcers, which suppurate, and so set free the cysts or spores of the parasite. This, again, is THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA 23 an effect often produced by tissue-parasites, such as the Myxobolidce, or by species of Microsporidia. In such cases also the parasite is pathogenic to its host, and frequently lethal. 3. The parasite remains in the host until the latter is eaten by some animal which preys upon it. The propagative phases of the parasite are able, however, to resist digestion by the animal that has devoured their former host, and pass unaltered through its intestine, to be finally cast out with the dejecta. This is almost certainty the method by which the common Monocystis of the earth- worm infects its host. The parasite produces resistant spores in the worm ; the worm is eaten by a bird, mole, frog, OF some other animal, through the digestive tract of which the spores pass un- altered ; they are scattered abroad with the faeces, and may then be swallowed by another earthworm, in which they germinate and produce an infection. 4. As in the last case, the host, together with its parasites, is devoured by some animal, in which, however, the parasite is not merely carried passively, but again becomes actively parasitic. Hence in this case there is an alternation of -hosts, one of the two hosts becoming infected by devouring the other. This mode of infection, which is well known to occur commonly among parasitic worms, such as Cestodes, is probably also frequent among Pro- tozoa ; but at present only two cases of it are known with certainty. One is that of the species of the genus Aggregata (vide infra, p. 353), parasites of crabs and cephalopods, such as the cuttle-fish and the octopus. In the cephalopod the parasite forms resistant spores which pass out with the faeces, and may then be devoured by crabs. In the crab the spores germinate and give rise to a second form of the parasite, which lives and multiplies in its new host. If, as fre- quently happens, the crab is eaten by a cephalopod, the parasite completes its life-cycle by becoming once more a parasite of the cephalopod. Another case is that of Hcemogregarina muris in the rat-mite (p. 376, infra). 5. The Protozoa parasitic in the blood of vertebrates are dis- seminated by blood-sucking invertebrates, such as leeches, ticks, or insects, which take up the parasites by sucking the blood of an infected animal. Later on the parasite may be inoculated into a second vertebrate host by the invertebrate when it sucks blood at a later feed. In some cases the 'transference of the blood-parasite may be effected in a purely direct and mechanical manner by the invertebrate, but in most cases the invertebrate plays the part of a true host, in which the parasite multiplies and goes through a cycle of development. Hence in such cases also there is an alternation of hosts and a complicated life-cycle, of which the life-history of the malarial parasite is a good example (vide infra, p. 359). It 24 THE PROTOZOA need only be noted here that in such cases resistant spores or cysts become unnecessary and superfluous for the propagation of the parasite, and tend to disappear from its developmental cycle. 6. In some cases the parasite may penetrate the ovary of its host, pass into the ova, and thus infect the embryo and the next genera- tion. Transmission of this kind is known in a certain number of cases ; it is never the sole method of transmission, but is always supplementary to other methods. For instance, in " pebrine " of silkworms, caused by Nosema bombycis, the spores of the parasite are liberated in the ordinary way from the caterpillar either with the faeces or by its death, and are then eaten accidentally on the leaves by other silkworms ; but a certain number of the parasites pene- trate into the ovary and form spores, which pass through the pupal and imaginal stages of the host into the next generation of silk- worms, which are born infected. In this way the parasite is able to tide over the winter season, when the ordinary method of infec- tion would be impossible. The blood-parasites of the genus Piroplasma (p. 384, infra) afford another example of gerniinative infection in the ticks which transmit them. To turn now to the methods by which parasitic Protozoa pene- trate into new hosts ; there are four known methods, which, after what has been said, can be summarized very briefly. The com- monest is the method of casual or coiitaminative infection, where the host infects itself accidentally by taking up the propagative phases of the parasite from its surroundings — most usually by way of the mouth, with the food, but it may be by way of the respira- tory organs. Other modes of infection are the contagious, as in dourine, already mentioned ; the inoculative, as in malaria and other diseases caused by blood-parasites ; and the so-called " heredi- tary " or " gerniinative " method, as in Nosema bombycis and other cases. From the foregoing summary of the methods by which parasitic Protozoa are propagated from one host to another, it is clear that there are very few cases in which it is of direct advantage to the parasite to cause the death of its host. Even where it is necessary, for the propagation of the parasite, that the host should be destroyed by some other animal, as in the case of the Monocystis of the earth- worm, the interests of the parasite are not furthered, and may, indeed, be damaged, if it cause disease or death to the host. In the case of blood-parasites, transmitted by the inoculative method, it may be necessary for the propagation of the parasite that the required phases should be sufficiently abundant in the blood of the vertebrate host to insure the invertebrate host becoming infected when it sucks the blood ; then large numbers of the parasite may be detrimental to the well-being of the host to a greater or less extent, THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA 25 and one interest of the parasite may, so to speak, clash with another. But in all cases alike it is perfectly clear that the death of the host before the parasite has matured its propagative phases leads simply to the extirpation of the parasite, and is a suicidal policy on its part, a glaring disharmony in Nature. This conclusion is borne out by a general survey of the facts of parasitism in the Protozoa, since the vast majority of these parasites are quite harmless to their hosts, and lethal parasites, greatly in the minority when compared with harmless forms, must be considered as exceptional and aberrant types of parasites, from a general point of view. The parasitic Protozoa of lethal properties present a problem which can be best attacked by considering and comparing two cases of closely allied parasites, the one harmless, the other lethal, to their hosts. Very instructive cases of this kind are furnished by trypanosomes (vide infra, p. 285). The common parasite of the rat, Trypanosoma lewisi, is perfectly harmless as a rule to its host, and the infection runs a very definite course. When the parasite is introduced into the blood of a healthy and susceptible rat, it enters at once upon a period of rapid multiplication, which lasts about twelve days. At the end of that time the parasite swarms in the rat's blood, without perceptibly affecting its general health. After about twelve or thirteen days the multiplication of the parasite ceases entirely ; the swarming period lasts generally about a month, and after that the parasites begin steadily to diminish and dis- appear, until after a variable length of time, usually three to five months, the blood is quite free from them, and the rat, cured from the attack, is now quite immune to the parasite, and cannot be infected by it a second time. The behaviour and effects of a pathogenic trypanosome, such as T. brucii, when introduced into a rat's blood, contrast sharply with that just described. Not only do the trypanosomes begin to multiply at once, but they never cease to do so while the host remains alive. By the fifth or sixth day there are practically more trypanosomes in the blood than blood-corpuscles, and the death of the host soon follows when this stage has been reached. Trypanosoma lewisi is a type of a well-marked group of try- panosomes, which may be conveniently denoted the lewisi-group (Fig. 11). Such are T. cuniculi of the rabbit; T. duttoni of the mouse ; T. rdbinowitsclii of the hamster ; T. blanchardi of the dor- mouse ; T. microti of Microtus artalis ; and T. elyomis of the lerot (Eliomys quercinus). All these species of trypanosomes are ex- ceedingly similar in their appearance and structure ; each species, however, appears to be perfectly specific to its particular species of host. The trypanosome of the rat, for instance, will not flourish in any other host, not even in a mouse, under normal circumstances. 26 THE PROTOZOA Roudsky suggests that all this group of trypanosomes constitutes in reality a single species ; in any case, it is reasonable to regard them as forms recently evolved from a common ancestor, incipient species which have not advanced beyond the stage of physiological differentiation. In like manner, T. brucii is a type of a group of trypanosomes which may be termed the brucii-group (Fig. 12) ; other members of it are T. gambiense, the parasite of human sleeping sickness ; T. evansi, causing surra in horses ; T. equiperdum, of dourine in horses ; and several other species. These forms also are exceedingly similar in appearance and structure, though easily distinguishable from members of the lewisi -group. They are all of them very lethal, as a rule, to their hosts ; and they differ further from the try- •c' FIG. 11. — Trypanosomes of the leivisi-grouj). A, T. lewisi (rat) ; B, T. duttoni (mouse) ; C, T. cuniculi (rabbit) ; D, T. microti (Microtus arvalis) ; E, T. elyomis (Eliomys quercinus) ; A and C, from preparations ; B, after Thiroux ; D, after Laveran and Pettit ; E, after Franca. All figures magnified 2,000 diameters. panosomes of the lewisi-group in the fact that a given member of the brucii-grovLp is not specific to a particular host, but can flourish and exert its lethal powers in a great variety of vertebrate hosts — a fact which, coupled with their very similar morphology, renders the exact determination of the species of this group very difficult, and often a matter of controversy. AU these facts point to the frrwcM-group being also descended from a common ancestral form ; they may be regarded as incipient species in which the process of evolution has not yet the degree of physiological specialization reached in the lewisi-group. This view receives support from the fact that a new race or species of the brucii-group has been made known this year (1911) — namely, T. rhodesiense, a trypanosome pathogenic to human beings which appears to have come into existence as a species very recently. THE MODES OF LIFE OF THE PROTOZOA 27 A further point of great interest in this connection is that T. brucii in Africa appears, from the observations of Bruce, to occur as a natural parasite of wild game, and to be as harmless to these its natural hosts as T. lewisi is to rats. The physiological difference between these two species is that T. lewisi is perfectly specific to its natural host, whereas T. brucii is capable of flourish- ing in others, with most deadly effects. Hence the pathogenic properties of T. brucii would appear to be exerted on hosts to which FIG. 12. — Trypanosomes of the brucii-gmup. A, B, C, T. brucii of "nagana," three forms — slender, intermediate, and stumpy ; D, E, F, T. gambiense of sleeping sickness, the three corresponding forms ; G, H, T. evansi of " surra," two forms I, T. vivax ; J, T. nanum. A to C, I, and J, after Bruce, Hamerton, Bateman, and Mackie (411); G and H, after Bruce (404); D to F, from preparations. All figures magnified 2,000 diameters. it is a new parasite, and not on those to which, like T. lewisi, it has established harmonic relations in the course of evolution. The pathogenic properties of T. brucii, and doubtless of other similar forms, may from this point of view be characterized* as a disharmony associated with the first steps in the origin of species. The problem of the origin of diseases caused by parasites is essentially a problem of the same nature as the origin of species. The first step in the formation of new species is a process of varia- tion in an established species. Similarly, in the process of forma- 28 THE PROTOZOA tion of new species of parasites, the first step would be the acquisi- tion by the parasite of the power of living in hosts other than that to which it is specific. How such a variation might arise in Nature is impossible to conjecture in the present state of knowledge ; but some experiments that have been carried out upon T. lewisi show that conditions can modify the apparent fixity of its characters. Roudsky (22, 23) found that after prolonged culture on artificial media, and subsequent rapid passages through rats, it was possible to infect mice with T. lewisi. Wendelstadt and Fellmer (27) have shown that T. lewisi, if inoculated into cold-blooded vertebrates, can persist there for a time, and then becomes virulent to rats.* In both cases it is evident that the normal specific properties of the parasite have been induced to vary by changes in the conditions of life, with the result that they become similar to those characteristic of the pathogenic trypanosom.es. If it be true that a parasite attacking a new host is at first patho- genic to it, but tends in the course of evolution to establish more harmonic relations with the host, the question arises as to how such relations are brought about. There are two organisms con- cerned, and the problem affects them both. In the case of the host the adaptation to the effects of the parasite may be both individual and racial, in the latter case to be perhaps largely ex- plained by the elimination of individuals less fitted by their con- stitution to resist the parasite. In the case of the parasite, also, the problem may be considered from both points of view ; deadly strains of the parasite contribute to their own destruction. Interesting observations bearing on the individual adaptability of strains of Scliizotrypanum cruzi have been made by Chagas (425). This para- site, when inoculated into guinea-pigs, was found to kill them in about six days ; this is its initial virulence to this host. After repeated passages through guinea-pigs, it was found that the viru- lence diminished, until guinea-pigs inoculated with strains of attenu- ated virulence lived as much as six weeks before they succumbed to the effects of the parasite. If, when this result had been attained, the parasite was given a single passage through a marmoset, it was then found to have regained its primary virulence to guinea-pigs. The study of the exact mechanism of the physiological relations between parasites and their hosts is the task of the investigations upon immunity and kindred problems which now engross so largo a share of the attention of scientific workers, but which cannot be considered here in detail. Bibliography. — For references, see p. 476. * See also Sleeping Sickness Bulletin, No. 22, p. 412, and No. 24, p. 81. CHAPTER III THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA— EXTERNAL FORM AND SKELETAL STRUCTURES A UNICELLULAR organism of any kind is a more or less minute mass or corpuscle of the living substance, protoplasm, containing usiially other substances, fluid, solid, or even in some rare instances gaseous, in greater or less amount — substances which are either the product of its own vital activity or have been taken up into the body from without. As will be shown in more detail in the next chapter, protoplasm is a substance or complex of substances which, considered in the aggregate, exhibits the physical properties of a viscid fluid. Some samples of protoplasm may be less, others more fluid, but the essentially fluid nature of the whole mass of protoplasm composing the cell-body is very obvious, as a rule, in the case of Protozoa. A drop of a fluid substance, when suspended in another fluid with which it is not miscible, tends immediately, under the action of the physical laws of surface-tension, to assume the geometrical form in which the surface is least in proportion to the mass ; that is to say, it tends to become a perfect sphere, except in so far as this tendency may be altered or modified by the contact or pressure of other bodies, or by the operation of other forces or conditions which oppose the action of surface-tension. The sphere may therefore be regarded as the primary form of the living cell — the form, that is to say, Avhich the organism tends to assume under the influence of physical forces when not checked or inhibited in their operation by other factors. A great many Protozoa exhibit the spherical form in a striking manner, especially those species which float more or less freely in the water, such as the Heliozoa (Fig. 3) and Radiolaria (Fig. 13). But the majority of Protozoa depart more or less widely from the primitive spherical form, for reasons which must be considered in detail. In the first place, departure from a spherical form may be merely temporary, the result of vital activity producing altered conditions of surface-tension. In order that a drop of fluid may assume a spherical form as the result of surface-tension, its surface must be 29 30 THE PROTOZOA homogeneous — that is to say, of similar nature in all parts ; if, however, its surface be heterogeneous, and differs in different parts, local inequalities of surface-tension may be the result, and then a perfectly spherical form cannot be maintained so long as the surface remains heterogeneous. Thus an organism, such as an amoeba, in which the protoplasm is quite naked and exposed at the surface of the body, tends always to have a spherical form in the resting state ; but when it enters upon a phase of vital activity, it may assume various forms which can be explained by supposing that the surface- tension is altered at one or more regions of the surface as the result % FIG. 13. — Tlialassicolla (Thalassopliysa) pelagica, Haeckel, an example of a species of floating habit combined with radiate symmetry and spherical body-form. OK, Central capsule ; EP, extracapsular protoplasm ; al, vacuoles in the calymma (see p. 251) ; ps., pseudopodia. The small dots in the calymma represent " yellow cells " (p. 252). After Lankester, magnified 25 diameters. of local changes in chemical constitution, brought about by the vital activity of the protoplasm (Rhumbler, 34, and p. 200 infra). In consequence, the spherical form characteristic of the resting state undergoes modification in various ways when the organism becomes active. In floating forms the sphere throws out radiating processes, so-called " pseudopodia," in all directions (Figs. 3, 13). In creeping species the body assumes the indefinite and constantly changing form, with pseudopodia extruded in every direction, Avhich is characteristic of the amceba (Fig. 2), and hence commonly termed " amoeboid.' In all such cases, when the animal passes into a THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 31 resting, inactive condition, or when the vital activity is temporarily inhibited by some shock or stimulus, such as an electric current suddenly turned on, physical forces reassert then: sway, and under the influence of surface-tension the pseudopodia are retracted, and the body rounds itself off and returns to the spherical form. Apart, however, from temporarj' and variable departures from the primary and fundamental spherical form, many unicellular organisms exhibit a constant body-form which is often widely different from the sphere, and which is characteristic of particular species, or for the corresponding stages in the life-history of a given species, and varies only within the narrowest limits, if at all. The problem of form-production in Protozoa, like all other bio- logical problems, may be considered from two points of view. In the first place, there is the question why a particular species has such and such a form. The answer to this question must be sought in the habits and mode of life of the species and its relation to the environment. In general it may be said that each species pos- sesses, or tends to possess, the body-form best adapted to its par- ticular mode of life, though it is not always easy to trace the correlation of form and habit in special cases. A broad distinction may be drawn, however, between species which move freely in their environment and those which are fixed and sessile in habit. In freely-moving species, again, a further distinction can be drawn betwreen those which float or s\vim in the medium, and those which creep on a firm substratum. Free-swimming species tend to the form of an ovoid, more or less elongated, with the longitudinal axis lying in the direction of forward movement (Fig. 14). Creeping forms tend to be more or less flattened, and spread, as it were, upon the substratum, leading in extreme cases to the differentiation of a ventral surface, in contact with the substratum, from a dorsal surface on the opposite side. Sedentary forms tend to be more or less vasiform, often with the point of attachment drawn out into a stalk or peduncle of greater or less length. A frequent peculiarity of the body-form in Protozoa, whether fixed or free, is the tendency to a more or less pronounced spiral twist. Bilateral symmetry, on the other hand, is a comparatively rare phenomenon in these organisms ; examples are found among the Flagellata — e.g., Lamblia intestinalis (Fig. 117). The second question which arises is, Given a particular specific form, how is the form developed and maintained, on physiological or mechanical principles ? To this question the answer must be sought in the structure of the individual, and more especially in the formation and possession of special structural elements, more or less rigid in nature, which determine the form and support the soft body. Such structures may be external to the body, in the- 32 THE PROTOZOA form of cuticular productions or envelopes of various kinds, or internal, in the form of an axis or framework. Both these types of form-determining or skeletal elements, as they may be termed broadly, may be present together in a given organism. 1. Cuticular and Exoskeletal Structures. — In the Sarcodina gener- alty, and in a few examples of the Mastigophora and Sporozoa, the body-protoplasm is quite naked at the surface, as already stated, and not covered by any cuticle or firm covering. With these exceptions, the bodies of Protozoa are clothed by a firm cortical / c.v. 14. — Prorodon teres. N, Macronucleus ; n, micronucleus ; o, mouth ; ces.t oesophagus surrounded by rod-apparatus (p. 433) ; f.v., food vacuoles ; c.v., contractile vacuole surrounded by feeding-vacuoles ; al., alveolar layer ; st, meridional rows of cilia ; a., anal pore. After Schewiakoff, magnified 660 diameters. layer, which is produced either as a differentiation of, or secretion by, the most superficial layer of the protoplasmic body, and which receives various names in different cases. The very first beginnings of a cortical layer are seen in some species of arncebse, such as Amoeba verrucosa — species in which the protoplasm, extremely viscid and slow-flowing, forms a delicate investing pellicle at the surface. In these cases the pellicle is so thin that it does not hinder the amoeboid movement appreciably (Fig. 23). A further advance is seen in some of the Flagellata, THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 33 where a thin cuticle is present which permits changes in • shape, caused by the contractility of the enclosed protoplasmic body. Such forms are not amoeboid, but exhibit rhythmical changes of form produced by contractions of the superficial body-layer in a manner somewhat recalling peristaltic movement, and are com- monly said to be metabolic (Fig. 15) ; and since such movements are characteristic of some species of the genus Euglena, they are sometimes called euglenoid. In most cases, however, in which a cuticle or firm cortex is present, a definite and characteristic body-form is main- tained, subject only to such changes as may result from curvatures of the body, or temporary shortening of its axis in a particular direction, brought about by the contractility of the living body. An envelope of this kind, which may vary in consistence from a thin, flexible cuticle to a rigid inflexible cuirass, or " lorica," inhibits completely the natural tendency of the fluid protoplasmic body to round itself off — a tendency, however, which frequently reasserts itself during resting phases of the organism, when the cortex may be softened or absorbed. Hence it is very common to find that the resting phases of Protozoa revert to the primi- tive spherical form, whatever the shape characteristic of the organism in an active state. A close-fitting cortex or cuticle which is essentially a part of the body itself must be distinguished cleaiiy from struc- tures built up by the organism externally to the body to afford shelter or support. Such a structure is termed variously a "shell," "test," or "house." The formation of protective shells, into which the body can be completely retracted, and from which it can emerge to a greater or less extent, is of extremely common occurrence amongst the naked-bodied Sarcodina. The forms of these shells, their structure and mode of formation, exhibit an almost infinite variety, and can only be described here in a quite general manner. 3 FIG. 15. — Astasia tenax, two individuals showing the changes of form due to metabolic movement, oss., (Esophagus ; c.r., reservoir of the contractile, vacuole ; .A"., nucleus. After Stein. 34 THE PROTOZOA As regards material, the shells may be composed of elements secreted by the organism (" autophya." Haeckel), as in Hyalosphenia (Fig. 16, B), or of foreign particles taken up by the animal from its surroundings (" xeriophya "), as in Difflugia (Fig. 16, A). Skeletal elements secreted by the organism may be of organic or inorganic nature. In the former case they are probably chitinous in most cases, or composed of a substance allied to chitin ; in the latter they are either calcareous or siliceous. A good example of the formation of a shell is seen in Euglypha (Fig. 59), where the chitinous plates composing it are formed first of all in the interior of the proto- plasmic body, and pass to the surface to build up the shell. When the shell is built up of foreign particles, the material employed may vary greatly, and consists generally of particles of sand, grit, etc., FIG. 16. — Examples of shells or houses formed by Protozoa. A, Diffluqia spiralis, which forms a house built up of foreign bodies ; B, Hyalosphenia cuneata, in which the house is built up of plates secreted by the animal itself (compare also Euglypha, Fig. 59). Both these species belong to the order Arncebsea ; the pseudopodia (ps.) are seen streaming out of the mouth of the shell. After Leidy ; A magnified 250, B 500 diameters. taken up at hazard from the environment. Such shells are de- scribed technically as " arenaceous." In the case of Difflugia, Verworn (36) was able to cause it to build up its test of various materials, such as particles of coloured glass or other substances, when these were supplied to it exclusively. Many species of Foraminifera, however, form their tests exclusively of particular materials under natural conditions. Thus, in the genus Haliphy- sema (Fig. 17) the test is formed of sponge-spicules ; in Technitella thompsoni the calcareous plates of echinoderms are selected ; and other instances could be cited in which the organism selects habitually for its shell certain materials from a varied environment in which the particular materials required may be far from common in occurrence relatively to other particles apparently equally suitable (see especially Heron- Allen and Earlancl). Verworn (36) found that THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 35 in the case of Difflugia the foreign particles used are taken up by the pseudopodia during the process of being retracted ; the surface of the pseudopodiuni then becomes wrinkled, and particles of debris are caught in these wrinkles, and so drawn into the interior of the protoplasmic body, in which they are stored up in the fundus of the shell, like the plates in Euglypha, and are utilized in the growth of the shell, or in repairing damages to it, or in building a new shell when the animal reproduces itself by division. FIG. 17. — Haliphysema tumanowiczii, a forarninifer which builds up its house out of sponge-spicules. A, part of the protoplasm stained to show the nuclei (n.) ; B, a living specimen with expanded pseudopodia (p.). After Lankester (11). The simplest architectural type of shell or test is a simple spherical or oval capsule, usually with a large aperture at one pole through which the protoplasm is able to" creep out in order to capture food or perform the function of locomotion (Fig. 16). The wall of the test may be imperforate, or may have fine pores through which also the protoplasm can stream out. With continued growth of the organism, the original shell may become too small for its requirements. Then the organism may reproduce itself by fission. 36 THE PROTOZOA and the daughter-individual forms a new shell for itself. In many cases the shell formed by the daughter is larger than that of the parent ; for instance, in Centropyxis aculeata and other species, in which the young individuals multiply by fission, and each time they do so, the new shell formed is larger than the old one, until the full size of the adult individual is reached (Schaudinn, 131), after which point the new shell formed after the process of fission is of the same size in both the parent and the daughter-individual. In such cases the shell is always a single chamber, and is described technically as " monothalamous." In other cases, however, the organism does not multiply by fission when it has outgrown its first shell, but forms a new shell of larger size which is in continuity with its first shell ; the protoplasmic body now occupies both the chambers of the shell formed in this way. With further growth more chambers are formed, giving rise to a complex " polythalamous " shell composed of many chambers all occupied by the protoplasmic body (p. 232, infra). For a detailed study of the developmental mechanics of shell-formation, see Ehumbler (35). 2. Internal Skeletal Structures. — In many cases in which the proto- plasmic body is naked at the surface, or bears only an extremely thin cuticle, a definite body-form may be maintained by means of internal supporting fibrils or other similar structures (Koltzoff, 30, 31). In some cases such structures may be of temporary nature. A beautiful example of this is seen in the delicate organic axes formed in the pseudopodia of Heliozoa (Fig. 22), in the form of slender needle-like rods secreted by the protoplasm to stiffen the pseudopodia, and absorbed again when the pseudopodia are re- tracted. In other cases, supporting structures of organic nature may be permanent constituents of the protoplasmic body ; such are the axial rods, or " axostyles," found in many flagellates, such as Trichomonas (Fig. 5, ax.), Lophomonas (Fig. 45), etc., slender flexible rods of organic substance which form a supporting axis for the body. Previous to division the axostyle is absorbed, and new axostyles are formed in the daughter-individuals. The axostyles are stated to arise from a centrodesrnose (p. 103, infra) formed in the process of division of the blepharoplast (Dobell, 236) or of the centriole of the nucleus (Hartmann and Chagas, 62) ; the centrodesrnose per- sists after division is complete, and its two halves become the axostyles of the two daughter-individuals. In TricJiomonas eberthi, however, Martin and Robertson (348) find that the axostyles arise after division quite independently of the centrodesmoses or other nuclear structures. In Octomitus (Fig. 116) two axostyles are present. From supporting structures of organic nature, such as the axostyles or the organic axes of the pseudopodia mentioned above, it is not difficult to derive the more rigid and permanent elements known as " spicules," in which the organic basis becomes indurated by deposits of inorganic mineral substance. In some cases spicules may perhaps consist entirely of mineral substance deposited directly within the living substance without .any organic basis. In THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 37 either case the spicules grow by accretion — that is to say, by deposi- tion of fresh layers of inorganic substance upon that already laid down — and if such accretion takes place at one end of a rod-shaped spicule, it may have the result that the opposite extremity of the spicule is pushed outwards by the continued growth, with the result that the oldest portion of the spicule projects freely far beyond the limits of the body. As regards material, spicules are usually either calcareous or siliceous — in the first case generally carbonate of lime, in the second . x% :•. w- |l I TF'( •|MrC ~^^L ?Q^'' ;^,:''iv-^^ FIG. 18. — Jcani/iocysizs chcetophora, a Heliozoon with a skeleton of slender radiating siliceous spicules, each forked at the distal end. In the interior of the body are seen numerous symbiotic algae (dark) and non-contractile vacuoles (clear) ; one vacuole of larger size is seen, probably the contractile vacuole. sp., sp., Spicules ; ps., ps., pseudopodia. After Leidy, magnified 750 diameters. case amorphous silica. In the family Acanthometridce among the Radiolaria the spicules are formed of a substance which was thought to be of organic nature, and was named " acanthin," but which has been found to consist of strontium sulphate. As regards their form and relation to the body, the spicules in the simplest cases are rod-shaped or needle-like elements disposed radially or tangentially. A simple type of spicular skeleton is seen in Acantliocystis (Fig. 18), in which elongated siliceous rods, fre- 38 THE PROTOZOA ^^\\l 1 1////,//, ^\\\!i //V//'"/ mm // / ////ill ' \\ '•• V . ' / / / / / / M : VV • \ % \ * \ \ !''/•'/ / V\ X \ v^\\\; I ////-', -'/\ xv '* -:\:^.,,^- FIG. 19. — Clathndina elegans, a Heliozoon with a lattice-like skeleton, attached by a stalk. Two individuals are seen, the younger with its stalk attached to the head of the older ; in the younger the lattice-work is still very delicate. Both individuals are sending out numerous radiating pseudopod'ia, very delicate and slender. After Leidy, magnified 750 diameters. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 39 quently branched at their distal ends, are arranged like radii of the spherical body, projecting freely for some distance from the surface. In other cases the spicules may be disposed tangentially to the body, as in the family Collidce amongst the Radiolaria, and in other forms belonging to this order. From a simple type of skeleton composed of separate spicules, more complicated types of skeletons are de- rived by fusion of the spicules to form a connected framework. The commonest type of this is a fusion of tangentially-disposed spicules to form a lattice- work ; an example of this is seen in Claihrulina (Fig. 19), in which a lattice-like skeleton is formed at the surface of the body, standing off from it like a shell. Skeletons of this type are especially characteristic of the Radiolaria, a group in which the architecture of the skeleton may reach a very high degree of complication and exhibits endless variety. The lattice- like framework, made up of tangentially-arranged spicules united together, may be further strengthened by radially-disposed beams. As the animal grows, it may outgrow the fra,mework first laid down, and another lattice-work is formed concentric with the first, and connected with it by radial beams ; later on a third and a fourth such framework is formed, as the organism continues to grow in size. Skeletons formed in this way may be " homaxon ': — that is to say, built up on the axes of a sphere ; or " monaxon." with one principal axis ; or may follow various plans of symmetry, or may be asymmetrical (p. 250, infra). Bibliography. — For references, see p. 477. CHAPTER IV THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA (Conlinued)- THE PROTOPLASMIC BODY THE substance composing the bodies of Protozoa was termed originally sarcode by Dujardin ; but after it had been shown to be identical in nature with the living substance of the cells of animals and plants, the same term was employed umVersally for both, and the word protoplasm, coined by von Mohl to designate the living substance of plant-cells, supplanted the older term sarcode, which has now quite diopped out of current use. It would be impossible within the limits of the present work to discuss in detail the various theories that have been put forward with regard to the nature and constitution of protoplasm ; they can only be summarized in brief outline here. Protoplasm, when seen under the microscope with powers of moderate strength, presents itself as a viscid, semi-fluid substance, sometimes clear and hyaline in special regions, but always showing, throughout at least the greater part of its substance, numerous granulations, which vary greatly in size, from relatively coarse grains to those of the minutest size visible with the power of the microscope used. The most important of these granulations are the so-called "chromatin- grains," which are discussed fully in Chapter VI. ; in this chapter only non-chromatinic granules are dealt with. The coarser proto- plasmic grains may be present in greater or less quantitj^, or may be entirely absent ; they are to be regarded for the most part as so-called metaplastic bodies — that is to say, as stages in, or by- products of, the upward or downward metabolism of the organism. On the other hand, the minute, ultimate granules, or " microsomes," are never absent, except over limited areas, in any sample of proto- plasm. It is on the constant presence of granules that the so-called granular theory of protoplasm, especially connected with the name of Altmann, has been founded. On this view, each minute granule is regarded as an elementary organism, or " bioblast," capable in itself of all vital functions, and equivalent to a single free-living bacterium, just as a single cell of a Metazoan body may be compared with a single Protozoan organism. Protoplasm, on this view, is re- 40 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 41 garded as a colony of bioblasts, imbedded in a fluid matrix, com- parable in a general way to a zooglcea-colony of bacteria. A special and important class of metaplastic granules are the so-called " deutoplasmic " bodies, consisting of reserve food-materials stored up in the protoplasmic substance. Examples of such are the yolk-granules of ova, the paraglycogen-grains of gregarines, the plastinoid bodies of coccidia, starch-grains in holophytic forms, etc. Amongst the granulations of the protoplasm, special mention must be made of the bodies known generally as chondriosomes and mitochondria, but also by a variety of other names (cytomicrosomes, bioblasts, spherules or sphero- plasts, and. collectively, ergastoplasm). The chondriosomes are not to be classed with the temporary, metaplastic inclusions, but are permanent ele- ments of the cell-protoplasm. The chondriosomes of Protozoa have recently been the subject of detailed study by Faure-Fremiet (38'5). In the living condition they are small transparent bodies, feebly retractile, and of a pale grey tint. In shape they are generally spherical, and vary from 0'5 p. to 1'5 p. in diameter. In some cases the chondriosome appears homogeneous in structure ; in others it presents the appearance of a vacuole with fluid con- tents and a denser peripheral layer. In contact with water or with weak alkalis they swell up immediately. When the nucleus (in Infusoria the micronucleus) divides, the chondriosomes also divide simultaneously, and the daughter-chondriosomes are sorted out between the two daughter- cells; they have, however, no direct relation with the nuclear apparatus. In the- process of division each chondriosome becomes first rod-like, then durnb-bell- shaped, and is finally constricted directly into two halves. A purely chemical definition of the chondriosomes, according to Faure- Fremiet. cannot be given. They exhibit the reactions of a fatty acid, and can be considered as combinations of fatty acids or of phosphates of albumin. The physiological function of the chondriosomes is not clear, but Faure- Fremiet considers that they " play an important part in the life and evolu- tion of the sexual cell," in Protozoa or Metazoa. and are active in the elabora- tion of deutoplasmic substances of fatty nature, into which they may be- transformed directly. It has been shown, however, that the minute granules of proto- plasm do not lie isolated from one another, suspended freely in a matrix, but are seen in the microscopic image to be connected with one another by fine lines or darker streaks, the whole forming a delicate network, at the nodes of which the granules are lodged. In some cases the granule itself is perhaps only an optical effect produced by a node of the network. On these appearances has been founded the so-called reticular theory of protoplasm, connected especially with the names of Heitzmann, Schafer, and others. On this view protoplasm has been regarded as composed of an exceed- ingly fine reticulum, a network or feltwork ramifying in all planes, bearing the granulations at its nodal points, and bathed throughout by a fluid, more or less watery sap, or enchylema. The fibrillar theory of Flemming may be regarded as a modification of the reticular theory. Against the reticular theory of protoplasm, it may be urged that it leads to physical difficulties, in view of the generally fluid nature- of protoplasm. For the reticulum must itself be either of a fluid or a solid nature ; if fluid, it presents the condition of one fluid 42 THE PROTOZOA suspended in the form of a network in another fluid with which it does not mix — a condition which could not exist for more than an instant of time, since the fluid reticulum must break up immediately into minute droplets. If, on the other hand, the reticulum is of rigid consistence, the protoplasm as a whole could not be fluid, any more than a sponge soaked in water could behave as a fluid mass in the aggregate. The difficulty can, however, be overcome by supposing the apparent reticulum to be the optical expression, not of a fine network of fibrils, but of delicate lamellas limiting minute closed chambers, or alveoli. Then the fine line seen with the microscope joining any two adjacent nodal points Avould be the optical section of the wall or lamella separating two contiguous alveoli, and protoplasm as a whole would possess a honeycombed structure comparable to that of a fine foam or lather — the fluid lamellae of the foam represented by the apparent reticulum of the protoplasm, and the air-contents of the individual bubbles repre- sented by the enchylema. Or, to express the state of things in a different manner, protoplasm could be regarded as an emulsion of very fine structure, composed of two fluids not miscible with one another — namely, the more fluid enchylema, which is suspended in the form of minute droplets in the more viscid substance forming the alveolar framework. This is the so-called alveolar theory, especially connected with the name of Biitschli ; by this conception of protoplasmic structure, not only are the necessary physical con- ditions satisfied, but an explanation is given for many peculiarities of protoplasmic bodies, such as the radiate arrangement of the meshes of the reticulum commonly observed either at the surface of the body or around solid or fluid bodies contained in the proto- plasm, and so forth. The various theories that have been mentioned all assume tacitly that protoplasm is monomorphic — that is to say, that it possesses one fundamental type of minute structure. Fischer, on the other hand, seeks to unite all the different theories by supposing that protoplasm is a polymorphic substance — that is to say, one that may exhibit a diversity of structure at different times and under different conditions, as the result of changes produced by its inherent vital activity. Thus, he supposes that a given mass of protoplasm may be at one time homogeneous, and at another time granular, reticular, fibrillar, or alveolar, as the result of a process of ' ' vital precipitation," and that by reabsorption of the structural elements it may return to a homogeneous condition. Faure-Fremiet (38 and 38'5) also regards protoplasm as a homogeneous fluid, which is pre- cipitated by reagents, and which normally contains, in suspension, a certain number of granulations, some temporary, others per- manent in nature ; compare also Degen (154). THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 43 Those investigators of the Protozoa who have expressed an opinion on the subject have been for the most part in favour of the alveolar theory of protoplasm, since it was first propounded by its author, Biitschli (see especially Rhumbler). Protozoa as a rule are very favourable objects in which to study the foam-like structure of the protoplasm (compare Schaudinn, 130, p. 188). But what- ever view be held as to the ultimate structure of protoplasm, its essentially fluid nature is very apparent in these organisms, and is a point upon which it is very important to be clear. The fluid condition of the living substance is manifested directly by the streaming movements to be observed in it, and indirectly by a number of phenomena, such as the tendency, already mentioned, of the body to round itself off when at rest, and the tendency of all vacuoles to assume a spherical form. A vacuole is a drop of fluid suspended in the protoplasmic body, and may be regarded as formed by the bursting and running together of many minute alveoli, just as a large bubble in a foam may arise by the union of many smaller ones ; or by the gradual enlargement of a single alveolus by diffusion of fluid into it from neighbouring alveoli, until it attains proportions relatively gigantic. Vacuoles assume uni- formly spherical contours, except when they are deformed by mutual pressure from crowding together or from other causes. In some cases the protoplasm rna}^ be so full of coarse vacuoles that it exhibits an obvious frothy structure, which must by no means be confounded with the ultimate alveolar structure of the protoplasm, a structure \vhich is exceedingly delicate, only to be observed Avith high powers of the microscope and with careful attention to all details of microscopic technique. Examples of vacuolated bodies are seen especially in Heliozoa — e.g.. Actinosphcerium (Fig. 3). The statement, however, that protoplasm generally is of fluid nature admits of its exhibiting many degrees of fluidity, and some samples of protoplasm are far more viscid than others. This is true both of different species of organisms, of the same species at different phases of its development, and of different parts of the same organism. In some cases portions of the protoplasm may be stiffened to a degree that perhaps oversteps the ill-defined boundary between the liquid and solid states of matter. In a great many Protozoa, perhaps the majority of them, the protoplasm of the body is divisible, more or less distinctly, into two regions — namely : 1. An external or cortical zone, termed ectoplasm or ectosarc ; in appearance and consistence typically clear, hyaline, more refringent, finely granular or without visible granulations, and of more viscid nature ; in function protective, kinetic, excretory, and sensory. 2. An internal or medullary region, the endoplasm or endosarc ; 44 THE PROTOZOA opaque, less refringent and coarsely granular ; the seat of trophic and reproductive functions. These two zones of the protoplasmic body are, in the more primi- tive forms, differentiations of the protoplasm more or less tem- porary and transient in nature. For instance, in an amoeba which is in active movement, fluid endoplasm is constantly flowing along the axes of the pseudopodia towards their tips, where it comes into contact with the surrounding medium, the water or other fluid in which the amoeba lives. Under the influence of the medium the endoplasm is converted into ectoplasm, becomes of stiffer, less fluid consistence, and loses its coarse granulations. At the same time, at the hinder end of the amoeba, ectoplasm is continually passing into the interior of the body, where it becomes liquefied and granular in structure, and is converted into endoplasm (Rhumbler, 34). In Protozoa, however, which do not exhibit amoeboid movement, the ectoplasm and endoplasm may be two independent layers, well defined and perfectly separate the one from the other. The ecto- plasm is the seat of those functions which are connected with the relation of the organism to the outer world, to the environment in which it lives ; the endoplasm, on the other hand, is concerned specially with the internal affairs, so to speak, of the protoplasmic body. In the following two chapters the various organs of the Protozoa will be considered under the headings of the layer from which they are formed, and according to the functions they perform. Bibliography. — For references, see p. 477. CHAPTER V THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA (Continued)— DIFFERENTIATIONS OF THE ECTOPLASM AND ENDOPLASM A. Ectoplasmic Organs. THE various structures and organs produced from the ectoplasm are best classified by the functions they subserve, under the headings of protective, kinetic and locomotor, excretory, and sensory mechanisms. 1. The protective function of the ectoplasm is often seen in organisms in which no cuticle or envelope is present. It has been observed, for instance, that the species of Myxosporidia that inhabit the gall-bladders or urinary bladders of their hosts resist the effects of the medium in which they live so long as their ecto- plasm is intact, but succumb if it be injured. In most Protozoa other than those belonging to the class Sarco- dina, however, a special protective envelope or cortex is present at the surface of the body, and such forms are commonly said to be corticate. A cuticle may be formed in various ways, distinguished by the use of different terms. It may represent the entire ecto- plasm, modified in its entirety to form an envelope, as in the peri- plast of the Flagellata ; it may represent a transformation or modi- fication of only the most superficial layer of the ectoplasm, as in the pellicle of the Infusoria and of some amoeba? — for instance, Amoeba vermcosa, the epicyte of the gregarines, etc. ; or it may arise as a secreted layer deposited at the surface of the ectoplasm, and not derived from a modification of the substance of the ectoplasm itself, in which case it is termed a " cell- membrane." Whatever its mode of origin, the cuticle may be developed to a very variable degree, from the thinnest possible membrane, some- times very difficult to discover, to a thick and tough investment which may be termed a " cuirass " or " lorica " (:' Panzer "),' when it is formed by thickening of a pellicle ; or a " house " or " shell," \vhon it is a greatly thickened cell -membrane standing off from the body. In many cases the cuticle undergoes local thickenings to form spikes or hooks, which may serve as organs of attachment, as in the epimerite of gregarines (Fig. 14-2). 45 40 THE PROTOZOA In addition to the passive protection afforded by a cuticle, organs of active defence may be present in the ectoplasm in the form of bodies kno\vn as trichocysts, found commonly in many ciliate In- fusoria (p. 447, Fig. 187) ; they are little oval or spindle-shaped bodies which on suitable stimulation are converted explosively into a stiff thread which is shot out from the surface of the body. (For the nematocyst-like organs known as " polar capsules," in Myxo- sporidia and allied organisms, see p. 399, infra.} 2. The ectoplasm is shown to be the seat of movement both by the fact that motile organs arise from it and by the frequent presence in it of special contractile mechanisms. The motile organs which are found in the Protozoa are pseudopodia, flagella, cilia with their various modifications, and undulating membranes ; any of these structures may subserve the function of food capture in addition to, or instead of, that of locomotion. These organs will now be described in order, after which contractile mechanisms will be dealt with. (1) Pseudopodia are organs of temporary nature, extruded from the protoplasm when required, and retracted wrhen no longer needed. They can be formed, probably, in all cases in which the body protoplasm is naked, or limited only by a cuticle not of sufficient thickness to inhibit the movements of the underlying protoplasm. They arise simply as an eruption of the protoplasm at some point at the surface of the body, forming an outgrowth or process which varies greatly in different cases as regards size, length, width, com- position, and activity. Pseudopodia always arise in the first instance from the ectoplasm, and may consist throughout of this layer alone, in which case they are relatively stiff er and more rigid ; or a core of endoplasm may flow into the pseudopodium when it has grown to a certain length, in which case the pseudopodium is more fluid and flexible. The formation of a pseudopodium is best studied in a common amoeba, such as Amoeba proteus (Fig. 2) or A. Umax (Fig. 20) ; it is then seen to arise as a protrusion of the ectoplasm, forming a shallow promi- nence at the surface of the body. The prominence continues to grow out from the body, and is at first hyaline, transparent, and free from granulations, since it consists of ectoplasm alone. In some cases the pseudopodium may grow to a relatively very large size, and still consist of clear ectoplasm alone, as in Entamceba histolytica (Fig. 90), a form rather exceptional in this respect ; more usually, so soon as the budding pseudopodium has reached a certain not very great size, a core of granular endoplasm flows into it and forms the axial part of the pseudopodium. It is then easier to study the formation of the pseudopodium, since the granules in the endo- plasm permit the characteristic flowing movements and currents to THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 47 be followed. In the growing pseudopodium a strong current can be observed flowing down the axis to the tip, and there spreading out and breaking up into weaker currents which turn round and flow backwards along the surface of the pseudopodium. In amoebae with a very viscid surface layer the back-currents are very feeble, ceasing a short way from, the tip of the pseudopodium, and often scarcely discernible, or even absent altogether ; in species with a fluid ectoplasm, however, the back - currents are distinctly seen, and may even pass back and bend round again to join the forward axial current, as described by Rhumbler (34) in Amoeba blattce. While the extrusion of the pseudopodium is an active process, the retraction requires nothing but the action of purely physical forces of surface-tension to explain it. The protoplasm then flows back into the body of the animal, and may present some character- istic appearances in doing so. If one .surface is in contact with the substratum on which the animal is creeping, the adhesion of the pseudopodium often causes the tip to be drawn out into slender processes like spikes or hairs. At the same time the surface of the FIG. 20. — Diagram to show the protoplasmic currents in a limax- amoeba which is moving forward in the direction indicated by the large arrow on the left. The smaller arrows indicate the direction, and their length the intensity, of the currents in different parts of the body. A forwardly-directed " fountain current " starts from near the hinder end, and passes along the axis of the body to the extremity anterior in movement ; there it turns outwards and passes back along the sides of the body, diminishing rapidly in intensity, and finally dying out in the regions where the two dots are placed. After Rhumbler (34). pseudopodium may present a wrinkled appearance, as the viscid ectoplasm shrinks in consequence of the rapid withdrawal of the fluid endoplasm. The pseudopodia of different species of organisms, or even of the same species at different periods of the life-cycle, vary greatly in form, appearance, and structural characters, and the more im- portant variations require a special terminology. In the first place, the pseudopodia may be broad and thick relatively to their length, as in Amoeba proteus (Fig. 2) ; they are then termed " lobose " (" lobopodia "), and usually have a core of endoplasm. A typical lobose pseudopodium is, in fact, nothing more than an outgrowth of the body-protoplasm as a Avhole. In the most extreme cases of this type, the whole body flows forward in one direction, forming, as it were, a single pseudopodium. Such a mode of progression is characteristic of Amoeba Umax (Fig. 20) and other similar forms, in which the body glides forward like a slug as the animal creeps over substratum ; the end which is anterior in movement is rounded, 48 THE PROTOZOA while the posterior end commonly becomes drawn out into processes similar to those seen in a pseudopodium in process of retraction. In other forms, such as A. proteus (Fig. 2), the pseudopodia are sent out on all sides and balance each other, in which case there is very little translation of the body as a whole, and the pseudopodia serve chiefly for food-capture. If, however, the outflow of the pseudo- podia is strongest on one side of the body, the organism moves in that direction as a whole, and the larger, more strongly developed pseudopodia counteract and overcome the pull exerted by those that are weaker. It will be readily understood, therefore, that the most rapid powers of progression are possessed by the slug-like amoebae, in which a single pseudopodium drags the whole body along without opposition from others. Rhumbler (34) has drawn attention to the existence of two modes of progression exerted by amoebae of the lobose type. In the more fluid species which creep upon a substratum to which they adhere more or less firmly, like Amoeba proteus, the animal pro- gresses by a flowing movement, such as has been described : this is the commonest type of amoeboid locomotion. On the other hand, in species of the type of A. verrucosa and A. terricola the very slightly fluid body is limited by a thin pellicle, and does not adhere to the substratum. ; then progression is effected by ' rolling ': movement. The animal throws out a number of pseudopodia on one side, which cause it ultimately to overbalance and roll over to that side ; by continued repetition of this procedure, a slow progres- sion in a particular direction is effected. At other times, however, A. verrucosa may flow along like other amoebae. Contrasting with the lobose pseudopodia are the slender, thread- like, so-called " filose " pseudopodia, formed entirely of ectoplasm. Pseudopodia of this type can effect a slow creeping movement, but are not very effective for locomotion, and serve for food-capture principally, or even entirely, as in the radiate floating forms (Heliozoa and Radiolaria) ; food is entangled by them and drawn into the body. The filose pseudopodia may radiate from the body in all directions, remaining separate from one another, or they may anastomose t^o form networks, and are then termed " reticulose." Pseudopodia of the reticulose type are specially •characteristic of the Foraminifera (Fig. 21). Radiate pseudopodia which do not form anastomoses, on the other hand, characterize the groups of the Heliozoa and Radiolaria, organisms of floating habit. As noted above, pseudopodia of the radiate type are .generally supported by an axial rod, a secreted structure of firm, elastic nature, and are hence known as axopodia. The actual rod reaches some way into the endoplasm, often to the centre of the bodj-, as in Acanthocystis (Fig. 18), Wagnerella (Fig. 48), etc. ; it THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 49 —sn $//// Mill b i v. \\ /.• • // ;-• ' ': ?•>.•• :• V--:: X \ X - f >j /v f ?U i' fe \ \ //. ^ \ '. v\ il \\\ a\ FIG. 21. — Gromia om- formis, M. Schultze (=G. o voidea, Rhumbler), living specimen with out- stretched pseudo- podial network (ps.), in which a diatom (d.), Navi- cula sp., is en- tangled and will be drawn into the shell (sh.). Other diatoms are seen inside the shell, and at its fundus several nuclei are seen as clear spheri- cal bodies in the protoplasm. The pseudopodial net- work is drawn at a magnification of about 200 linear, but for want of space is repre- sented extending over about one- third of the area over which it com- monly spreads. A part of the pseu- dopodial network is reflected back over the shell, and streams out back- wards from the pole opposite to the shell - mouth. After M. Schultze. /r\ • i i\ II \ 50 THE PROTOZOA is probably of endoplasmic origin, and is pushed out from it in a centrifugal direction. As it grows out, the ectoplasm forms a sheath over it, and extends usually some way beyond it. When the pseudopodium is retracted, the axial rod is liquefied and absorbed by the protoplasm. Food-capture is effected by the pseudopodia in various ways (see p. 189). In forms with lobose pseudopodia they flow round the body to be ingested, enclosing it on all sides, and finally imprisoning the prey in a closed chamber of the living substance, together with a drop of water which forms the food - vacuole (Fig. 2, P1, P2) in which the prey is digested (p. 192, infra). A very noticeable feature of pseudopodia of all kinds is their adhesive- ness, due to the secretion of a slimy substance at the surface of the ectoplasm. In Difflugia, if the pseudo- podia be touched gently with a glass rod, the slime can be drawn out into threads, like the mucus of a snail (Rhumbler, 34). The adhesive power of the pseudopodia is of service both in adhering to the surface upon which they creep and in the capture of their food. The s 1 o w - f 1 o w i n g amoebae, such as A. verru- cosa, do not as a rule flow round the body to be in- gested, but draw it into their interior, as if by suction. In this manner^!, verrucosa absorbs and devours filamentous algae (Fig. 23), which are " imported " into the interior of the body and there coiled up and digested. Rhumbler has shown that this process can be imitated by drops of fluid ; for instance, a drop of chlorof orm in water will draw in a thread of shellac and coil it up in its interior in a manner similar to the ingestion of an algal filament by an amoeba. end FIG. 22.- — Portion of an Actinosphcerium, magni- fied about 660 linear, ect., Ectoplasm with larger vacuoles ; end., endoplasrn with smaller vacuoles ; N., nucleus; ps., pseudopodia; ax., delicate axial rod in the pseudopodia. After Leidy. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 51 The pseudopodia of the filose type adhere firmly to organisms suitable for food with which they come in contact, and it can be observed that the prey is both held fast and killed by them, in- dicating that the pseudopodia secrete some toxic substance in addition to that of an adhesive nature. In the reticulose type, diatoms and organisms of various kinds are entangled in the pseudopodial network (Fig. 21), and are generally digested there also. In a few cases pseudopodia exhibit a peculiar form of movement known as nutation. An example of this is seen in the remarkable Heliozoon described by Schaudinn (43) under the name Camptonema nutans (Fig. 47), which possesses slender axopodia in which the axial FIG. 23. — Four stages in the ingestion of an Oscillarian filament (/. ) by Amoeba vermcosa. In A the amoeba has crept along the filament ; in B one end of the amoeba is bending up, and is about to fuse with the rest of the body, producing a twist in the filament ; in 0 two have been produced ; in D a considerable length of the filament has been drawn into the amoeba, and is twisted up into a stout coil. A, B, and C, are drawn at intervals of quarter of an hour, D several hours later. After Rhumbler (34). filament does not extend the whole length of the pseudopodium. The pseudopodia perform a slow rotating movement, and "describe the mantle of a cone, sometimes acute, sometimes obtuse, remaining stretched out straight for their entire length, and bending only at their base." Similar movements are performed by the pseudopodia of TrichospJi cerium (p. 229) and Wagnerella (p. 246). In Camptonema the pseudopodia also have the power of bending suddenly when brought in contact with prey, which they capture like the tentacles of a polyp. The bending takes place beyond the point at which the axial filament ceases. Movements of this kind are transitional to those seen in flagella. (2) Flagella are vibratile thread-like extensions of the protoplasm, capable of performing very complicated lashing movements in 52 THE PROTOZOA every direction. A flagellum consists of an elastic axial core enclosed in a contractile sheath or envelope (Fig. 24), from the extremity of which the core protrudes freely in some cases, forming a so-called "end-piece." The flagellum takes origin from a more or less deeply-seated granule, the blepharoplast, or basal granule, which will be described in dealing with the nuclear apparatus (p 82, infra). The elastic axis, arising from the blepharoplast, can be regarded as a form-determining element of encloplasmic origin, the sheath as an ectoplasmic motor substance. A flagellum is usually cylindrical in form, with the axial filament central in cross-section, but may be band-like, with the axial filament at or near one edge ; it is usually of even thickness throughout its whole length, but when the axial filament is exposed to form a terminal end - piece the flagellum tapers to a fine point. Like pseudopodia, flagella serve primarily for locomotion, and secondarily for food-capture, which is effected by causing food-particles to impinge on some point or aperture at the surface of the body, where they are ingested. In their relation to locomotion two types of flagella can be distinguished, termed by Lankester pulsella and tractella respectively. A pulsellum is situated at the end of the body Avhich is posterior in movement — that is to say, it is a flagellum which by its activity propels the body forwards. Flagella of this type occur in Oxyrrhis (p. 278) and in the Choanoflagellata (p. 271), but are comparatively rare in the Protozoa. In the majority of cases the flagella are tractella — that is to say, their action is such as to drag the body after them — hence they are situated at the end which is anterior in progression. Con- sidered generally, the movements performed by tractella are of two types. In some cases the entire flagellum is thrown, into even, sinuous undulations, and the body of the flagellate progresses with a smooth, gliding movement, which may be extremely rapid, and is then well expressed by the French phrase " mouvement en fleche ": this type of movement is well seen in the trypanosomes and allied genera, such as Leptomonas, etc. In most free-living flagellates, however, the flagellum is held out stiff and straight for the proximal two-thirds or so of its length, while the distal third performs peculiar whirling or pulsating FIG. 24. — Structure of the flagellum of Euglena. ax., Axial filament ; c.p., con- tractile protoplasm enveloping the axial filament ; e.p., end - piece of the flagellum, consist- ing of the axial fila- ment exposed ; r, root of the flagel- lum passing into the body (compare Fig. 84). After Eiitschli (3). THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 53 cv. movements,* which drag the body along in a succession of more or less distinct jerks. In many flagellated organisms, forwardly-directed flagella may be combined with so-called "trailing flagella" (" Schlepp-geissel "), which are directed backwards, running along the side of the body, either quite free (Fig. 25) or united to the body by an undulating membrane (Fig. 5). In such cases the trailing flagellum is perhaps the chief organ of propulsion, acting as a pulsellum, while the forwardly-directed flagellum or flagella may function more as tactile organs or feelers than as locomotor organs. The flagellum may also serve as an organ of temporary attachment in some cases, especially in parasitic flagellates ; it then often exhibits at its distal extremity a distinct bead-like swelling or enlargement, doubtless of adhesive nature. Such terminal enlargements are sometimes seen, however, in free-swimming forms. There are many grounds for assuming the existence of a gradual transition from flagella to pseudopodia, and especially to the slender axopodia seen in Heliozoa, etc. In organs of each kind the type of structure is essentially similar, an axis of firm elastic- nature, which is pushed out from the endoplasm, in many cases from a basal granule of centrosomic nature (p. 82). and is covered over by a sheath of contractile fluid ectoplasm. The difference between them is one of degree, the axopodia being relatively shorter in proportion to their thickness, and consequently less flexible, but the nutating and bending movements seen in axopodia are essentially similar in type to those manifested by flagella. The Heliozoa are con- nected with the Flagellata by transitional forms which indicate that their pseudopodia have arisen as modifications of flagella (p. 248). Goldschmidt, who discusses the whole question (41, pp. 116-122), de- scribes in a Cercomonas-like flagellate the shorten- ing of the flagellum, and its transformation into a pseudopodium which swings to and fro. A flagellum may be considered as having arisen by modification and specialization of an axopodiurn, and as capable in many instances of reverting to that type of organ. (Compare also p. 465, infra.) (3) Cilia are slender, thread-like extensions of the ectoplasm which differ from flagella mainly in three points : they are as a rule much shorter relatively to the size of the body; they are present usually in much greater numbers, and in their most primitive type * For a detailed description and analysis of these movements, see Delage and flerouard (6), pp. 305-312. FIG. 25. — A n isonema grande, ventral view, showing the " hetero- mastigote " arrange- ment of the flagella. a.f., Anterior flagel- lum ; p.f., posterior trailing flagellum ; 8, oesophagus; c.v., contractile vacuole surrounded by a number of feeding vacuoles; N., nucleus ; an., anus (cytopyge). After Stein. 54 THE PROTOZOA i of arrangement form, as it were, a furry covering to the body ; and their movements are different from those of flagella. A cilium performs simple regular movements of alternate contraction and relaxation, whereby it is first bent like a bow, with a slight spiral twist (Schuberg, 44), and then becomes straightened out again ; from this it may be inferred that the contractile substance is developed mainly on one side of the elastic axis — on that side, namely, which becomes concave during contraction — instead of ensheathing the axis completely, as in most flagella. Then the bending of the cilium would be the result of active contractility, acting against the elasticity of the axis, which is operative in causing the cilium to straighten out again when the contractile substance is relaxed. Cilia are usually implanted in rows on the surface of the body, and their movements are co-ordinated in such a way that the con- traction— or, as it may be better termed, the pulsation — of a given cilium takes place slightly after the one in front of it, and before the one behind it (Fig. 26). On the other hand, the neighbouring cilia of adjacent rows pulsate in unison ; consequently, when a ciliated FIG. 26. — Diagram of ciliary movement, representing the successive phases of contraction and expansion in a row of cilia. After Verworn. surface is seen from above with sufficient magnification, the move- ments of the cilia produce an optical effect similar to that seen in a cornfield when the wind blowing across it gives rise to an appearance of waves following each other in a continuous succession. When, however, a row of cilia is seen in side-view, the successive beats of the cilia may produce the illusion of a rotating wheel ; hence the origin of such names as Rotifer, Trochophore, etc., applied to Metazoan organisms bearing rings or girdles of stout cilia. In spite of the apparent differences between cilia and flagella, there is no difficulty in regarding cilia as derived ancestrally from flagella by a process of modification and specialization in structure, movement, number, arrangement, and co-ordination. Like pseudo- podia and flagella, cilia may serve both for locomotion and food- capture. In many cases the cilia specialized for these two functions may be sharply distinct ; the food-capturing cilia, found in connec- tion with the mouth and the peristomial region, are commonly much longer than the locomotor cilia, and show the tendency to form fusions presently to be described. In sedentary forms loco- motor cilia may be absent in the ordinary state of the animal, and only developed temporarily during motile phases. On the other THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 55 hand, in a purely parasitic form such as Opalina (p. 439), in which a mouth is entirely absent, only locomotor cilia are present. The chief modifications of cilia, apart from variations in size and function, are the result of a tendency to adhere or fuse together ; thus arise various types of organs, of which the most common are the cirri, membranellce, and undulating membranes. Cirri are organs resembling bristles, formed by fusion of a tuft of cilia, just as the hairs of an ordinary camel's-hair paint-brush adhere when moistened so as to form a flexible pencil. In many cases the cirri have frayed- out ends, in which the component cilia are distinct from one another ; and reagents often cause a cirrus to break up into separate cilia. Cirri have a locomotor function, and are especially characteristic of the ciliate Infusoria which are of creeping habit (order Hypotricha, p. 440, infra). The cirri occur on the ventral surface of the body — that is to say, on the side of the body turned towards the substratum on which the organism creeps, using the cirri practically as legs. Membranellae are flapping or swinging membranes formed by fusion of two or more transverse rows of cilia implanted side by side, and adhering to form a flat membrane, the free edge of which often has a fringed or frayed border, representing the free ends of the component cilia. Membranellae occur usually in the region of the peristome in spiral rows, implanted one behind the other, and each membranella performs simple movements of alternate flexion and expansion, comparable to those of a single cilium. Both in structure, origin, and movements, the membranellse must be distinguished clearly from the undulating membranes presently to be described. Undulating membranes are sheet-like extensions of the ectoplasm, which perform rippling movements, comparable to those of a sail placed edgewise to the wind ; or, better still, to the undulating movements performed by the dorsal fin of a sea-horse (Hippocampus) or a pipe-fish (Syngnathus) when swimming. The undulating mem- branes of Ciliata consist simply of a single row of cilia fused together. Such membranes are found commonly in the oesophagus of In- fusoria ; in the vestibule of Vorticellids there are two membranes of this kind. In some genera, such as Pleuronema (Fig. 27), they represent the principal food-capturing organ, and reach a great development. Pleuronema swims about by means of its cilia, and comes to rest sooner or later in a characteristic attitude, with the cilia projecting stiffly from the body ; the large undulating membrane is then protruded from the mouth, and serves by its movements to waft food-particles down the oesophagus. Undulating membranes are also of common occurrence in the Flagellata, where they are of a different type from those of Ciliata. The undulating membrane in this class is always found in connec- 56 THE PROTOZOA tion with a flagellum, and is to be regarded as a web of the ecto- plasm (periplast) connecting the flagellum to the surface of the body. Such a condition may arise either by attachment of a back- wardly-directed trailing flagellum to the side of the body, as in TricJiomonas (Fig. 5) and Trypanoplasma (Fig. 36), or by the shifting backwards of the point of origin of an anterior flagellum, as is well seen in the transition from crithidial to trypanif orm phases in the development of trypanosomes (Fig. 131). As a rule, only the proximal portion of the flagellum is involved in the formation of n FIG. 27. — Pleuronema chrysalis. M, The undulating membrane ; o, mouth ; N, macronucleus ; n, micronucleus ; c.v., contractile vacuole ; f.v., food vacuole ; a., anal pore. After Schewiakoff, magnified 660 diameters. the undulating membrane, and the distal portion projects freely beyond it ; but in some cases a distal free portion of the flagellum may be quite absent, and then flagellum and undulating membrane are co-extensive (Fig. 12, J). Undulating membranes in Flagellata appear to be specially related to the endoparasitic mode of life, and in free-living species they are found rarely, if ever ; they may be regarded as an adaptation to life in a broth-like medium, such as the intestinal contents, or the blood of a vertebrate, containing many suspended particles or corpuscles. In such cases the membrane may assist the organism to force its way between the solid bodies suspended in the fluid medium. Undulating membranes may, how- THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 57 ever, serve for other functions than that of locomotion, in flagel- lates as well as in ciliates. In large, stout forms of trypanosomes, for example, the animal may remain perfectly still while its mem- brane is rippling actively, and in that case the function of the mem- brane is probably to cause currents in the fluid surrounding the body, and to change and renew the liquid bathing the body-surface. In such a case it has been noted that the undulating membrane may from time to time reverse the direction of its movements, the waves running for a time from the hinder end forwards, and then for a time in the opposite direction (Minchin and Woodcock, 42, p. 150). It is probable that the undulating membranes which pass down the vestibule of Vorticellids can reverse their movements in a similar manner, since this passage serves both for passage of food- particles to the mouth and for the ejection of excreta from the anal pore and the contractile vacuoles. The only structures found in free-living Flagellata which can be compared at all with undulating membranes are the peculiar " collars " found in the Choanoflagellata (Fig. 110), and also in the collar-cells of sponges. Each collar is an extension of the ecto- plasm which grows up from the edge of a circular area round the insertion of the flagellurn, forming a membrane like a cuff or sleeve surrounding the basal portion of the flagellum, but quite distinct from the flagellum itself, and not formed in actual connection with it like the undulating membrane of a trypanosome. The collar differs further from a true undulating membrane in not being energetically motile, but only slowly protrusible and retractile. It has been stated, both for Choanoflagellates and for the collar-cells of sponges, that the collar is formed by a spirally-folded membrane. Their function appears to be that of assisting in food-capture by a sessile, flagellated organism. (4) Contractile mechanisms in Protozoa, when they are visible, take the form of so-called myonemes, minute contractile fibrils run- ning in various directions in the ectoplasm, like an excessively minute system of muscle-fibres. Such elements are not found in Sarcodina or in the non-corticate forms of the other classes ; in naked forms with amoeboid movement the ectoplasm, as has been pointed out above, is only a temporary differentiation of the proto- plasmic body, which can arise by conversion of the eiidoplasm, and which can be changed back again into endoplasm. Myonemes occur commonly, however, in those Flagellata, Sporozoa, or Infusoria, which owe a definite body-form to the presence of a firm cuticle or cortex, representing a stable ectoplasm. The myonemes are often, however, extremely fine, and sometimes escape detection in cases in which we can infer their presence with certainty from the move- ments or contractions of the organism or of its ectoplasm. As a 58 THE PROTOZOA general rule they are visible more or less clearly in the larger, but not in the more minute, species. Thus, in trypanosomes, myonemes can be made out in large forms as delicate lines running parallel to the undulating membrane (Fig. 28), but in small species of trypano- somes it may be impossible to discover them, although the nature of their movements may leave no doubt as to the existence of con- tractile mechanisms in the ectoplasm. In other cases, both motile species possessing myonemes and non-motile species lacking them may occur within the limits of a single group, as in Gregarines, where the motile species show a very distinct layer of myonemes (Fig. 29) ; while the non-motile forms have a much thinner ecto- plasm, represented practically by the cuticle alone, with no trace of myonemes. In the non-motile trophozoites of the Coccidia myo- ••— :-;;v:.-".-:.:;i'.1.',1^;;;;; ; sr.'i-'-*"";:-'-"''''1: FIG. 28. — Trypanosoma percce, stout form stained with iron-hsematoxylin to show myonemes. After Minchin, X 2,000. FIG. 29. — Gregarina munieri* showing the layer of myonemes at the surface of the body, slightly diagrammatic. After Schneider. nemes are similarly absent. In the ciliate Infusoria the myonemes run parallel to, and beneath, the rows of cilia, and in species of large size and great powers of contractility, such as Stentor, the myonemes are lodged in canals and show a transverse striation (Fig. 186, /). According to Schaudinn, these motile mechanisms, both flagella and myonemes, are derived from the achromatic spindle of a dividing nucleus. In the development of a trypanosome from a non-flagellated condition, he describes the entire kinetic apparatus as arising from a nuclear spindle consisting of two polar centro- somes connected by a centrodesmose (p. 103, infra), and by mantle THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 59 fibres, but with chromosomes apparently rudimentary or absent. Such a spindle is stated to persist and to grow greatly in length, one pole of it finally projecting beyond the anterior end of the body. The centrosome at the proximal pole of the spindle becomes the blepharoplast or basal granule of the flagellum ; the centrodesmose itself becomes the flagellum, or at least its axial elastic filament ;. N FIG. 30. — Development of the locomotor apparatus of trypanosomes. A — F, De- velopment of Trypanosoma noctuce : A, the single nucleus of the "ookinete " is dividing into two unequal halves ; in each half a centriole is seen, connected with its twin by a centrodesmose ; B, the division of the nucleus complete ; the two sister-nuclei still connected by a centrodesmose uniting the centrioles r C, the smaller nucleus (n. ) is dividing unequally to furnish a third nucleus (h.g. ) ; D, E, the third nucleus is dividing to furnish a proximal (b.g.1) and a distal (b.g.2) centriole, while the fibrils of the achromatic spindle become the myo- nemes (my. ) ; F, development of the trypanosome— N, trophonucleus ; n, kineto- nucleus; b.q.1, basal granule (true blepharoplast) of the flagellum. In C the pigment (P) present in the earlier stages is being thrown off. After Schau- dinn (132). G, stage in the development of the merozoite of Trypanosoma rotatorium into the trypanosome-form ; AT, trophonucleus, still connected by a cen- trodesmose with n, the kinetonucleus, which has budded off b.g., the basal granule of the flagellum. After Machado (409). the distal centrosome is carried out on the tip of the flagellum ; and the mantle fibres form the myonemes, stated in this case to be eight in number, of the body, which are continued on into the contractile sheath of the flagellum (Fig. 30). However fascinating the views put forward by Schaudinn, with regard to these points, may be, it must be stated that the greatest doubt attaches to the correctness 60 THE PROTOZOA of the observations upon which they are founded, and that they lack confirmation entirely.* 3. Organs apparently of excretory function are present in many Protozoa as the so-called " contractile vacuoles," one or more droplets of clear liquid which make their appearance in the ectoplasm, grow to a certain size, and then burst, emptying their contents to the exterior. When the contractile vacuole reaches its full size, it often bulges inwards far beyond the limits of the ectoplasm, and hence may appear to lie in the endoplasm ; but its first appearance is always in the ectoplasm, to which it strictly belongs. In non-corticate amoeboid forms the contractile vacuoles simply empty themselves to the exterior, and the changing form of the body does not permit of determining whether the position of the vacuole is a constant one. It is common in amoebae for the vacuole to be lodged in the region of the body Avhich is hindmost in progres- sion ; but this may be simply the mechanical consequence of the streaming movements in the protoplasm, whereby the vacuole is carried along to the hinder end of the body. In corticate forms, on the other hand, the contractile vacuoles are constant both in number and position, and void their contents through a definite pore in the cuticle, directly or indirectly ; in many Flagellata and Infusoria, for instance, the vacuoles do not discharge directly to the exterior, but into the oesophagus or into a reservoir-vacuole communicating with the oesophagus. The growth of the contractile vacuole is caused by fluid draining into it from the body-protoplasm. In amoebae and forms of simple structure no channels supplying the contractile vacuole are visible, and it must be supposed to be fed by a process of diffusion through the protoplasm from all parts of the body. In the highly-organized ciliate Infusoria, however, the deepest layer of the ectoplasm has a loose, spongy texture, and forms a definite excretory layer full of spaces containing fluid, which drains into one or more main canals * It must be added further that, to judge from the figures left by Schaudinn and published on Plate xxix. of his collected works (" Fritz Schaudinn's Arbei- ten," Hamburg and Leipzig, 1911), the statements cited above appear to be founded on preparations made by a method of technique which is recognized generally as giving unsound cytological results — namely, the method of dried films stained by the Romanowsky stain. Schaudinn's statements are nevertheless cited above on account of the numerous theoretical discussions and speculations in modern protozoological and cytological literature of which they have been the foundation. For my part, I disbelieve entirely in the theory that the flagellum represents a centrodesmose between two centrosornes ; I regard it as a simple outgrowth from a blepharoplast of a nature essentially similar to the axopodium of a Heliozoon. It is curious that no one has as yet extended Schaudinn's theory to the axopodia, the axial filament of which should also represent a centrodesmose, if that view is correct for the axial filament of the flagellum, a view that seems to me quite unthinkable from a phylogenetic standpoint. Is it to be supposed that the formation of each pseudopodium by a Heliozoon represents a rudimentary mitosis ? THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA Gl supplying the contractile vacuole or vacuoles. Thus, in Stentor (Fig. 8) the single vacuole is fed by a canal running the length of the body, and in Paramecium (Fig. 185) the two vacuoles are each surrounded by a number of canals forming a star-shaped figure. As regards the function of the contractile vacuoles, it should be noted in the first place that their contents are always fluid and watery, and never contain solid particles of any kind. The fluid winch a contractile vacuole drains from the body is doubtless replaced by water absorbed from the surrounding medium by diffusion through the superficial layer of the protoplasm, or it may be through the mouth in some cases. The contractile vacuole is generally regarded as the organ of nitrogenous excretion, comparable functionally to the urinary organs of the Metazoa, but it is highly probable that the liquid discharged from it contains also the carbon dioxide pro- duced by the respiratory process. Hence the contractile vacuole may be regarded as both excretory and respiratory in function (see also p. 197, infra). 4. In the majority of Protozoa there are no organs for which a defi- nite sensory or nervous function can be claimed, although these organ- isms show by their reactions to the environment or to stimuli that they possess sensory and psychical func- tions. In some cases, however, certain organs can be asserted to have a sensory function, exhibited in sensitiveness either to impressions of touch or light. Thus, in many Flagellates the flagella appear to be tactile as well as locomotor in function, and in Ciliata tactile cilia occur, especially in the creeping hypotrichous forms. Sensitiveness to light is a marked feature of many Protozoa, even of quite undifferentiated forms, such as amoebae. Rhumbler (34) has shown that many amoebae cease feeding in a strong light, and even disgorge food that they have taken in when suddenly subjected to the intense illumination necessary for microscopic study. This characteristic is, however, most marked in the holo- phytic species, to which light is a necessity for their plant-like metabolism. In the holophytic Flagellates a red pigment-spot, or stigma, is found constantly, situated close to the anterior end of the FIG. 31. — Pouchetia cornuta, one ot the Dinoflagellata, to show the large stigma (st.), in front of which is a lens (I.). After Schiitt (386). 62 THE PROTOZOA body (Fig. 4, st.). The belief that the stigma is the seat of light- perception receives support from the fact that in some cases it is found associated with lens-like structures, which evidently serve to concentrate light upon it and act as dioptric elements, as in Pouchetia (Fig. 31). B. Endoplasmic Organs. The bulk of the endoplasm in proportion to that of the whole body varies greatly in different Protozoa. In Flagellata, for example, the protoplasmic body must be considered as consisting almost entirely of endoplasm, the ectoplasm furnishing only the delicate periplast and myonemes. Similarly, in motionless para- sitic forms, such as the Coccidia or the " ccelomic " Gregarines (p. 326, infra), the body within the cuticle is entirely endoplasm. On the other hand, in Ciliata, in which the ectoplasm may give rise to a number of different structures, the endoplasm is often a rela- tively restricted region of the body. In these examples that have been cited, the ectoplasm and endoplasm are probably stable layers, and their relative proportions are consequently more or less constant for a given phase of the life-history ; but in amoeboid forms, as already pointed out, ectoplasm and endoplasm are interchange- able, and the amount of each layer present in an organism varies with the extent of its body-surface ; that is to say, the proportion of ectoplasm to endoplasm is greatest when the amoeba is moving actively and throwing out many pseudopodia, and least when it is in a resting condition and has assumed the spherical form. As stated above, the endoplasm is a fluid, granular substance, which contains various enclosures connected with the nutritive function, and also the nucleus or nuclei. Hence it may be re- garded as the seat of trophic and reproductive functions. The nuclear apparatus will be dealt with in a separate chapter, since it belongs, strictly speaking, neither to the ectoplasm nor the endo- plasm, though commonly lodged in the latter. In this chapter only the structural elements connected with the function of food ingestion and assimilation will be described. The contents of the endoplasm vary greatly, according to the mode of life of the organism. In saprophytic and most parasitic forms no special organs are found in connection Avith the nutritive function, the food being simply absorbed in a soluble condition at the surface of the body, probably by the aid of enzymes secreted by the organism, but not by any recognizable organs. In holozoic and holophytic forms, however, special organs, differing widely in each case, are present for the assimilation or elaboration of food. 1. In holozoic Protozoa the organs of assimilation take the form of food-vac uoles, minute droplets of fluid in which the solid particl;-- THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA 63 ingested as food are suspended and gradually digested. In some cases, however, and especially when the prey is relatively large, no distinct fluid vacuole can be made out surrounding it, "but the food appears to be simply lodged in the endoplasm itself ; the vacuole is " virtual." When the digestion is completed, the in- soluble faecal residues are cast out of the body. In Protozoa in which the body consists of naked, non-corticate protoplasm, the food is ingested, and the fsecal remains are expelled, at any point on the surface of the body. In corticate Protozoa, on the other hand, in which the body is limited by a resistant envelope or cuticle of a certain strength and thickness, food can- not be ingested at any point, but is taken in through a special aperture, a cell-mouth or cytostome. In such cases the organs of food-capture are either flagella or cilia, and by their action the food is wafted into the mouth. Primitively the mouth is a superficial aperture in the cuticle, opening into the endoplasm by means of a longer or shorter tube, the oesophagus or cytopharynx. In the Peritricha (p. 433), however, the mouth and oesophagus are, as it were, carried into the body at the end of an in-sinking of the ecto- plasm, which forms a long tube or vestibule, comparable in its mode of formation to the stomodseum of the Metazoa. In any case the food-vacuoles are formed at the bottom of the oesophagus, in the endoplasm. The mode in which the vacuoles arise, and the processes of digestion and defsecation, are discussed in a subsequent chapter (p. 189, infra). 2. In holophytic forms assimilation is carried on by cell-organs of the same nature as those found in the green cells of ordinary plants. Of primary importance are the chromatophores, or chromo- plasts, bodies containing chlorophyll or allied pigments by means of which the organism is enabled to decompose carbon dioxide in the sunlight, setting free the oxygen and utilizing the carbon for build- ing up the living substance. The chromatophores vary greatly as regards size, form, and number present in the cell-body. Other bodies of constant occurrence are pyrenoids, small glistening cor- puscles which appear to serve as centres for the formation or storage of starch or similar substances of amyloid nature produced in the process of anabolism (see infra, p. 188). In any Protozoa, whatever their mode of nutrition, the endo- plasm contains usually various enclosures, which can be classed generally as metaplastic — that is to say, as products of the upward (anabolic) or downward (catabolic) metabolism of the living sub- stance. Instances of anabolic products are the grains of starch or of the allied substance, paramylum, found in the holophytic forms, and the reserve food-materials—fat, " paraglycogen," and other substances — often stored up in considerable quantity in prepara- 64 THE PROTOZOA tion for developmental changes, especially in the female gamete, in a manner analogous to yolk-grains in an ovum. Instances of bodies resulting from catabolic activity are waste-products of various kinds in the form of granules, crystals, pigment-grains, etc., often present in great numbers, and giving the endoplasm an opaque and coarsely-granular appearance. A familiar instance of such waste- products is seen in the grains of melanin-pigment formed in the bodies of the malarial parasites (Fig. 156) as a result of the absorp- tion and decomposition of the haemoglobin of the red blood-cor- puscle. Many bodies present in the protoplasm of Protozoa may be con- sidered as originally of metaplastic nature and origin, but as utilized secondarily for various functions. Such are the oil-drops in the intracapsular protoplasm of Radiolaria (p. 251), which appear to have a hydrostatic function, and also to serve as reserve food- material in the development. It is also highly probable that both internal and external skeletons originated simply as excretions in the first instance — that is to say, as waste - products of the metabolism which have been utilized for the function of support, and subsequently adapted and modified in accordance with the special requirements of the organism. Finally, as bodies of hydrostatic function, though not to be included necessarily under metaplastic products, are the peculiar gas-vacuoles of Arcella, bubbles of gas which can be secreted, absorbed, and formed again, as circumstances may require, in and by the living protoplasm. BibliograpJiy. — For references see p. 47" CHAPTER VI THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PROTOZOA (Continued)— THE NUCLEAR APPARATUS— CHRO MATIN, NUCLEUS, CHROMIDIA, CENTROSOMES, AND BLEPHAROPLASTS OF all the parts or organs of the cell-body, there is none of greater importance for the life and activities of the organism than the so-called nucleus, a term which, understood literally, means simply a kernel or central portion of the body, and conveys 110 idea of the true nature of the structure in question or of its significance for the life of the organism. The cell-nucleus, in all its various modifications of form and structure, is essentially and primarily a collection of grains and particles of a peculiar substance which has received the name chromatin, on account of its characteristic tendency to combine with certain colouring matters and dyes. A nucleus may consist, perhaps, in some cases of little more than a single mass of chromatin, or of several such masses clumped together. In most cases, how- ever, the chrornatin is combined with other substances which may be termed comprehensively achromatin, and which are built up with the chromatin in such a way as to produce a complicated nuclear structure, as will be described in detail presently. The chromatin-substance is not necessarily, however, concen- trated entirely in the nucleus in all cases. In many* Protozoa, especially amongst the Sarcodina, as, for example, Arcella (Fig. 32), Difflugia, and many other genera, the cell-body contains, in addi- tion to one or more nuclei, extranuclear granules of chromatin, termed ckromidia,* which may be scattered in the cytoplasm * The term " chromidia/' in the German form " Chromidien," was coined by Hertwig (66) to denote the extranuclear grains of chromatin, and the whole mass of them in the cell-body was spoken of as a " Chromidialnetz." Subsequent authors, however, have used the word in its singular form, " chrornidium," in a collective sense, to denote the entire mass of chrcmidia present in a cellular organ- ism, and not, as might have been expected, to mean the individual grains or particles of chromatin which constitute the chromidial mass. In order to avoid confusion, it is proposed in this work to use the term chromidiosome to denote the smallest chromatin-particles of which the chromidial mass is made up, and which grow and multiply by division like other elementary living bodies. It is clear, however, that the chromidiosomes of which the cliromidial mass scattered in the cytoplasm is built up are in no way different in kind from the minutest granules of chrornatin contained in the nucleus. The term " chrornidiosorno " must there- fore be applied to the ultimate, individual grain or particle of chromatin, alike whether it be lodged inside or outside a nucleus. 65 5 66 THE PROTOZOA throughout the cell, or may be aggregated in certain regions of the body to form '' chroniidial masses " or " chromidial nets." It is even found that in some species a true nucleus may be absent temporarily during some phases of the life-cycle, all the chroniatin being then in the form of chromidia, from which nuclei arise by a process of condensation and organization of the chromatin in com- bination with achromatinic elements. Such a condition may be regarded as a temporary reversion to a more archaic and ancestral condition, since, as has been pointed out already (Chapter I.), the Protista of the lower or bacterial grade of organization do not possess, speaking generally, a true nucleus, but only scattered grains of chromatin. Hence the chromidial condition of the chroniatin may be ranked as an earlier and more primitive state, from which the strictly cellular grade of organization has been evolved by concentration of some or all of the chromatin to form a nucleus. In the tissue-cells of Metazoa, as a general rule, and in many Protozoa, the chromatin is concentrated entirely in the nucleus or nuclei, and chromidia do not occur. Whatever view be taken as to the primitive or secondary nature of the chroniidial condition (a question upon which individual opinions may differ considerably), the following facts can be stated definitely with regard to the chromidia. In some cases the chromidia can be observed to arise as extrusions of chromatin from the nucleus, which either casts off a certain amount of chromatin into the cyto- plasm, while preserving its individuality, or may undergo complete fragmentation, becoming resolved entirely into chromidia, and ceasing to exist as a definite nucleus. In other cases, chromidia arise from pre-existing chromidia, by growth and multiplication of the chromidiosomes, thus keeping up a chromidial mass or stock which is propagated from cell to cell through many generations, independently of the nuclei present in addition to them in the cell: The chromidial mass itself may vary considerably in structure- in different cases or at different seasons ; the chromidiosonies may be arranged in clumps, strands, or trabeculee, on a protoplasmic- framework, and the mass is often vacuolated and contains substances other than chromatin. In Diffliigia, Zuelzer (85) has shown that in the autumn the chromidial mass assumes a vacuolated or alveolar structure, and in each alveolus grains are formed of a carbohydrate substance allied to glycogen, which functions as reserve food- material for the organism during the reproductive processes initiated at that season. On the other hand, as chromidia arise from nuclei, so nuclei may arise from chromidia. In many Protozoa, as, for example, Arcella (Fig. 32), the formation of so-called "secondary" nuclei (which, however, do not differ from other nuclei except in their mode of THE NUCLEUS 67 origin), by concentration of chromidia into a clump or mass which acquires gradually the structure and organization of a true nucleus. is a frequent and normal occurrence in the life-cycle, as will be seen in subsequent chapters. Those who regard the chromidial condition as the more primitive will see in the formation of secondary nuclei from chromidia the ontogenetic recapitulation of the phylo- genetic origin of the nucleus as a structural element of the cell-body. From the foregoing it is seen that nuclei, in the Protozoa, do not necessarily arise from pre-existing nuclei ; the generalization " Omnis nucleus e nucleo," though it probably holds good universallv for the cells of Metazoa, cannot be maintained for Protozoa if the term " nucleus " be taken in its strict sense. On the other hand, there FIG. 32. — Arcdla vulgaris, to show formation of secondary nuclei from the chro- midia. A, Ordinary type of individual, with two nuclei and a ring of chromidia : B, example in which secondary nuclei are being formed in the chromidial ring. A71, Primary nucleus ; N2, secondary nucleus in process of formation ; clir., chromidial ring ; o, aperture of the shell. After R. Hertwig (65). is no evidence that chromatin, within or without the nucleus, can ever arise de novo or in any way except from pre-existing chromatin, the particles of which grow and multiply as the result of processes of •assimilation such as constitute the most essential characteristic of the living substance generally. There is no doubt, however, that chromatin may itself give rise- to other substances of achromatinic nature, and probably of simpler constitution, by a process of breaking down of its complex sub- stance ; and also that there may be present in the cell various •substances very similar to chromatin in their properties and charac- teristics, representing stages in the building-up of the complex material of the chromatin-substance. In one or the other of these two ways it is possible to account for bodies in the cell known by names, such as " metachromatinic grains," " chromatoid 68 THE PROTOZOA grains," and so forth — bodies which are often mistaken for true chromatin, but which must be carefully distinguished from it, just as metaplastic bodies are to be distinguished from protoplasm Among such bodies must be mentioned more especially the so-called " volutin-grains,"* which have attracted much attention of recent years, and which occur in various bacterial or unicellular organisms. The volutiii-grains resemble chromatin in showing affinities for so-called " nuclear stains," which they hold more firmly than the chromatin itself, when treated with reagents that extract the stain. According to Reichenow (78), volutin is a nucleic acid combination which is to be regarded as a special reserve-material for the forma- tion of the nucleo-proteins of the chromatin-substance ; during phases of the life-cycle in which the chromatin in the nucleus increases in quantity, the volutin in the cytoplasm diminishes, and, conversely, when the quantity of chromatin is stationary, the volutin-grains increase in number. Volutin-grains are thus seen to be bodies of totally different nature from chromidia, with which they are often confused on account of their similar appearance and staining reactions ; chromidia are formed, typically, as extrusions from the nucleus into the cytoplasm ; volutin-grains, on the other hand, are formed in the cytoplasm, and represent, as it were, a food-substance which is absorbed by the nucleus in the growth and formation of the chromatin. In some cases, however, the meta- chromatinic grains may represent chromidial extrusions from the nucleus which are breaking down or being modified into other substances ; compare, for example, the extrusion of vegetative chromidia, which degenerate into pigment, from the nucleus of ActinospJicerium during a depression-period (p. 209). The occurrence in the cell-body of volutin and other substances which resemble chromatin very closely may often render extremely difficult the task of identifying and distinguishing the true chro- matin, especially when it is not concentrated into a definite nucleus, but is scattered in the cytoplasm in the form of chromidial grains. The test upon which reliance is mostjisually placed for the identi- fication of chromatin is its staining properties, and especially its readiness for combining with basic aniline dyes and certain other colouring matters. But this test is extremely inadequate and un- reliable ; on the one hand, as has been stated above, there are substances, such as volutin, which are coloured by ' nuclear '; stains more intensely than the true chromatin itself ; on the other hand, in cellular organisms which possess true nuclei containing undoubted chromatin, the staining reactions of the nuclei may be strikingly different in different cases. A good example of each of * Tho name " volutin " was coined by A. Meyer in 1904, and is derived from the fact that the substance was tirst studied by him in Spirillum volutans. THE NUCLEUS 69 these statements is furnished by the trypanosomes parasitic in vertebrate blood : on the one hand, these parasites often contain in their cytoplasm so-called ''' chromatoid grains," probably of the nature of volutin (Swellengrebel, 514), which stain in a similar manner to the nucleus ; on the other hand, the nuclei of the parasites react to stains in a manner very different from the nuclei of the blood-cells amongst which* they live. In short, it is not possible to name any stain or class of stains which can be relied upon either to combine with chromatin alone, or to stain chromatin in the same manner and to the same degree, at all times and in all cases* (compare Fig. 33). When, therefore, the adjectives " chromatinic " and " achromatinic " are used in the course of this work, it must be clearly understood that these terms signify that the bodies or substances to wrhich they are applied con- sist or do not consist, as the case may be, of chrornatiii, and not that they stain or do not stain with certain dyes. As regards the chemical nature of chro- matin, it is characterized by containing protein-substances more complex in com- FIG. 33. — Diagram to repre- position than any other part of the cell ; it is not possible to say defimtely, however, whether it is to be regarded as a single chemical substance or as a combination or mixture of several. Its most salient feature is its variability ; judged by microchemical tests, no two samples of chromatin can be considered identical hi composition, whether from different cells or even from the same cell at different times. Certain substances, especially phosphorus-compounds, are espe- cially characteristic of iiucleo-proteins, but it is not possible at the present time to define or identify chromatin by its chemical properties or composition. All experience at the present time tends to show that the final test for the identification of chromatin in the cell is its relation to the vital activities and life-history of the organism. The term " chromatin " is thus to be regarded as denoting a biological or physiological, but not a chemico-physical, unity. A given body * Methyl-green, acidulated with acetic acid, has sometimes been indicated as a most distinctively nuclear stain ; but Hertwig (64) has shown that in the nuclei of ActinospJicerium this stain colours the plastin-framework, and not the matin, and this author casts doubt on the alleged value of this stain as for demonstrating chromatin in the nucleus. sent in a graphic manneg the action of colouring matters that stain chrr- rnatin. The circle drawn with an uninterrupted line is supposed to represent a theoretically perfect chromatin - stain, which would stain chromatin always, and nothing else but chromatin ; the circles drawn with interrupted lines represent the action of chromatin stains actu- ally ; they will stain chro- matin as a general rule, though notin variably, but they will also stain other things which are not chro- matin. 70 THE PROTOZOA or grain in the cell cannot be definitely identified as cliromatin, in all cases, by any chemical or physical test, but only by its relation to the life and development of the organism as a whole, and more especially to the function of reproduction and the phenomena of sex, as will be shown more fully by means of concrete instances in subsequent chapters. The sum of modern knowledge with regard to the vital activities of living bodies and the life-histories of organisms, whether plants or animals, Protozoa or Metazoa, indicates that the chromatin exercises a regulative and determina- tive influence over the functions and properties of the cell-body. Direct experimental proof of the all-importance of the nucleus for the life of the cell is obtained by cutting Protozoa into pieces, some containing portions of the nucleus, others consisting of cytoplasm alone (p. 210, infra). Those pieces that contain nuclear substance are able to regenerate the lost parts of the body and to perform all the functions of life, and in particular those of assimilation, growth, and reproduction ; those, on the contrary, that contain no portion of the nucleus rapidly lose the power of assimilation, and are unable to regenerate the body, to grow or to reproduce; and though they remain for a time irritable and capable of movement, they soon lose these properties. There are a number of facts which indicate that in the physiological activities of the cell the chief function of the nucleus is the formation of ferments ; it is therefore all-important in regulating the assimilative processes of the living substance (p. 194). The conception of cliromatin as the directive and regulative centre of the cell-body renders intelligible a number of phenomena con- nected with it, such as the elaborate mechanisms which, as will be described in the next chapter, are gradually evolved and perfected for the exact partition of the chromatin in the reproduction of the cell by division, and the relation of chromatin to the sexual process. Further, the extremely variable nature of the chromatin-substaiice becomes at once intelligible on this view of its relation to the specific characters and properties of the organism ; for since every species of living being — perhaps, even, every in- dividual of the same species — differs to a greater or less extent from every other : then, if such differences are determined by the chromatin, it follows that the chromatin must also differ to a corresponding degree in each case, and that consequently uni- formity of character in different samples of chromatin cannot be expected to occur. Hertwig (67, 92) considers that a certain quantitative relation of nucleus and cytoplasm is necessary in any cell for the normal continuance of the vital functions. This nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio (" Kernplasma-Relation ") is subject to variations at different THE NUCLEUS 71 periods of life-history, but is the same, normally, for corresponding phases of the life of the cell ; it can be influenced by external con- ditions, such as food and temperature, and also by internal factors, undergoing changes in a regular manner, in harmony with changing functional conditions of the cell. In cultures of a given species at a loAver temperature, multiplication is slower and the organisms grow larger and possess larger nuclei ; with increase of temperature the reverse takes place (compare p. 206, infra). It has also been observed that, in long-continued cultures of Protozoa, periods of active assimilation and multiplication are followed by periods of depression, during which assimilation and reproduction are at a standstill, even in the midst of abundant nutriment (see especially Calkins, 5). The depression-periods are characterized by an in- crease of the nuclear substance relatively to the cytoplasm, a ' hyperchromasy " of the cell, which may lead to the death of the individual unless compensated by the elimination and absorption of part of the nuclear substance (p. 209, infra) ; when the balance has been thus restored, the organism becomes normal and feeds and multiplies again. From this conception of a definite relation between the mass of the nucleus, or rather of the chromatin, and that of the cytoplasm, Hertwig has deduced a number of important consequences to which reference will be made in subsequent chapters. The influence exerted by the chromatin upon the life of the organism may be manifested in two ways, which may be termed, for convenience, actual and prospective, respectively. In the first case it regulates the metabolism and functions, both trophic and kinetic, of the cell in which it is contained, and is then commonly termed vegetative chromatin, or trophochromatin. In the second case it may be dormant and inactive in the cell that contains it, remaining latent, as it were, until carried on to future generations in the course of cell -reproduction ; at a later period the whole or a part of this latent chromatin may become active, determining the nature and properties of the offspring, and thus serving as the vehicle for hereditary transmission of the characters of antecedent generations. Such temporarily dormant chromatin is commonly termed genera- tive chromatin, or idiochromatin. It is probable that in all Protozoa the cell-body contains chromatin both in the active and inactive state, the one regulating the vital functions of the living body, the other remaining dormant, in reserve for future generations. The validuty of this conception, according to which the chromatin present in an organism is regarded as being either vegetative or generative in function, must be tested by its capacity to account for the facts of the development and life-cycle which will be con- sidered more fully in subsequent chapters. There are no means of recognizing and distinguishing vegetative and generative chro- 72 THE PROTOZOA matin except by their respective relations to the life-cycle, at certain periods of which, as will be seen, the nuclear apparatus is entirely reconstituted, effete vegetative chromatin being eliminated from the organism, either cast out or absorbed, and its place taken by reserve generative chromatin. It is only necessary to remark that some authorities speak of vegetative and generative chromatin as if they were two distinct kinds of substance, whereas they are probably to be considered rather as two phases or states of one and the same chromatin. Vegetative chromatin is that which is in a state of functional activity, and which thereby tends to become exhausted and effete in its vital powers, exhibiting in consequence the phenomena of " senility." Generative chromatin, on the con- trary, by remaining inactive, conserves its " youth " unimpaired, and constitutes a reserve from which the worn-out vegetative chromatin can be replaced. Generative chromatin of one genera- tion may become vegetative chromatin in the next. As regards their distribution in the cell-body, in some cases vegetative and generative chromatin cannot be distinguished by the observer as separate structural elements, but are mixed up together in the same nucleus ; in other cases, however, they occupy distinct situations in the body. Thus, in Sarcodina it is common for the vegetative chromatin to be lodged in the principal nucleus or nuclei, while the generative chromatin occurs in the form of chromidia, as in Arcetta (Fig. 32), or vice versa. In the Infusoria there are two kinds of nuclei, which are shown by their behaviour to consist, the one of vegetative, the other of generative chromatin. Chromidia, when present in the cell, may also differ in kind, being in some cases extrusions from the nucleus of purely vegetative chromatin, in process of elimination, while in other cases, as already mentioned, the chromidia, or a part of them, represent the generative chromatin (see p. 150, infra). The nuclei of Protozoa exhibit great variety of structure and form as compared with the relatively uniform structure of the nuclei of Metazoa. As stated already, the constituent substances or structural elements in any nucleus may be distinguished broadly as chromatinic and achromatinic : the former consisting of the chromatin, the primary and essential element never absent in any nucleus ; the latter comprising various accessory structures, an- cillary to the chromatin, and not all of them invariably present in any given nucleus. Amongst the principal achromatinic con- stituents of nuclei in general must be mentioned the following : (1) linin, occurring in the form of a framework, which stains feebly or not at all by chromatin-stains, and which presents the appear- ance of a delicate reticulum or network, the optical expression of an alveolar structure ; (2) a fluid encliylema or nuclear sap, filling THE NUCLEUS 73 the interstices of the linin-framework ; (3) plastin, a substance which has staining reactions different to those of chromatin, and which occurs in lumps or masses forming the ground-substance of the nucleoli or karyosomes presently to be described. The whole nucleus is commonly enclosed in a membrane, but this structure is probably formed in different ways in different cases, and may be absent. In addition to these various constituents, there are commonly present also in con- nection with nuclei bodies of kinetic nature. Such are the centrosomes or centrioles, which appear to control, or at least to act as centres for, the move- ments which the various parts of the nucleus perform during the process of reproduction by division. The structure and appear- ance of nuclei depend chiefly on the manner in which the chromatin is distributed. Two principal types of structure may be distinguished : in the first the chromatin is concentrated into a single mass or grain, or, if other grains are present in the nucleus, they are smaller and relatively insignificant in size ; in the second a number of grains are present which are more or less equal in size. In the condition with a single, or one greatly preponderating, mass of chromatin, the nuclear space is not as a rule filled by it, but presents the appear- FIG. 34. — Cyclical vegetative changes in the resting nuclei of Trichosphcerium sieboldi. A, Stage with finely-meshed chromatic network and large karyosome (see p. 76) ; B, the meshes of the network widening, the karyosome budding off blocks of chromatin into it ; C, the same process carried farther ; D, coarse network con- taining scanty chromatin at the nodes, karyosome wanting ; E to G, the chro- matin increases greatly in quantity, covering the linin-framework — in G the meshes of the network are becoming finer ; H, the network has become fine- meshed again ; /, a karyosome is being formed by condensation of the chro- matin at certain points, leading to the condition of A again. After Schaudinn, X 2,250. ance of a vesicle containing the chromatin-mass at or near its centre ; consequently such nuclei are commonly termed " vesicular " in type, and the chromatinic mass maytbe termed generalty, and without further determination of its precise nature, an endosome (" Binnenkorper "). When, on the other hand, the chrpmatin is in the form of numerous grains, they are generally distributed more or less evenly throughout the nuclear cavity ; such nuclei are termed "granular." 74 THE PROTOZOA Every transition from the one type of structure to the other may be found in the nuclei of Protozoa ; in a vesicular nucleus the prin- cipal mass of chromatin may break up into smaller grains which become distributed throughout the nuclear cavity ; in a granular nucleus some or all of the grains of chromatin may be clumped together, and become fused to form a principal or single mass of chromatin. Such changes may take place during successive periods of activity of one and the same nucleus (Fig. 34). It is usual to speak of the condition of the nucleus as " resting " when it is not actually undergoing the process of reproduction by division ; but it must be borne in mind that, so long as the cell is in a state of physiological activity of any kind, the nucleus also shares in this activity, and, strictly speaking, cannot be said to be resting. The activity of the nucleus is expressed in continual changes in its structure and rearrangements of its chromatin-substance and other constituents. In the gregarine Porospora gigantea, Leger and Duboscq (72) have observed changes taking place rhythmically in \ FIG. 35. — Successive stages of the karyosome (see p. 76) of Porospora gigantea, showing the transformation of a hollow into a homogeneous karyosoine by expulsion of a vacuole of clear viscous fluid into the nuclear cavity, where it forms a little mass of chromatin in front of the rnicropyle. After Leger and Duboscq (72). the living condition (Fig. 35) ; compare also Chagas (48'5). Hert- wig (64) has shown that the structure of the nucleus of Actino- sphcerium can be correlated with the functional activities of the cell. Thus a condition with the chromatin all concentrated to form a central endosorne is found prior to division of the nucleus, and is also found when the animal is being starved ; on the other hand, when it is supplied with abundant nutriment and is feeding actively, the chromatin-grains spread over the whole nuclear space. Since, however, abundant food also leads to frequent nuclear division, the condition with the chromatin concentrated at the centre also occurs during active cell-metabolism, as well as during hunger-periods . In the simplest condition of the nucleus the grain or grains of chromatin are lodged in a space or vacuole, containing a clear fluid or nuclear sap, but not enclosed by a definite membrane. Nuclei of this simple type of structure are seen in some of the primitive forms, such as the small amoebae of the Umax-type, in which the THE NUCLEUS 75 nucleus consists of a large mass of chromatin suspended in the nuclear sap. In some cases no other structural elements can be made out ; in others the nuclear sap contains granules of peripheral chromatin varying in size from the most minute and scarcely visible particles to distinct grains. For a simple nucleus of this type the term " protokaryon " has been proposed ; it is just such a nucleus as may be imagined to have arisen by a concentration of chromidiosomes at one spot in the cell-body, and in many cases such nuclei can be seen to be formed actually in this manner. The kinetonucleus of trypanosomes may be considered as a nucleus of this type in which the single mass of dense chromatin fills almost or quite completely the space in which it lies. In other cases there may be a clump of chromatin-grains more or less equal in size, filling the nuclear cavity, as in the nucleus of hamogregarines. When there are numerous grains of chromatin, those placed super- ficially may be united to form a limiting layer which may be termed a "false" or " chromatinic " membrane, in distinction to a true nuclear membrane, which is an achromatinic structure. Even in nuclei of the most simple type, however, substances or structures accessory to the chromatin are probably always present. In the first place, it is very probable that the grain or grains of chromatin do not lie loosely and freely in the nuclear vacuole, but are suspended in it, in all cases, by a delicate achrornatinic frame- work, presenting the appearance of a fine network or reticulurn, at the nodes of which the chromatin-grains are lodged. It is true that in many of the minute and primitive forms no such framework has been made out, and is believed by many observers to be absent ; but on that view it is difficult to account for the definite position of the chromatin, its changes of position during division, and the frequent appearance, during this process, of an achromatinic spindle, phenomena that may be noted even in the simplest cases. The achrornatimc framework is often very fine and delicate, and its substance stains feebly or not at all with the colouring matters commonly employed in microscopical technique ; hence it is very probable that it has often been overlooked in cases where it is really present. When there is but a single mass of chromatin, or one grain very much larger than all the others, the achromatinic reticuluni presents the appearance of very delicate threads of limn radiating from the principal mass of chromatin to the periphery. When, on the other hand, there are numerous grains more or less equal in size, the reticuluni is seen as fine lines passing from each grain of chromatin to each of the grains adjacent to it. In all probability the apparent " threads " of the reticulum are but the optical expression of the walls or partitions separating alveoli, and there is no reason for considering the achroniatinic reticulum or 76 THE PROTOZOA linin framework as different in any essential point from the alveolar framework of the general protoplasm, with which, in nuclei that lack a true membrane, it is perfectly continuous. Hertwig (66) regards the cytoplasmic framework as achromatinic substance in intimate combination with chromatin ; the nuclear framework, on the other hand, as pure achromatinic substance (linin) from which the chromatin has become separated out and organized into special structures, independent of the framework in which they are lodged. Similarly, the nuclear sap filling the nuclear space and the inter- stices of the reticulum must be identified with the enchylema of the body-protoplasm. As compared with the alveolar structure of the general protoplasm, that of the achromatinic nuclear frame- work is characterized chiefly by the larger size of the alveoli, and, consequently, the greater distinctness of the apparent reticular structure. A true nuclear membrane, when present, is probably formed in all cases from the achromatinic framework. In the nuclei of Actino- sphcerium, according to Hertwig (64), the membrane is a super- ficial condensation of the achromatinic reticulum. The membrane may attain to a considerable thickness and appear doubly-con- toured in optical section, separating the nuclear framework com- pletely from the extranuclear protoplasm ; but it is always a structure very readily absorbed and re-formed, and it appears to present no obstacle to the passage of substance from the nucleus into the cytoplasm, or vice versa. Awerinzew (47), on the other hand, regards the nuclear membrane as a product of the cytoplasm. In addition to the achromatinic framework, plastin is commonly, if not invariably, present in the form of masses or bodies which receive different names, according as they consist of pure plastin or of plastin impregnated to a greater or less extent with chromatin. In the vesicular type of nucleus, the endosome may perhaps consist, in some cases, of pure chromatin, but in most cases, if not always, it is composed of a matrix or ground-substance of plastin in which the chromatin is lodged. An endosome of this kind is termed a karyosome, or chromatin-nucleolus ; as a rule it has the form of a rounded mass, occupying the centre of the nucleus, sometimes of more than one such mass, but in a few cases it may have the form of a crescent or cap (" calotte ") closely applied to the nuclear mem- brane. In the granular type of nucleus, on the other hand, there may be one or more masses of pure plastin containing no chromatin ; such a body is termed a nudeolus simply, or a " plastin-nucleolus." In the nuclei of the tissue-cells of Metazoa, true nucleoli occur almost invariably ; in the nuclei of Protozoa, however, pure plastin- nucleoli are not of common occurrence, but have been described in a few instances — for example, in the haemogregarine-nucleus THE NUCLEUS 77 (Reichenow, 78). As a general rule in the Protozoa, the plastin-sub- staiice is found as the matrix of karyosomes, but also as that of other masses of chroniatin, such as the chromosomes of the dividing nucleus (see next chapter). Goldschmidt (41) observed that the formation of generative chromidia in Mastigella (p. 265) was pre- ceded by the extrusion of plastin from the nucleus into the cyto- plasm, to serve as a matrix for the chromatin which passed out from the nucleus subsequently. In Actinosph cerium, Hertwig has shown that a karyosome or chromatin-nucleolus, present during certain states or phases of nuclear activity, may give off its chro • matin-substance into the nuclear framework (reticulum), leaving the plastin-matrix as a body which is then seen to consist of a reticular framework similar in structure to the achrornatinic reticulum of the nuclear framework, but distinguished from it by smaller meshes (alveoli) enclosed by thicker walls, as well as by its different staining properties. Certain phases of the development of Actinosphcerium are further characterized by the formation in the nucleus of numerous small plastin-iiucleoli, each consisting of a single vesicle (alveolus) of plastin containing nuclear sap. Thus, a nucleus in its full complication of structure, and apart from the centrosomic elements, to be discussed presently, consists of the following parts : (1) An achrornatinic framework or nuclear reticulum ; (2) a true membrane, formed from the achrornatinic framework, and separating the nuclear contents from the surround- ing cytoplasm ; (3) nuclear sap, pervading the entire nuclear cavity ; (4) plastin, in the form of one or more bodies or masses which may consist either of pure plastin (nucleoli) or of plastin impregnated with chromatin (karyosomes) ; and (5) the chromatin, which may be present either in the form of granules lodged at the nodal points of the reticulum, and scattered evenly or unevenly throughout the nuclear framework, or may be concentrated in a karyosome, or may combine both these two modes of distribution in various ways. Achromatinic framework and nuclear sap may be considered as a part of the general body-protoplasm, enclosed within the nuclear space, and set apart from the cytoplasm as a special nucleoplasm ; plastin, on the other hand, is probably to be regarded as a product derived from the chromatin itself, either as a secretion or as a modification of its substance, to form a cement-like material or matrix in which true chromatin is carried. The two primary con- stituents of a nucleus are chromatin and protoplasmic framework. Nuclei, whatever their structure, are, as a general rule, bodies of spherical or ovoid form ; but in some cases, especially amongst Infusoria, the nuclei exhibit very varied forms in different species. The nucleus may then be sausage-shaped, or in the form of a horse- shoe, or resemble a string of beads (" moniliform "), or be branched THE PROTOZOA in a complicated manner. In the remarkable Acinetan Dendrosoma radians a colony is formed by budding, which resembles super- ficially a hydroid colony, each hydranth being represented by the head of an Acinetan individual with suctorial tentacles ; the branched nucleus is continuous throughout the whole colony, pass- ing uninterruptedly from one individual to another. Typically the cell-body contains a single nucleus, but in many Protozoa two or more nuclei occur constantly. When there are more nuclei than one, they may be all alike and quite undifferentiated, or they may show differences in size, structure, and function. In many Sarcodina multiple nuclei without ~ differentiation are found to occur constantly in certain species ; for instance, two in Amoeba binucleata and Arcella ; several, perhaps a dozen or so, in Difflucjia (Fig. 16) ; from twenty to forty up to some five hundred in Adinosplicerium (Fig. 3) ; so also in Pelomyxa ; and in the large plasmodia of Mycetozoa many thousands of nuclei are found. Differentiation of nuclei, when it occurs, may be related to various causes. In trypano- 36. — Tnjpano- somes and allied forms two nuclei occur con- stantly— a principal nucleus, or trophonucleus, pike (Esox Indus), so called because it appears to regulate the a.fl., Anterior flagel- general metabolism and trophic activities of lum; n, kinetonu- ° ,, -. , , 7 . x , , . , . . cleus; N, trophonu- the celJ-body ; and a Kinetonudeus, which is in cleus; p.fl., posterior special relation to the organs of movement, edff oTthTTiSt- nagella, and undulating membrane. As a rule ting membrane, and the kinetonucleus is smaller, in some cases very continued beyond it mirmte and hag a dense compact structure, as a very snort tree flagellum posteriorly, while the trophonucleus has a vesicular struc- (478)' ture ; Lut in other cases (TrypanoPlasma^ the kinetonudeus is the larger of the two (Fig. 36). A nuclear differentiation of totally opposite character is seen in the Infusoria, where two nuclei of different sizes, hence termed ' macronucleus " and " micronucleus," are constantly present ; the behaviour of these two nuclei in relation to sexual phenomena and reproduction (vide p. 153, infra] shows that the macronucleus is composed of vegetative chromatin, while the micronucleus contains the reserve generative chromatin. In some cases — for example, in Myxosporidia (p. 403) — nuclei of different sizes occur in relation to sexual differences. In some Protozoa — the so-called " Monera " of Haeckel — the nucleus has been stated to be wanting entirely ; but this statement FIG. THE NUCLEUS • 79 is probably based on incomplete or erroneous observation, or on defective technique. In all Protozoa that have been examined in recent times, at least one nucleus has been found to occur without exception, though in some phases of the development the nucleus may temporarily disappear and resolve itself into chromidia. There now remains for consideration the question of the centro- some, the centre of the kinetic activity of the nucleus. Of all the questions connected with the nuclear apparatus, those relating to the centrosome are the most difficult to handle in a general manner, largely on account of the minuteness of the bodies dealt with, and the consequent difficulty of ascertaining their structure and com- position, even their presence, in many cases. Hence, in the litera- ture of the centrosome, there is found considerable confusion in the terminology, different authors disagreeing entirely as to the precise structures to which the name centrosome should be applied, and opposed theories, which cannot be discussed adequately in a short space, have been put forward as to the nature and origin of the centrosome. As the focus of the kinetic activities of the nucleus, the centro- some is most apparent and recognizable when the nucleus is in process of reproduction by division, and much less so when the nucleus is in the so-called "resting state." Hence the study of the nucleus during the process of division is alone decisive as to the presence of a centrosome in any given case ; and since in many cases nuclear division appears to go on without centrosornes being present, it may be taken as equally probable that, in all such cases at least, no centrosome is present in the resting state of the nucleus. In many cases, however, the presence of a centrosome in, or in connection with, the resting nucleus can be ascertained clearly ; it may then lie either outside or inside the nucleus. When the centrosome lies outside the nucleus, as it usually does in the cells of Metazoa, it is found typically as a, minute grain or pair of grains (" diplosome ") close beside the nuclear membrane. Its presence may be indicated by the radiate structure of the surrounding protoplasm, giving the appearance of a system of rays centred on the centrosome ; but such radiations are absent as a rule during the resting state of the nucleus, and the appearance of rays is often the first sign of impending activity and division of the nucleus. In many cases the centrosome is found lying in a mass of clear protoplasm termed archo plasm, a substance which differs, apparently, from the rest of the cytoplasm only in being free from granulations of all kinds. Archoplasm may, in short, be regarded simpty as pure cytoplasm, and it appears either perfectly homogeneous, or traversed by striations winch radiate from the centrosome, through the archoplasm, and even beyond its limits ; 80 THE PROTOZOA the striations themselves being the optical expression of a radiate arrangement of the protoplasmic alveoli (meshes of the " retic- ulum "), indicating lines of force or tension centred in the centro- some. In some cases it is probable that archoplasm showing radiate striations may be present without any centrosome. In A ctinosph cerium Hertwig showed that rays were formed in the archoplasm before a centrosome had been formed, and heralded its appearance. When the centrosome lies within the nucleus, it is found most frequently, in Protozoa, within a plastin-body or karyosome, a position which it may retain permanently during both the resting and dividing conditions of the nucleus. The simple nuclei of the protokaryon-type probably contain in most cases a centro- somic grain lodged in the karyosome. In a few cases, however, an intranuclear centrosome occurs without a karyosome, or outside the karyosome if one is present. On the other hand, there are many examples of the occurrence of extranuclear centrosomes in Protozoa ; but these are for the most part cases in which the centro- some is in relation, not only to the kinetic functions of the nucleus, but also to those of other cell-organs, as will be described presently. Nuclei containing centrosomes have been termed " centronuclei " by Boveri. The centrosome is seen, as a general rule, under the form of a minute grain, or centriole. This is the form in which it occurs invariably when it has an intranuclear position, lodged within the karyosome. But when it occurs outside the nucleus, it exhibits structural peculiarities which may vary at different periods, and it often presents cyclical changes corresponding to different phases of the activity of the nucleus. Thus, in Actinosphcerium, Hertwig (64) describes the centrosome at its first appearance as a relatively large body of spongy structure, formed at one pole of the nucleus from extruded portions of the achroniatinic reticulum (Fig. 37, A — E). At this stage, in which the centrosome is termed a centrosphere, it lies in a patch of archoplasm. and is the centre of a well-marked system of radiations. The centrosphere then gives rise, by con- densation of its substance, to two centrioles, or to one which divides, and at the same time the archoplasmic radiations become fainter and disappear (Fig. 37, F, G). The centrioles then take part in the division of the nucleus, and when this process is complete they again become spongy centrospheres, which go through the same series of successive changes that have already been described Ana- logous cyclical changes of the centrosome have also been described in other cases, and have led to a conflict of opinion as to whether the term " centrosome " should be applied to the whole centrosomie complex, as it may be termed, or to the centrioles, of which many THE NUCLEUS 81 may be present. It is simplest in theory, and probably correct in fact, to regard the centriole as the primary, in many cases the sole, constituent of the centrosome — an element which may be capable, to a greater or less extent, of changes in size and structure, and which multiplies by division. To the primary centrosome or FIG. 37. — Actinosphcerium eichhorni : formation of the centrosome. ^.Concentra- tion of the nuclear reticulum towards one pole of the nucleus, near which the cytoplasm appears free from granulations, forming the archoplasm ; B, 0, D, passage of a portion of the nuclear reticulum to the exterior to form the " spongy centrosome " lying in the archoplasm ; E, spongy centrosome with striations passing from it through the archoplasm to the nucleus ; F, G, the centrosome passes back again to the vicinity of the nucleus and undergoes a reduction of substance — the archoplasm also diminishes tem- porarily in quantity ; H, division of the centrosome. After Hertwig (64). centriole there may be added adventitious elements of protoplasmic or nuclear origin, thus forming a centrosomic complex which may attain a size relatively considerable in some cases. So far the centrosome has been discussed only in its relation to 6 82 THE PROTOZOA the kinetic activities of the nucleus, a function which may be re- garded as its primary and most characteristic role. It may act also, however, as the centre of other kinetic functions of the cell- body, especially in relation to motile organs such as flagella ; it then appears as the so-called " basal granule," from which the flagella take origin. The basal granule appears as a thickening at the base of the flagellum. It may be continued farther into the cytoplasm, or connected \vith the nucleus, by means of one or more root-like processes known as the rliizoplast. A centrosome which is in relation to a motor cell-organ is termed generally a blepharoplast. The rhizoplast may have various origins ; in some cases it represents the centrodesmose (p. 103) which connects the bleph- aroplast with the nuclear centro- some, or the remains of such a connection ; in other cases it repre- sents the remains of the nuclear spindle of the previous nuclear division, as in the swarm-spores of Stemonitis ftaccida (Jahn, 69) and FIG. 38. — Mastigina setosa, after Gold- schmidt (41). n., [Nucleus from which the long flagellum arises ; the body is full of diatoms and other food- bodies. The surface of the body has a covering of short bristle-like processes. FIG. 39. — Connection of the flagellum and the nucleus in Mastigina setosa. A and B, As seen in the living state ; C, after fixation and staining. After Goldschmidt (41). the collar-cells of Heterocoela (Robertson, 79) ; while in some instances it may be formed by outgrowth of root-like processes, of no special cytological significance, from the blepharoplast. The relation of the nuclear to the kinetic apparatus is best studied in the Flagellata, where three principal conditions may be distinguished as follows : 1 . The cell-body contains but a single centrosome, which functions also as a blepharoplast ; these two names, then, denote two different phases of activity of one and the same body, which is a centr<>- THE NUCLEUS 83 n. some when it is active in relation to the division of the nucleus, and a blepharoplast when it is in connection with flagella or other motile organs during the resting state of the nucleus. In this, probably the most primitive state of things, there are, further, two different structural conditions found to occur in different cases. First, the centrosome - blepharoplast may be within, or closely attached to, the nucleus ; secondly, it may be quite independent of the nucleus, and some distance from it in the cell- body, during the resting state, of the nucleus. In the first case — of which an example is seen in Mastigina (Figs. 38, 39), paralleled by collar - cells in the Leuco- soleniid type of calcareous sponges — the flagellum ap- pears to arise directly from the nucleus ; in the second case, exemplified by Mas- tigella (Fig. 40), and by collar-cells of the Clathrinid type, the flagellum takes origin quite independently of the resting nucleus. In both cases alike, the flagel- lum generally disappears \ FK, ±Q. — Mastigdla i-itn-n, after before division of the nucleus \ Goldschmidt (41). n, Nucleus, -UQ fi, r KlArJiflT-rml'Kjf \ almost obscured by the mass of begins , blepnaroplas \ food-bodies of various kinds in becomes the centrosome, j the cytoplasm, divides, and initiates the division of the nucleus ; the new flagella of the daughter- cells grow out from the two daughter - centrosomes dur- incr or after division of the O nucleus, and in either case, when the two daughter-cells are completely formed, their centro- somes, as blepharoplasts, remain as the basal granules from whicb the flagella arise. 2. The cell-body contains more than one body of centrosomic nature— namely, a definitive centrosome, in relation to the single nucleus, and, in addition to this, one or more blepharoplasts in relation to motile organs. Then, when division of the eel! place, one of two things may happen. 84 THE PROTOZOA In the first place, the flagellum or flagella may disappear, together with their blepharoplasts ; the nuclear centrosome divides into two, which control the division of the nucleus in the usual way, and the centrosome of each daughter-nucleus divides again into two, one of which is the definitive centrosome, the other the blepharo- plast, of the daughter-cell. The new flagella may either grow out from the daughter-centrosomes before they divide, and be carried off, as it were, by the product of division which becomes the FIG. 41. — Stages in the division of Spongomonas splendida, to show different ways in which the daughter-flagella arise. Compare the stages of S. uvella (Fig. 42). A, Resting condition of the cell. B, Early stage of mitosis; the two flagella of the parent cell are in process of absorption, together with their blepharo- plasts. G, Daughter-flagella arising at the poles of the nuclear spindle ; the flagella of the parent have disappeared. D, Nucleus completely divided ; one pair of daughter-flagella are seen arising from the karyosome of a daughter- nucleus, in which the blepharoplasts are still enclosed ; in the other daughter- nucleus the blepharoplasts have become distinct and the flagella are given off from them. E, Similar stage ; the two pairs of blepharoplasts, from which the flagella arise, are quite independent of the two daughter-nuclei. After Hartmann and Chagas (62), magnification about 2,400 diameters. blepharoplast (Fig. 41, C, D, E ; Fig. 42, C), or they may not arise from the blepharoplasts until a later period, after they have separated off from the definitive centrosomes (Fig. 42, D, E, F). The examples figured show that these differences in the origin of the flagella may occur as developmental variations in one and the same species. In the second place, the blepharoplasts and flagella"may persist throughout the division of the cell ; then either the old flagellum and blepharoplast are retained by one daughter-cell, while the other THE NUCLEUS 85 forms a new blepharoplast from its centrosome, and subsequently a new flagellum ; or the blepharoplast of the parent cell divides independently to form the blepharoplasts of the daughter-cells (Fig. 43). In this last type, the blepharoplast, though obviously a body of centrosomic nature, acquires a more or less complete independence of the definitive centrosome, and becomes a distinct cell-organ, permanent for at least a certain number of cell-genera- tions ; it may multiply and undergo various structural complica- tions, to be described presently. FIG. 42. — Stages in the division of Spongomonas uvella. A, Resting condition of the cell ; two flagella arise, each from one of a pair of blepharoplasts (diplo- some) ; the nucleus contains a large karyosorne, in which the centriole is lodged, and a few irregular grains of peripheral chromatin in the nuclear cavity. B, Early stage of mitosis ; an achromatinic spindle is formed with the centrioles at the poles, one centriole (on the right) having already divided into two ; the chromatin, both peripheral and central, has united to form a dense equatorial plate in which separate chromosomes cannot be discerned ; the flagella have disappeared, together with their blepharoplasts. G, Similar stage in which the daughter-flagella are growing out precociously from the centrioles, one on the left, two on the right. D, Later stage in which the equatorial plate has split into two daughter-plates, but no flagella have as yet grown out from the centrioles, of which there are two at each pole. E, Division of the nucleus nearly complete ; no flagella. F, Nucleus completely divided, daughter-nuclei in process of reconstruction ; from each a pair of blepharoplasts has been budded off, still connected by a centrodesmose with the centriole contained in the karyosome ; a pair of daughter-flagella has arisen from one pair of blepharoplasts, but not as yet from the other. After Hartmann and Chagas (62), magnification about 2,400. 3. In certain flagellates — for example, trypanosomes and allied forms (" Binucleata ") — the cell-body contains two nuclei, as already noted : a trophonucleus and a kinetonucleus. To what extent these nuclei are provided with centrosomes is at present a little doubtful ; probably this point is one which varies in different cases (compare Wenyon, 84). There are, however, three chief possi- bilities : (a) There may be but a single centrosome, that of the kinetonucleus, which acts both as blepharoplast and division-centre FIG. 43. — Stages in the division of Polytomdla agilis. A, Resting condition of the cell ; the four nagella arise from four blepharoplasts which are connected by a rhizoplast with the nucleus ; in the nucleus is seen a large karyosonie, which contains the centriole and is surrounded by a peripheral zone of chromatin-grains in a nuclear reticuluni. B, Early stage of mitosis ; the karyo- some is dividing to form a bar of chromatin occupying the axis of the achro- matinic spindle, at the equator of which a plate of chromosomes is formed by the peripheral chromatin of the last stage. C, Later stage ; the karyosonie has divided completely, forming two masses at the poles of the spindle con- nected by a centrodesmose. D, The spindle has become elongated, and the equatorial plate has split ; the centrioles are seen connected by the centro- desmose. E, Division advancing ; the polar masses have become cap-shaped, and the daughter-plates of chromosomes have fused into conical masses ; centrioles and centrodesmose still visible. F, Division of body beginning. G, Centrodesmose broken through, the two daughter-nuclei separate. H, I, J, Division of cell complete, one daughter-cell only represented, to show the reconstitution of the daughter-nucleus ; the polar cap becomes the karyosonie, enclosing the centriole ; the conical mass formed in Stage E by fusion of the chromosomes in the daughter-plates becomes resolved gradually into chromatin-grains again, and so forms the peripheral zone of the daughter- nucleus ; each daughter-cell has two of the four blepharoplasts and flagella of the parent, and the number is doubtless made up to four again by division after the daughter-cells are set free. After Aragao (45). THE NUCLEUS 87 for the cell ; then, when cell-division takes place, the kinetonucleus first divides, and the two products of its division place themselves on each side of the trophonucleus and act as its centrosomes, as described by Franca and Athias (56)* ; (b) the trophonucleus may have a centrosome of its own, lodged in the karyosome, in addition to the centrosome-blepharoplast in connection with the kineto- nucleus ; this is probably the most usual condition with two sub- ordinate variations, according as the centrosome-blepharoplast is lodged within the kinetonucleus, as in Leishmania tropica (Wenyon, 84), or is situated close beside it, as in most trypanosomes ; in either case the kinetonucleus and trophonucleus divide quite independently of one another, as commonly seen ; (c) it is possible, but perhaps not very probable, that in some cases there may be a blepharoplast for the flagellum distinct from the centrosomes of the two nuclei ; such a condition, perhaps, occurs in Trypanoplasma. In all cases alike, division is initiated by the centrosome from which the flagellum arises; next the kinetonucleus, and lastly the tropho- nucleus, divide. The various forms of flagellar insertion described in the foregoing para- graphs admit of a simple and uniform phylogenetic explanation. Starting with a non-flagellated organism in which a simple protokaryon contains a single centriole (Fig. 44, (9a), we may suppose the flagellum at its first origin to grow out from the centriole in the nucleus (Ob). No such condition is actually known amongst flagellates, though it may be compared to the origin of the axopodia from a central grain in an Actinophrys-type of Heliozoon (see below) ; in the flagellates the centrosome-blepharoplast always, ap- parently, moves out of the nucleus, either remaining in close proximity to it (la) or becoming quite independent of it (lh), the two variations of the first type. The second type may be derived by division of the centrosome-blepharo- plast to form the definitive centriole and the blepharoplast ; the latter may also remain in close proximity to the nucleus (2a) or become quite independent of it (2b). The third type may be supposed to arise from the hypothetical primitive condition (On) by supposing that, not the blepharoplast-centrosome alone, but the whole nucleus, divides to form two nuclei of unequal size and distinct function, the trophonucleus and kinetonucleus, each with its own centriole (3% 3b). The centriole of the kinetonucleus, which is at the same time the blepharoplast, may either remain within the kinetonucleus (3b) or come out of it (3C) ; its relations to the kinetonucleus are parallel to those of the centro- some-blepharoplast to the nucleus in types la and lb. Or, on the other hand, the centrosome-blepharoplast may divide into a definitive kinetonuclear centrosome and a true blepharoplast (3"). The condition with only a single centriole for both the nuclei may, if it exists, be derived from 3a or 3b by supposing that the trophonuclear centrosome becomes atrophied. When a blepharoplast exists independently of the nuclear apparatus, it may retain the form of a single grain or basal granule of the flagellum, when this organ is single, or it may multiply to * The statements of Franca and Athias are not, however, confirmed by Lebedefi (468), and it may be doubted whether any species of trypanosome or other " binu- cleate " exists which has but a siusrle division-centre in the cell. 88 THE PROTOZOA form two or more grains when there are numerous flagella. Thus, in Lophomonas, which shows the extreme of complication, there are numerous basal granules corresponding to the tuft of flagella (Fig. 45). Each basal granule in this case is divided into a proximal FIG. 44. — Diagrammatic representation of the possible phylogenetic origin of the different types of flagellar attachment in flagellates. For the sake of sim- plicity it is supposed that the animal has but a single flagellum. O, Non- flagelJated cell with a centriole in the nucleus ; Ob, in a cell like the last a flagellum arises from the centriole ; la, condition with a flagellum arising close beside the nucleus ; lb, condition with the blepharoplast quite separate from the nucleus ; 2a, division of the single centriole into a definitive centro- some and a blepharoplast, which becomes quite independent (2b) of the nucleus ; 3a, division of both nucleus and centriole to form distinct kinetic and trophic nuclei, each with its own centriole ; 3h, the kinetonuclear centriole remains within the nucleus ; 3C, the kinetonuclear centriole becomes distinct from the nucleus ; 3d, condition with a single centriole in the cell ; 3e, condition with a blepharoplast distinct from the centrioles of the^two nuclei. and a distal granule, and the pairs of granules are arranged in a ring, interrupted at one point ; the tuft of flagella takes origin from the distal granules of the ring. When the nucleus divides, the daughter-centrosomes give rise to new rings of blepharoplasts, THE XUCLEUS 89 from which daughter-tufts of flagella grow out ; the old tufts, with their rings of blepharoplasts, persist for some time after the new ones have been formed (Fig. 45, C), but ultimately they degenerate and disappear. The ring of blepharoplasts in Lophomonas is *« fill! supported on the edge of a membranous structure, or " calyx," which in its turn is surrounded by a peculiar striated body, the " collar " of Grassi, or " parabasal apparatus " of Janicki (Fig. 45, cl). Janicki (71) has found a corresponding parabasal apparatus in other flagellates, especially in TrichonymphidcB ; the significance 90 THE PROTOZOA of this peculiar structure remains for the present problematical. In the spores of Derbesia, Davis (" Annals of Botany," xxii., pp. 1-20, plates i. and ii.) has described a condition very similar to that of Lopliomonas — namely, a double ring of blepharoplasts, which, however, fuse together to form a ring of homogeneous appearance. The blepharoplast-grains are given off from the nucleus. Centrosomic bodies may be related, not only to flagella, but also to pseudopodia, especially in those cases in which the pseudopodia FIG. 46. — Actinophrys sol, showing the axial filaments of the pseudopodia centred on the nucleus. N, Nucleus ; ps., pseudopodia ; ax., axial filament ; c.v., contractile vacuole ; f.v., food-vacuole. After Grenadier. have become specialized in form and movement, as in the Heliozoa. In this group the relationship of the nuclear apparatus to the pseudopodia exhibits two types of arrangement, which are analo- gous to the two arrangements described above in Mastigina and Mastigella respectively, and which may be explained by supposing that in the one case the kinetic centre lies within, in the other case without, the nucleus itself. . Thus, in Actinophrys (Fig. 46) the numerous pseudopodia are all centred on the single nucleus, in which the centrosonie is contained. A variation of this type is described by Schaudinn (43), in the peculiar multinucleate form THE NUCLEUS 91 Camptonema nutans, in which a pseudopodium arises directly from each nucleus (Fig. 47).* In AcantJwcystis (Fig. 18) an example is seen of the second type, the evolution of which can be traced in the actual development ; in the buds of Acanthocystis a centriole is contained in the karyosome of the nucleus, but during the growth < "11 -sc««WR *.;WIMH-«- O ^ CD ._: O CL, S £ ""£ M'C 3 - O S3 ^.a o -*l § a g m » "*H -— < ~ -•£ TS i-13 ^^ g l&- \ ~=> c5 ^ll i— H {— 1 O S of the bud into the adult condition the centriole passes out of the nucleus, and becomes the so-called " central grain " of the adult, a corpuscle which occupies the centre of the body, and upon which ' In Actinosphcerium, however, there is no relationship between the pseudopodia and the nuclei. From the researches of Hertwig (64), it is evident that in this form the centrosomes are lost altogether during the vegetative life, and are formed only in certain phases of the development (p. 115). 92 THE PROTOZOA the axial filaments of the pseudopodia are centred, while the nucleus is displaced to one side and becomes excentric in position ; when the cell enters upon division, the central grain becomes the centro- some (Fig. 64). From the condition seen in Acanfkocystis, it is not difficult to explain the state of things which has been described by Zuelzer (86) in the remarkable form Wagner ella (p. 246). Here also the buds formed possess each a single nucleus containing a centriole ; in this condition they may multiply by fission with mitosis, in which the centriole functions as a centrosome. When the buds develop into the adult form, a centriole is extruded from the nucleus to form the central grain. The organism attaches itself, and the body becomes divided into three regions — head, stalk, and basal plate (Fig. 48). The nucleus travels down into the basal plate, while the central grain remains in the head and functions as the kinetic centre of the pseudopodia. becoming very complicated in structure. It consists of a centrosome surrounded by a sphere, which is perhaps of the nature of archoplasm, but is stated to be rich in plastin ; when the pseudopodia are extended the sphere shows well- marked radial striations. From the centrosome minute granules are budded off. which pass along the striations of the sphere to its surface, and from these granules arise the delicate axial filaments of the pseudopodia ; the basal granules are therefore comparable to the ring of blepharoplasts in Lophomonas. When the pseudopodia are retracted, the basal granules lie within the sphere, immediately surrounding the centrosome, and the radial striations of the sphere vanish. The centrosome itself varies in structure at different times, going through cyclical changes, but usually shows a distinct central granule or centriole. When Wagnerella divides by fission, the central grain and the nucleus divide independently, and the central grain does not act as a centrosome for the dividing nucleus, which contains its own centriole. In this form, therefore, the central grain, though centrosornic in origin and nature, loses its primitive relation to the division of the nucleus, and becomes specialized exclusively as a kinetic centre for the organs of locomotion, a course of evolu- tion perfectly parallel to that which has been traced above for the blepharo- plasts in their relation to flagella. While there can be but little doubt as to the centrosornic nature of the blepharoplasts or basal granules of the flagella, and of the central grains on which the pseudopodia of the Heliozoa are centred, the true nature of the basal grains of cilia, on the other hand, is less certain. The majority of those who have studied them in Ciliata are of opinion that they have nothing to do with centro- somes (compare Maier, 73, and Schuberg, 44, and see p. 443, infra) ; but there are certain observations which indicate that the basal granules of the cilia have a connection with (Collin, 50), or an origin from (Entz, 53), the nuclear apparatus, in which case they may be of the same nature as the multiple blepharoplasts of such a form as LopJiomonas. Hertwig (66) considers that the basal grains of the cilia may be of centrosornic nature, and that, if they have no connection with the nucleus, they afford support for the view that centrosomes can arise from the cytoplasm as well as from the nuclear framework. In view of the great structural similarity between cilia and flagella in other respects, it seems THE NUCLEUS 93 hardly likely that the basal granules would be of a different nature in the two cases. The whole question of the nature of the basal granules has been discussed in a recent memoir by Erhard (54). fflfl m FIG. 48. — Wagnerella borealis, Mereschk. A, Whole specimen seen under a low magnification: H., head containing the central grain ; P, stalk ; N., nucleus contained in the basal plate of attachment. B, Enlarged view of the head, after fixation and staining with iron-haerna- toxylin : c., cuticle of the stalk ; ps., pseudopodia'; ax., axial filaments of the pseudopodia, each arising from a basal granule ; e.g., central grain. After Zuelzer (86). Few problems in cytology have been more discussed than the question of the nature and origin of the centrosome, and three opposed views have been put forward which may be termed, re- spectively, the achromatinic theory, the nucleolo - ceiitrosomic theory, and the nuclear theory. 94 THE PROTOZOA According to the achroraatinic theory, the centrosome is "an individualized portion of the achromatinic nuclear substance " (Hertwig, 66), a kinetic centre on Avhich the movements of the framework are focussed. The essential and primary constituent of the centrosome is the centriole, and so long as the centrosome remains intranuclear, as in perhaps the majority of Protozoa, it consists of the centriole alone. When, however, the centrosome becomes extranuclear, as in many Protozoa and almost universally FIG. 49. — Paramceba eilhardi : stages of the life-cycle. A, Amoeba in the vegetative stage: N., nucleus; n.k., " Nebenkern " ; d., ingested diatom. B, 0, D, Stages in the multiplication of the encysted amoeba ; in B the Nebenkern has divided up, the nucleus is still undivided ; in C the nucleus has divided up into a number of daughter-nuclei, each of which has paired with a daughter- Nebenkern ; in D the body has divided into a number of daughter-cells, each containing a nucleus and a Nebenkern. E, A free-swimming flagellula, derived from one of the daughter-cells in D, and containing a nucleus and a Nebenkern. F, G, H, I, Four stages of the division of a flagellula ; in F the Nebenkern is dividing ; in G the two halves of the Nebenkern have placed themselves on each side of the nucleus, which is preparing for division ; H, stage of the nuclear spindle with the two halves of the Nebenkern at each pole ; in / the nuclear division is nearly complete, and the body is beginning to divide. After Schaudinn (81), all figures magnified about 500 diameters. in the cells of the higher animals and plants, accessory oytoplasmic elements may be added to the centriole to form a centrosomic complex. A point still undecided, on the theory that centrosomes are of achromatinic origin, is whether or no these bodies can be formed, in some cases, in the cytoplasm also, as maintained by some authorities. On Hertwig's view, mentioned above, that the achromatinic substance of the nucleus is identical in nature with the ground-substance of the general protoplasm, it follows that material for the formation of the centrosome must be present in the cy1<> THE NUCLEUS 95 plasm no less than in the nucleus. Biitschli (3) considers it possible that the centrosome might have been originally a cytoplasmic structure, which had nothing to do with the nucleus, but became included in it when a nuclear membrane was formed. Attention must be drawn here to the remarkable genus Paramceba (Fig. 49) founded by Schaudinn for the species P. eilhardi (see p. 228). In this form there is present beside the nucleus a body which was termed the " Neben- kern," consisting of a darkly-staining middle piece, at each end of which is a cap of clear substance. The Nebenkern has generally been considered to represent a centrosome, and Chatton (49) has put forward the suggestion that it may correspond to a karyosonie or a portion of a karyosorne that has passed out of the nucleus with the centrosome. Recently, however, Janicki (71'5) has described two new species of Paramosba, and puts quite a different interpretation upon the Nebenkern. He regards the middle piece as chro- matin. the clear caps as archoplasmic masses, each of which contains a centrosome ; and he considers the entire structure " as a second nucleus, as it were, fixed in division, in which the state of division has become the permanent form." He proposes to replace Schaudinn's term " Nebenkern " by the term "nucleus secundus, " and considers it especially comparable to the " sphere " of Noctiluca (Fig. 65). Division of the nucleus and Nebenkern takes place quite independently of one another. On the nucleolo-centrosomic theory, the whole karyosorne with the contained centriole, as found in many Protozoa, is compared with the complex extranuclear centrosome of the higher organisms. It is clear, however, that the karyosonie consists chiefly of plastin which is impregnated to a greater or less extent with chromatin, and in which the centriole is imbedded. As Chatton (49) has pointed out, the three elements which compose the karyosorne are independent of each other. When the centriole and chromatin have left the karyosorne, the plastin-mass remaining behind is homologous in every way with the iiucleolus of the metazoan cell, and the only element common to both the karyosonie of Protozoa and the centrosome of Metazoa is the centriole. The nuclear theory of the centrosome is associated especially with. the names of Schaudinn and, in more recent times, of Hart- niami and Prowazek (63). According to this view, the centrosome represents a second cell-nucleus, and every cell is to be regarded as primarily binucleate. The starting-point of the evolutionary series would be such a form as Amoeba binucleata, which possesses two similar and equivalent nuclei. In the next stage of evolution one of the two nuclei became specialized more for kinetic, the other for trophic, functions ; examples of this stage would be furnished by Paramceba (Fig. 49), with its nucleus and " Xebenkern," and by a trypanosome, with its trophonucleus and kinetonucleus, the Nebenkern of the first and the kinetonucleus of the second repre- senting the kinetic nucleus. The central grain of the Heliozoa or the extranuclear centrosome of the Metazoa would represent the final stage of evolution, namely, a kinetic nucleus deprived of all 9G THE PROTOZOA chromatin-elements ; while the cell-nucleus proper would represent the trophic nucleus deprived of all kinetic elements. On the other hand, the condition in amoebae and similar or- ganisms, where the cell appears to contain but a single nucleus which includes the kinetic centres, is explained by supposing that here the kinetic nucleus is eiicapsuled in the trophic nucleus, and is represented by the karyosome with its centriole ; hence the supporters of this theory term the type of nucleus characterized by a large karyosome an " amphinucleus " or " amphikaryon," and, in their descriptions of such nuclei, they speak of the outer nucleus (peripheral zone of chromatin) and the inner nucleus (karyosome). The reasons against homologizing the karyosome and the extra- nuclear centrosome have been stated already. Against the theory of binuclearity it may be urged further — First, that to regard the protokaryon-type of nucleus seen in the most primitive forms of Sarcodiiia and Flagellata as a secondary condition is a complete inversion of what is, to all appearance, the natural series of evolu- tion of the nuclear apparatus ; secondly, that the binucleate con- dition of trypanosomes and allied forms is clearly, by comparison with other Flagellates, a specialized condition ; the trophonucleus of trypanosomes also contains a karyosome and centriole, and would therefore be an " amphikaryon," on this theory ; thirdly, that the binuclear theory still leaves the centriole as a kinetic centre of achromatinic origin, which is present in both trophonucleus and kinetonucleus of trypanosomes, in both nucleus and central grain of Heliozoa (Wagnerella), etc. All that the binuclear theory is capable of explaining is the secondary elements of the extra- nuclear centrosomic complex. That the centriole is a body of intranuclear origin and formation is shown clearly by its presence in nuclei of the primitive karyosomatic type which arise, not by division of pre-existing nuclei, but by aggregation and organization of clumps of chromidia. It should be added that, in its most recent exposition by Hartmann (61), the theory of binuclearity has undergone considerable modification and restriction. Having considered now the structure and composition of the nucleus in its principal types and morphological variations, it remains to attempt to establish a more precise conception as to what exactly is meant by a nucleus. It is evident, in the first place, that the essential component of a nucleus, never absent, is chromatin ; but it is equally clear, in the second place, that a simple mass, or several such masses, of chromatin, do not by themselves constitute a nucleus in the true sense of the word. The word " chro- matin " connotes an essentially physiological and biological con- ception, as it were, of a substance, far from uniform in its chemical THE NUCLEUS 97 nature, which has certain definite relations to the life-history and vital activities of the cell. The word " nucleus," on the other hand, as many authorities and more recently Dobell (52) have pointed out, is essentially a morphological conception, as of a body, con- tained in the cell, which exhibits a structure and organization of a certain complexity, and in which the essential constituents, the chromatin-particles, are distributed, lodged, and maintained, in the midst of achromatinic elements which exhibit an organized arrangement, variable in different species, but more or less constant in the corresponding phases of the same species. If this standpoint be accepted, and the nucleus be regarded as an essentially morpho- logical conception, it seems to me remarkable that Dobell, in his valuable memoir on the cytology of the bacteria, should apply the term " nucleus " to a single grain of chromatin, or to a collection of such grains, and should speak of a nucleus ' ' in the form of chroniidia scattered through the cell," or " in the form of a discrete system of granules (chroniidia), " phrases which are self-contra- dictory on the principles that he himself has laid down. We are confronted, nevertheless, with a considerable difficulty when we attempt to state exactly what amount of organization and structural complexity is essential to the morphological concep- tion of a nucleus. If, as is probable in phylogeny, and certainly occurs frequently in ontogeny (compare Fig. 32), the nucleus arises from a primitive chromidial condition of scattered, unorganized chromatin, at what point does the mass cease to be a chromidiurq and become a nucleus ? This is a question very difficult to answer at present, a verbal and logical difficulty such as occurs in all cases where a distinction has to be drawn between two things which shade off, the one into the other, by infinite gradations, but which does not, nevertheless, render such distinctions invalid, any more than the gradual transition from spring to summer does away with the distinction between the seasons. Hartmann and his school consider the possession of a centriole as the criterion of a nucleus (see Nagler, 76) ; but it cannot be considered as established, in the present state of knowledge, that all nuclei have centrioles or centrosomes. All that can be said is that, as soon as a mass or a number of particles of chromatin begin to concentrate and separate themselves from the surrounding protoplasm, with formation of distinct nuclear sap and appearance of achromatinic supporting elements, we have the beginning at least of that definite organiza- tion and structural complexity which is the criterion of a nucleus as distinguished from a chromidial mass. In the first chapter of this book a distinction was drawn between organisms of the " cellular ': grade, with distinct nucleus and cytoplasm, and those of the " bacterial ' grade, in which the 7 98 THE PROTOZOA chromatin does not form a distinct nucleus. In all Protozoa there is a true nucleus in at least the principal stages of the. life-history, and it is obvious that the recognition of a cellular grade, charac- terized by the possession of a true nucleus, postulates that the first origin and evolution of the nucleus must be sought amongst those organisms which have been classed, speaking broadly, as the bacterial grade. We may expect, therefore, to find in organisms which stand on the plane of morphological differentiation which characterizes the bacteria the early stages of the evolution of the nucleus from the primitive chromidial condition, and even cases in which the condition of a true nucleus has been reached. The matter cannot be discussed further here, where it must suffice to establish the existence of true nuclei in Protozoa ; but Dobell (52) has described an interesting series of conditions which may be regarded as stages in the evolution of nuclei amongst bacterial organisms. Since the possession of a true nucleus has been regarded here as the criterion of the cellular grade of organization, it is necessary to discuss briefly the meaning and application of the term " cell." By many, perhaps most modern writers, the cell has been regarded as the elementary vital unit, than which there exists nothing fcimpler amongst living beings. In this sense the word " cell " becomes synonymous with the term " micro-organism," "protist," or any other word used to denote living beings of the most primitive type : " tout ce qui vit riest que cellules " (Delage and Herouard, 6). The word " cell " was, however, applied originally to the elements that built up the tissues of animals and plants. At first, as the word cell implies, it was used to denote only the enclosing membrane or framework ; but when it became apparent that the membrane was of secondary importance, it was transferred to the contained stuff, and so came to signify a structural element in which the living substance, protoplasm, is differentiated into two distinct parts- nucleus and cytoplasm. If the term " cell " is not to become so vague and indefinite in its significance as to be absolutely meaning- less, it is best to restrict its application to living organisms which have reached this degree of differentiation. Dobell considers that all Protista are nucleated organisms ; in the preceding paragraphs reasons have been advanced against accepting this proposition as a statement of fact, and from the point of view of phylogenetic speculation, I, at least, find it difficult to believe that the earliest form of life could have been an organism "in which the living sub- stance was differentiated ab initio into distinct nucleus and cyto- plasm. In my opinion the cell, as defined above — that is to say, an organism in which the living substance, protoplasm, has become THE NUCLEUS 99 differentiated into two parts, a nucleus, in the morphological sense, distinct from the cytoplasm — does not represent the primary and universal form of the living organism or unit, but is to be con- sidered as a stage in the evolution of living beings, a stage which many living beings have not reached. Thus a bacterial type of organism, in which the chromatin is scattered through the proto- plasmic body in the form of chromidial granules, and which there- fore does not possess a true nucleus, is not to be regarded as a cell, but as representing a condition antecedent to the evolution of the true cellular type of structure. In all Protozoa, on the other hand, the entire plan of the organization is founded on the type of the cell, which is to be regarded as the starting-point in the evolu- tion of the entire animal and vegetable kingdoms (compare Min- chin, 75). This point will be discussed further in a subsequent chapter (p. 464). Bibliography. — For references see p. 477. CHAPTER VII THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA THE methods by which reproduction is effected amongst the Protozoa vary greatly in matters of detail, as will be seen ; but the obvious diversity in method throws into greater relief the under- lying unity in principle. In Protozoa, as in Protista generally, reproduction takes place always by nieans of some form of fission— that is to say, division or cleavage of the body into two or more parts, which are set free as the daughter-individuals. An essential part of the process is the partition amongst the daughter-individuals of at least some part of the chromatin-substance possessed by the parent. Hence fission of the cell-body as a whole is always pre- ceded by division of the nucleus ; and if chromidia are present, they also are divided amongst the products of the fission of the body. On the other hand, division of the nucleus is not necessarily followed at once by division of the body. Considering the methods by which fission is effected from a general standpoint, we may distinguish three chief types of repro- duction, each of which may show subordinate variations : 1. Division of the nucleus, or, if there are two differentiated nuclei, division of each of them, is followed by division of the body ; this is the commonest and most typical mode of reproduction, known as simple or binary fission. 2. Division of the nucleus or of each of two differentiated nuclei is not followed immediately by corresponding divisions of the body, but may be repeated several times, and so give rise to a multi- nucleate condition of the body, which may be— ((/) Temporary, and soon followed by cleavage of the body into as many daughter-individuals as there are nuclei or pairs of dif- ferentiated nuclei ; this method is known as multiple fission (Fig. , 127) ; or it may be— (6) Permanent, giving rise to a multinucleate body which is termed a plasmodium. Then division of the body may take place at any time by cleavage of the body into two or more multinucleate parts ; this process is known, as plasmotomy. Ultimately, however, in all cases a plasmodium breaks up by multiple fission into uni- 100 THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 101 nucleate individuals at the end of a longer or shorter vegetative existence during which it may have multiplied frequently by plasmotomy. The process of fission must now be considered in more detail, beginning with — 1. Division of the Nucleus. — As in the case of the cell-body as a whole, the division of the nucleus is effected in various ways. Probably the most primitive type is that in which the nucleus becomes resolved into chromidia, from which, again, secondary daughter-nuclei are reconstituted. This type of division may be termed " chromidial fragmentation." It is of comparatively rare occurrence, but examples of it are found among Sarcodina and Sporozoa. In Ecliinopyxis two daughter-nuclei are formed in this way (Hertwig, 66, p. 8). In other cases numerous daughter-nuclei may arise, as in the formation of the nuclei of the microgametes in Coccidium (Fig. 50), where the parent nucleus gives off into the cytoplasm a fine dust of chromidial particles wrhich travel to the surface of the cell and become concentrated at a number of spots to form the daughter-nuclei. True nuclear division, in which the parent and daughter -nuclei retain throughout the process their individuality and distinctness from the cytoplasm, must be distinguished clearly from the above- mentioned process of chromidial fragmentation. In the vast majority of cases the nucleus divides into two halves by simple or binary fission, which, as already stated, may be repeated several times before cell-division takes place ; but in a few cases the nucleus divides simultaneously into a number of portions by multiple fission. In the cells of Metazoa true nuclear division alone occurs, and may follow one or the other of two sharply-marked types, termed comprehensively direct and indirect. In direct division the nucleus is constricted simply into two parts, without circumstance or ceremony. In indirect division, on the other hand, the nucleus goes through a complicated series of changes, following each other in a definite order and sequence, the whole process being known as karyokinesis or mitosis. In spite, however, of the intricate nature of karyokinetic division, and the variations in matters of detail that it exhibits in different cases, the whole process is perfectly uniform in its general plan, and admits of being described without difficulty in generalized terms. Such a description is found in every textbook of biology at the present time, and need not be repeated here ; it will be sufficient to analyze briefly the more important events that take place. In the process of karyokinesis, the achromatinic elements of the nucleus furnish the active mechanisms, while the chromatin-sub- 102 THE PROTOZOA stance appears to be the passive subject of the changes that are effected. With the achromatinic nuclear elements, extranuclear cytoplasmic substances, such as archoplasm, may collaborate. After FIG. 50. — Formation of microgametes in Coccidium schubergi. A, Full-grown microgametocyte, with finely-granular cytoplasm and large nucleus con- taining a conspicuous karyosome ; freed from the host-cell. B, The nuclear membrane has disappeared, and the chromatin, in the form of minute chro- midial granules, is passing out into the cell. C, The chromidia have collected at the periphery of the body ; the karyosome is left at the centre, and has become pale through loss of chromatin-substance. D, The chromidia, seen on the surface of the body, are collecting together into irregular streaks and clumps. E, The chromatin -streaks of the preceding stage are collecting together into patches. F, The patches of chromatin of the preceding stage have become dense and closely packed. G, H, The patches of chromatin take on a definite form as the future nuclei of the microgametes. I, Two flagella grow out from close to each microgamete-nucleus, and by their activity the microgametes, consisting almost entirely of chromatin, break loose from the body of the gametocyte and swim away. J, Three micro - gametes, more highly magnified ; in each, two flagella arise from the thicker eaid ; one of the flagella (the shorter) becomes free at once, the other (the longer) runs along the body and becomes free at the hinder end. n., Nucleus, k, karyosome, of the microgametocyte ; n' , n', nuclei of the microgametes. After Schaudinn (99); A— E magnified 1,000, F— I magnified 1,500, J magnified 2,250. disappearance, as a rule, of the nuclear membrane, the achromatinic substance, or the combination of achromatinic and archoplasmic THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 103 elements, assumes a characteristic bipolar form, like a spindle. At each pole of the spindle a centrosome or centriole is to be found, as a general rule. The two centrosomes have arisen by division of the originally single centrosome, and may remain for some time connected by a fibril or by a system of fibrils, forming what is often termed a " central spindle," but is better named a centrodesmose. The axis of the achromatinic spindle is formed by the centrodesmose, if it persists, and the remainder of the spindle is constituted by the so- called " mantle-fibres " running from pole to pole. The mantle-fibres are derived from the achromatinic reticulum of the nucleus and the archoplasm ; they are probably in most cases the optical expression of an arrangement of the protoplasmic alveoli in longitudinal rows, under the influence of tensions or forces centred at the poles of the spindle. Such an arrangement of the alveoli produces the optical appearance of fibrils connected by cross-junctions, the apparent fibril being formed by thickened walls of alveoli in line with one another, while the cross-junctions are the transverse walls between consecutive alveoli. On this view the apparent fibrils of the achro- matinic spindle are in reality merely the indication of lines of force in the protoplasmic framework ; but some authorities consider that in certain cases at least true fibrils are formed, which may be isolated from each other and without cross-connections (Hertwig, 64). The spindle-fibres, whether real or apparent, are centred at the poles of the spindle on the centrosomes, from which other striations may radiate out in all directions through the archo- plasmic masses (" attraction-spheres "), and extend into the sur- rounding cytoplasm. While the achromatinic spindle-figure is in process of formation, the chromatin of the nucleus has gone through a series of changes which may differ in different cases, but which result in the forma- tion of a number of masses of chromatin termed chromosomes. The number, size, and shape, of the chromosomes vary greatly in dif- ferent species, but in Metazoa these characters are generally con- stant for the corresponding phases of the same species. Each chromosome, when formed, consists of a great number of minute grains of chromatin, chromidiosomes, cemented together in a matrix or ground-substance of plastin. The chromosomes arrange them- selves at the equator of the achromatinic spindle in the form of a plate, hence termed the equatorial plate. The nucleolus disappears, being absorbed or cast out, and does not contribute to the karyo- kinetic figure, but a part at least of its substance probably furnishes the plastin ground-substance of the chromosomes. At this phase, when the achromatinic spindle is fully formed, with the plate of chromosomes at its equator, the actual partition of the chromatin between the two future daughter-nuclei usually begins, 104 THE PROTOZOA though in some cases it is accomplished at an earlier stage ; it takes place in one of two ways, known respectively as equating and re- ducing division. In equating division each chromosome divides into two daughter-chromosomes, a process which, in the finished and perfect karyokinesis of the higher organisms, is effected by a longi- tudinal splitting of the chromosome, and which may be interpreted as a simple division into two of each of the component chromidio- somes (compare Fig. 60). In reducing division, on the other hand, the individual chromosomes do not divide, but are sorted out, half of them going to one pole of the spindle, and eventually to one daughter-nucleus, the other half to the other ; with the result, finally, that each daughter-nucleus has half the number of chromo- somes possessed originally by the parent nucleus. Equating division is the usual type of karyokinesis seen in ordinary cell- multiplication ; reducing division, on the other hand, is seen only in certain phases of the maturation of the germ-cells, as explained in the next chapter. In either type of division, whether equating or reducing, the equatorial plate of chromosomes as a whole divides into two daughter-plates, which separate from one another and travel towards the poles of the achromatinic spindle. As the daughter-plates move away from each other, an achromatinic framework appears between them, in which a longitudinal striation or fibrillation is seen in line with, and continuing that of, the achromatinic spindle. Hence the achromatinic spindle as a whole consists now of the older terminal portions passing from the poles to the daughter-plates, and a new" median portion passing between the two daughter-plates ; the two terminal portions constitute together what may be termed conveni- ently the " attraction-spindle," the median portion the " separation- spindle." As the daughter-plates travel further apart, the separa- tion-spindle elongates more and more ; the attraction-spindle, on the other hand, becomes shorter, usually to such a degree that the daughter-plates are brought close up to the poles of the attraction- spindle, which consequently is obliterated and disappears. When full separation of the daughter-plates is attained, the separation- spindle breaks down and disappears gradually, the middle part alone persisting in some cases ; the chromatin of the daughter-plates becomes rearranged to form the daughter-nuclei, going through a series of changes similar to those by which the chromosomes arose from the parent-nucleus, but in inverse order. A nuclear mem- brane is formed round each daughter-nucleus, and the process is complete. In the Metazoa, direct and karyokinetic division stand out as the sole types of nuclear division, in sharp contrast and without inter- mediate or transitional forms of the process. In Protozoa, 011 the THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 105 contrary, every possible form of nuclear division is found, from the most simple and direct to karyokinesis as perfect as that seen in the Metazoa. The nuclear division-processes of Protozoa are there- fore exceedingly interesting as furnishing object-lessons in the gradual evolution of the mechanism of nuclear division ; but the extreme diversity in these processes makes it very difficult to deal with them in the Protozoa in a general and comprehensive manner in a short space and without excessive detail. Speaking generally, the indirect nuclear division seen in Protozoa differs from that of the higher organisms in a number of points which indicate that it stands on a lower grade of evolution. As regards the achromatiiiic elements, the nuclear membrane is usually persistent throughout the process of division, a circumstance which enables a sharp dis- tinction to be drawn between the portions of the division-mechanism derived from the nuclear framework and the cytoplasm respectively. In many cases it is then seen that the cytoplasm does not take any share in the process at all, but that the nucleus divides in a per- fectly autonomous manner, spindle and centrioles remaining intra- nuclear throughout the whole process. As regards the chromatin, the chromosomes when formed are often irregular in form, size, and number ; they often appear imperfectly separated from one another ; they are not always arranged in a definite equatorial plate, but may be scattered irregularly along the spindle ; and they do not always split in the exact manner characteristic of the nuclear divisions of the higher organisms, but divide irregularly and often transversely. The principal types of nuclear division in Protozoa will now be described with the aid of a few selected examples. We may begin with those in which the division of the nucleus is autonomous, without co-operation of cytoplasmic elements. Division has often been asserted to be direct in cases in which subsequent research has revealed a more elaborate type ; never- theless, many typical cases of amitosis occur among Protozoa. In some nuclei of the vesicular type, the chromatin appears to be concentrated entirely in the karyosome, wrhich may contain a centriole also, and when the nucleus divides the karyosome becomes dumb-bell-shaped, and is finally constricted into two halves, the entire nucleus following suit ; as an example of this, almost the simplest conceivable type of nuclear division, may be cited the nuclei of the Microsporidia and allied organisms (Fig. 173, p. 416). A type similar in the main to that just described, but slightly more advanced in structural complication, is exemplified by the division of the nucleus in the schizogony of Coccidium (Fig. 5 1 , F — M) ; here there is a peripheral zone of chromatin and a more distinct nuclear membrane. After division of the karyosome, the peripheral 106 THE PROTOZOA chromatin is halved irregularly ; no definite chromosomes are formed, but the grains of peripheral chromatin form clumps and masses of various shapes and sizes. A definite achromatinic spindle R r B c - 'v;'' F I tf ••.*~ --^- FIG. 51. — Formation of the karyosome and division of the nucleus in the schizont of Coccidium schubergi. A, Nucleus of the sporozoite, with scattered grains of chromatin but no karyosome. B, C, D, Nuclei of young schizonts in which larger grains of chromatin collect together at the centre to form the karyo- some. E, Nucleus of older schizont with complete karyosome. F, Nucleus of full-grown schizont. G — M , Division of the nucleus of the schizont ; the chromatin of the nucleus becomes aggregated into larger clumps and the karyosome becomes dumb-bell-shaped, with masses of chromatin at each pole (G and H) ; the two daughter-karyosomes, at first connected by a fila- ment or centrodesmose, travel apart, taking the polar clumps of chromatin with them (/) ; the centrodesmose breaks through and disappears, and the two daughter-nuclei travel apart, with formation of an intermediate body on the filament between them (/ — L) ; finally the connecting filament breaks down and the daughter-nuclei separate (M). kl, Karyosome ; k2, k"1, daughter- karyosomes ; i., intermediate body. After Schaudinn (99), magnified 2,250. FIG. 52. — -Direct division of the nuclei in the oiicyst of Coccidium schubergi. A, The resting nucleus ; B, G, D, clumping together of the chromatin-granuies preparatory to division ; E, F, G, the nucleus elongates and becomes dumb- bell-shaped ; H, the nucleus has just divided into two halves. After Schaudinn (99), magnified 2,250. also does not become differentiated. As the daughter-karyosomes, connected by a centrodesmose, travel apart, half the peripheral chromatin follows one karyosome, half the other. This method of THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 10" division is a very common one in the nuclei of Protozoa, and may show a further advance towards a true mitosis in that the peri- pheral chromatin may shape itself into more or less definite chromosomes, as in Euglena. Examples of granular nuclei which divide in the direct method are seen in the division of the nucleus of the oocyst of Coccidium (Fig. 52) to form the nuclei of the sporoblasts (see p. 349, infra) and in the corresponding divisions of the nuclei of hsemogregarines (Fig. 53). In these two cases the presence of a centriole in the nucleus is doubtful, but is affirmed by Hartmann and Chagas (89) for hsemo- gregarines ; a true nuclear membrane, FIG. .33. — Direct division of the nucleus in the zygote of H cemogregarina stepanowi. J , Degenerating male elements attached to the zygote; N., divid- ing nucleus of the zygote, two successive stages (.4 and JB). After Reichenow (78). cv.'- however, appears to be absent, and this form of division is not much advanced beyond the condition of chrornidial frag- mentation. In the macroiiucleus of Infusoria (Fig. 54), in which a distinct membrane is present, the division is also direct, and centrioles are stated to be absent as a general rule ; in some cases, however, true centrioles appear to be present (Nagler). When centrioles are absent, the achromatinic framework of the nucleus appears to be principally active in the division. In some cases the division of the macroiiucleus of Infusoria is not into two equal halves, but may take the form of budding off a smaller daughter-nucleus from the main mass. Remark- able instances of nuclear budding of this kind are seen in the Acinetaria, where it is related to the formation of buds by the parent individual. In some cases (Fig. 55), the nucleus may form a con- FIG. 54. — -Paramecium cauda- turn : division showing the macronucleus (N) dividing without mitosis, the micro- nucleus (n) dividing mito- tically. c.r.1, Old, and c.v.2, new, contractile vacuoles. After Biitschli and Sche- wiakoff, in Leuckart and Nitsche's Zoologische Wand- tafdn, No. Ixv. 108 THE PROTOZOA siderable number of buds simultaneously, each of which becomes the nucleus of a daughter-individual budded off from the parent. The simplest types of mitosis show but little advance on the processes of direct division that have just been described. Taking first the vesicular type of nucleus with a large karyosome (" proto- karyon "), the first stage in the process is the division of the karyo- sorne, as in Coccidium ; its ceiitriole divides first, then the karyo- some becomes constricted and divides, the two halves often plainly connected by the centrodesmose formed by the division of the cen- trioles. Next an achromatinic spindle is formed between the two daughter-karyosomes, and chromosomes make their appearance, derived partly (perhaps in some cases entirely) from the peripheral zone of cliromatin, partly from the chromatin contained in the karyosome. A good example of this mode of division has been described by Aragao (87) in an amoeba named by him A. diplomifotica from the fact that two types of mitosis occur in this species. In the first type (Fig. 5Q,A—G), the little rod - like chromo- somes are not arranged in a definite equatorial FIG. 55. — Budding in Podophrya gemmipara. The macronucleus of the parent has sent off a number of outgrowths, which extend into the buds and plate, but are scattered give rise to the nuclei of the daughter-individuals irresularly aloilS the about to be budded off. N1, Parent-nucleus ; N2, nuclei of buds. After Hertwig. spindle ; some travel to- wards one pole, some towards the other, and, after separation into two groups in this manner, the chromosomes of each group fuse together to form an apparently solid mass of chromatin, representing the daughter- plates ; these masses of chromatin follow each their respective karyosomes as they travel apart, and when the nucleus is finally constricted into two daughter-nuclei, the chromatin-masses break up again into their constituent chromosomes, which become dis- tributed in the peripheral zone and karyosome of the daughter- nuclei, where they can be distinguished plainly even during the resting state (Fig. 56, A). In the second type of mitosis seen in A. diplomitotica (Fig. 56, H — K], the chromosomes arrange themselves in a definite equatorial THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 109 plate, which divides into two equally definite daughter-plates com- posed of distinct chromosomes ; whether this division is brought about by splitting of the individual chromosomes is not clear. When the nucleus is finally constricted into the two daughter- nuclei, the chromosomes are at first aggregated close beside their respective karyosomes, but soon distribute themselves in the manner alreadv described. «/ The simple types of mitosis described in the two foregoing para- graphs are examples of the so-called " promitosis " (Nagler, 95) FIG. 56. — The two methods of nuclear division in Anceba diplomitotica. A, Resting nucleus ; B — G, first method ; H — K, seconu method. In F and G only one of the two halves of the nuclear figure is drawn. After Aragao (87). seen commonly in nuclei of the protokaryon-type. The nuclear membrane in this type is a negligible quantity ; it may be scarcely or not at all developed in the resting nucleus, and when a distinct membrane is present it may vanish entirely during the mitosis, as in the form just described. In any case, however, the entire mitosis goes on within the nuclear space. The chromosomes may show every possible condition in different cases, from complete irregu- larity in form, number, arrangement, and mode of division, to the 110 THE PROTOZOA formation of a definite equatorial plate which splits into two daughter-plates. The most striking and salient feat-re of this type of mitosis is furnished by the relatively huge " polar masses," con- sisting of the daughter-karyosomes with their contained centrioles. In the division of the nucleus of Arcella (Fig. 57), however, the karyosome first breaks up into fine grains of chromatin, from which the polar masses and the equatorial plate are formed. The karyo- some, as has been pointed out in the previous chapter, consists of three distinct elements — namely, plastin, chromatin, and centriole FIG. 57. — Nuclear division in Arcdla vulgaris: karyokinesis of one of the two principal nuclei. A, Spireme- stage, resulting from disruption of the karyosome ; B — D, formation of an equatorial plate of minute chromosomes (?) which split ; E, anaphase ; F, the two daughter-nuclei shortly after division. After Swarczewsky (101), magnified 2,250. —each independent of, and separable from, the others. In proportion as the karyosome loses its plastin and chromatin elements, and becomes reduced to the centriole alone, so the primitive promitosis will approach more and more to the type of an ordinary mitosis. Such a reduction of the karyo- some could take place during the mitosis if, as happens frequently, the whole of the chromatin F contained in the karyosome passed out to join the peripheral chromatin in forming the chromosomes, the plastin-substance at the same time furnishing the required ground-substance of the chromosomes (Fig. 58). On the other hand, the karyosome may disappear from the resting nucleus also ; Chatton (49) has brought together a number of instances of nuclei showing a gradual reduction of the karyosome in different species, and the evolution of a granular type of nucleus in which the chromatin is scattered through the achromatinic framework, leaving the centriole free or but slightly encumbered by other elements in the nuclear cavity. When a nucleus of this type divides by mitosis, a most typical and perfect karyokinetic THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 111 figure may be produced, as in Euglypha (Figs. 59, 60), only differing from that of Metazoa in that the whole mitosis takes place within the nuclear membrane, and consequently without any co-operation of cytoplasrnic elements. Chatton proposes for a mitosis of this type the term " mesomitosis," as distinguished from the more ad- vanced type, or " metamitosis," in which a collaboration of cyto- plasmic and nuclear elements is effected, and the entire karyokinetic . -<.3j:-?-'- ?-'l'^\ -v *-t'-.. *C— - ""'—•- ' •" X'J FIG. 58. — Division of Hcematococciis pluvialis. A , Resting condition, the nucleus with a conspicuous karyosome and fine grains of chromatin in an achromatinic reti- culum ; B, C, preparations for nuclear division, the chromatin passing from the karyosome into the nuclear reticulum ; D, further stage, the karyosome in disruption and chromosomes beginning to be formed ; E, nuclear spindle ; F, division of the nucleus complete, the karyosomes reconstituted in the daughter-nuclei, the cell-body beginning to divide ; G, division of the cell, the daughter-nuclei of the normal resting type. After Reichenow (97-5). figure lies free in the cytoplasm after disappearance of the nuclear membrane. Before passing on, however, to this more advanced type, account must be taken of the more simple types of mitosis seen in granular nuclei. Instructive examples of the division of nuclei, in which the chromatin is not concentrated into a karyosome, but distributed evenly throughout the achromatinic framework, are seen in the nuclei 1 12 THE PROTOZOA FIG. 59. — Division of Euglypha alveclala, as seen in the living animal. A, Condition of the animal when about to divide. The protoplasmic body shows three zones : (1) At the fundus of the shell is clear proto- plasm containing the nucleus (N.) and the reserve shell- plates (s. p.) ; (2) the middle region is occupied by granular protoplasm containing ingested food-materials (/.) and the contractile vacuole (c.v.) ; (3) near the mouth of the shell is a zone of hyaline protoplasm from which the pseudopodia (ps.) are given off. B, Early stage of division, about twenty minutes later than A. The proto- plasm is streaming out of the shell-mouth to form the body of a daughter- individual, into which the reserve shell-plates are passing and arranging them- selves at its surface to form a daughter-shell. In the nucleus chromosomes are beginning to be formed. 0, About twenty-five minutes later than B. The body of the daughter and its shell are further advanced in formation ; in the nucleus of the parent the equatorial plate is forming, and the two centrosomes are becoming visible on the two flattened sides of the nucleus (the centrosomes are probably derived from the division of the karyosome, no longer visible in the nucleus at this stage, or from a centriole contained in the karyosome). [Continued at foot of p. 113.] THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 113 FIG. CO. — Details of the structural changes of the nucleus of Euglypha alveolata during karyokinesis, showing the formation of the chromosomes. A, Coarsely - meshed condition of the nucleus ; the chromatin-granules aggregated at the nodes of the reticulum. B, Later stage ; the nucleus beginning to show a fibrous structure as a result of the irregular clumps of chromatin-granules of the previous stage becoming arranged in linear series. B2, Some of the fibrils of this stage more highly magnified. C, Later stage ; the fibrils have become smoother and more parallel in arrangement. C2, Fibrils more highly magnified ; they consist, as in the last stage of darker and lighter parts (the former chrornatin, the latter probably plastin) ; between the individual fibrils are cross-connections, more regular in this stage than in the last (remains of the nuclear reticulum). D, The fibrils have become shorter and thicker, and are bending up to form the U-shaped chromosomes. After Schewiakoff (100) ; magnification of A, B, C, and D, about 1,200 diameters. of ciliate Infusoria, such as Paramecium. The macronucleus divides without mitosis, as stated already, but the micronucleus exhibits a primitive type of mitosis (Fig. 61). When division begins, the FIG. 59 — -continued: D, About fifteen minutes later than 0. The daughter-shr-11 is now com- pletely formed, and the middle granular zone of the parent is passing over into it ; the nucleus of the parent has assumed its definitive orientation, with the centrosomes at the poles of an axis coincident with the longitudinal axis of the animal, and the equatorial plate is definitely formed. E, About thirty minutes later than D. The whole of the middle zone of the parent has passed over into the daughter-shell ; the flattened form of the nucleus is changing into an elongated spindle-form, and the equatorial plate is splitting to form the two daughter- plates. F, About five minutes later than E. The daughter-plates have travelled apart, and the division of the nucleus is beginning. G, About five minutes later than F. The division of the nucleus is com- plete, and one daughter-nucleus has passed over into the body of the daughter- Euglypha. H, About twenty-five minutes later than G (about 125 minutes from the beginning). Some of the protoplasm of the middle zone flows back into the parent-shell, and each individual has its own contractile vacuole ; the two daughter-nuclei are reconstituted, and the karyosome has reappeared in each ; pseudopodia are being protruded from the mouths of the shells ; the division is complete, and the animals are beginning to separate. After Schewiakoff (100) ; magnification about 470 diameters. 8 114 THE PROTOZOA amount of chromatin increases, and the nucleus becomes oval in form. The chromatin forms a number of chromosomes shaped like elongated rods or short threads, which arrange themselves at the equator. At the same time the achromatinic framework shows a longitudinal fibrillation or striation, the apparent fibrilhe being centred in thickenings of the achromatinic framework which appear at the two poles of the nucleus within the persistent nuclear mem- brane, hence termed the " polar plates." Centrosomic grains are stated to be entirely absent, and their functions are performed by the polar plates. The nucleus continues to elongate, and the chromosomes divide transversely to their long axis to form the daughter-plates, which travel apart ; as they do so the fibril! ated FIG. 61. — Stages in the division of the micronucleus of Para- mecium. A, B, Early stages ; C, spindle-stage with equa- torial plate of chromosomes ; D, spindle with the two daughter-plates ; E — H, growth of the separation-spindle and separation of the two daughter-plates ; /, reconstitu- tion of the daughter-nuclei, which are widely separated, but still connected by the greatly elongated separation- spindle, the central part of which shows a dilatation prior to its final absorption. After Hertwig. Figs A — E are drawn on a larger scale than the other figures. separation-spindle appears between them. The nucleus as a whole now becomes dumb-bell-shaped ; the daughter-plates are lodged in the terminal swellings, while the rapidly-growing separation-spindle occupies the handle of the dumb-bell. The daughter-plates now break up and reconstitute the daughter-nuclei, but the connecting portion continues to elongate and to push the daughter-nuclei apart. It is clear that the separation is effected by intrinsic growth of the achromatinic framework constituting the separation-spindle, which is often curved up into a horseshoe-figure, and shows bending or twisting of its fibrils, as the result of the inert resistance of the sur- rounding cytoplasm. Finally, however, a limit of growth is attained ; the daughter-nuclei become constricted off completely from the connecting bond, which is absorbed and disappears. The nuclear membrane persists throughout the division. In all the forms of nuclear division dealt with so far, nuclear elements alone have been active in the process. A most instructive series, showing how extranuclear elements come to collaborate in THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 115 the mechanism of division, is furnished by some examples of the Heliozoa, and especially by the nuclear divisions of Actinos-pJi cerium, which have been the subject of extraordinarily thorough investiga- tion by Hertwig (64). In this form there are three different modes of karyokinesis, which, however, for present purposes may be classified under two heads : karyokinesis without and with centro- somes. In the ordinary nuclear division during the vegetative life of the organism, and also in the divisions by which the primary /'•'•^'.'•\-!-:y:-\ D FIG. 62. — •Actinosphcerium eichhorni : stages of the ordinary, vegetative nuclear division, without centrosomes, of free-living individuals (not encysted). A, B, Formation of the chromosomes within the nucleus, and of the proto- plasmic polar cones outside the nucleus ; C, spindle-stage with polar cones (p.c.), polar plates (p.p.), and equatorial plate of chromosomes (e.)>.); D, stage with daughter - plates of chromosomes which have travelled towards the polar plates ; E — G, division of the nucleus, reconstitution of the daughter-nuclei, and disappearance of the polar cones. After Hertwig (64). «ysts divide into the secondary cysts (p. 138), centrosomes are absent, but they are present in the two divisions Avhich produce the two reduction - nuclei thrown off from each secondary cyst. , In the ordinary karyokinesis of Actinosphcerium (Fig. 62) an equatorial plate is formed composed of a large number of small, rod-like chromosomes, imperfectly separated from one another, which divide transversely. The spindle arises from the achromatinic framework of the nucleus, and terminates in two conspicuous polar iliis ' B J 11 ***• :Y- ---7- ' J • ' '° $ . V ."•• ' ' ''::,- \\' • > . '•^^'//r: :/i.., '. ^,';>/>-~.^--~i^;.':; r! ^v;f, • '* « tiliP villfifJ *• ^i i! -.-"-.•/.-"«• •• . fll fp ^V^iltft'^ V'iV^jSrilS.-.1 ^ffj?i Ife -\? •fit ^^i^;^^ ^'" % Jfr-V-i Vy'VJ-»*r >»*.-*:> -.-^J. •»v»J FIG. 03. — Aclinosphcerium eichhorni: first reduction-division, with centrosomes (the stages here shown follow those of the centrosome-forraation in Fig. 37). A, Centrosome with radiations in a mass of archo plasm at one pole of the nucleus ; B, two centrosomes and archoplasmic cones, taking up positions on opposite sides of the nucleus, in which chromosomes are beginning to appear ;. C, D, formation of the nuclear spindle and equatorial plate of chromosomes ; E, division of the equatorial plate ; F, division of the nucleus beginning ; G, H, division of the nucleus and rcconstitution of the daughter-nuclei ; one daiighter-nucleus will degenerate and be rejected as a reduction-nucleus ; the beginning of this is seen in U , where the upper darker daughter- nucleus is the one which degenerates. After Hertwig (64). THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 117 plates lying within the persistent membrane. External to the membrane are two large conical masses of archoplasm, termed the •" polar cones." As in the micronucleus of Paramecium, the polar plates represent functionally the centrosomes, towards which the daughter-plates travel, and division of the nucleus is effected by growth of the separation-spindle. The archoplasmic polar cones appear to take little or no part in the mechanics of the division, since their apices maintain their distance from one another, and the growth of the separation-spindle pushes the daughter-nuclei into their substance. The reduction-karyokinesis is heralded by the formation of a centrosome from the nucleus (Fig. 37 ; see p. 80, supra). The centrosomes are at first close to the nucleus, external to its mem- brane, but when the karyokinetic spindle is formed the centro- somes travel to the apices of the cones. From the centrosomes radiations extend through the polar cones, continuing the direction of the longitudinal striations of the intranuclear spindle, though separated from them by the intervening nuclear membrane. During the division the apices of the cones move apart to a slight extent, but the separation of the daughter-nuclei is still mainly the work of the separation-spindle, which pushes them into the polar cones and brings them close to the two centrosomes again ; hence the activity of the polar archoplasm can be but slight. The chromo- somes in the reduction-divisions are more distinctly separated from each other as the result, apparently, of a reduction in the amount of the plastin forming the ground-substance. The nuclear membrane persists throughout the whole process. In Actinophrys the karyokinesis appears to be of a type similar to that of Actinosphcerium, with persistent membrane, but with more activity in the extranuclear archoplasmic elements. In Acantliocystis (Fig. 64), however, the nuclear membrane disappears completely from the karyokinetic figure, and it is no longer possible, in consequence, to distinguish the parts of the achromatinic spindle which are of intranuclear and extranuclear origin respectively. Nuclear and cytoplasmic elements are in complete co-operation, a condition of things which has apparently been brought about and rendered possible by the extrusion of the centrosome from the nucleus hi the first instance. From the foregoing examples, it is seen that amongst the Protozoa the material is to be found for illustrating the gradual evolution of the mechanism of karyokinetic division, from the starting-point of simple and direct division up to the most advanced type in which a perfect karyokinetic figure is formed by co-operation of nuclear and cytoplasmic substance. It is not necessary to suppose, how- ever, that the course of evolution has always been in the direction 118 THE PROTOZOA of that type of mitosis found in the cells of Metazoa ; it would be more reasonable to expect that in some cases at least other distinct types of division-mechanisms would have been evolved — side- %, \ VVkl« r//t- \ - B ^mfn^ $&£& (*> ** 1 • I * » «_- I, xx "" ^fe9^ ^^^irfffe -w-*- •&&- tm - ^:&:: V£^t ^^;;::,^f;>Ar 3^€i^.t'; ^ FIG. 64. — Division of Acanthocystis aculeata. A, Resting state of the animal. .A"., Nucleus ; c., central grain ; a./., axial filaments of the pseudopodia, ps. ; sp., spicules. B, Pseudopodia withdrawn ; nucleus in the spirenie-stage ; central grain dividing. C, Division of the central grain further advanced ; nucleus showing distinct chromosomes. D, Central grain completely divided into centrosomes, between which the nucleus is placed ; in the nucleus the membrane is becoming dissolved, the reticulum is becoming modified in arrangement to form the achromatinic spindle (or a part of it), and the chromo- somes are taking up their position in the equatorial plate. E, Complete nuclear spindle, with centrosomes, achromatinic spindle, and equatorial plate. F, Later stage with daughter-plates and division of the cell-body beginning. G, Division of the nucleus and of the cell-body nearly complete. After Schaudinn (82). THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 119 branches, as it were, of the stem which culminates in the Metazoan type. An example of this is seen in the peculiar karyokinesis of Noctiluca (Fig. 65), in which the division is directed by a large " sphere," consisting of a mass of archoplasm containing the cen- trioles. The sphere divides and forms the axis of the karyokinetic figure, of which the nuclear portion is placed asymmetrically to one side. In considering this remarkable process of evolution, consisting in the gradual elaboration of a highly complicated mechanism for division ot the nucleus, the question naturally arises, What is the object of a process so elaborate ? Or, if this method of posing the problem offends as being too teleological, we may alter the phrase- ology, and inquire, What is the result of the process ? The answer is perfectly obvious. The result effected by equating karyokinesis %, ':/ p;--.-;.-'.r:"-i 1 m$ ~-^J'^:: ••"•'J ^5&>^f¥ M^ fe»1 y«M.'.-.y\.\ f.;r,!;?, ^&&ai\& »^il \ / \pt- A FIG. 65. — Stages in the nuclear division of Noctiluca miliaris. A, Early stage, the "sphere" (sph.) beginning to divide, the nucleus wrapping round it; B, later stage, the sphere nearly divided, the two poles of the nuclear spindle in section attached to the two daughter-spheres ; C, section across B ; the sphere contains a centriole (c.), to which the chromosomes (chr.) are attached by achromatic fibrils. After Calkins (48). in its most perfected forms is an exact halving, both quantitative and qualitative, of the chromatin-substance of the nucleus — quanti- tative, by division of each chromatin-granule or chromidiosome, and the partition of the division-products equally between the two daughter-cells ; qualitative also, if we suppose that different cliro- midiosomes may have different properties, and exert their own peculiar influence on the life and activities of the cell ; then, since each daughter-cell contains finally the sister-chromidiosomes of those contained in the sister-cell, the qualities of its chromatin are the exact counterpart of those of the sister-cell and also of the original parent-cell. Hence karyokinesis may be regarded as insuring the transmission to the daughter-cells of the distinctive properties of the parent-cell, unimpaired and unaltered. The whole process indi- cates clearly the immense importance of the chromatin-substance 120 THE PROTOZOA in the life of the cell. It is probable, also, that the elaboration of the process of karyokinetic division in Protista was an indispensable antecedent to the evolution of multicellular organisms, since for the formation of a tissue it is necessary that all the cells which build it up should be perfectly similar in their constitution and properties, and this condition could only be brought about, prob- ably, by karyokinetic division of the nuclei in the process of cell- multiplication. In the foregoing paragraphs we have dealt only with simple (binary) nuclear division, but, as already stated, in some cases the nucleus divides by multiple fission into a number of daughter- nuclei simultaneously. A simple instance of direct multiple division of a nucleus, in which, apparently, no centrioles are present, has been described by Lebedew (93) in the nuclei of Trachelocerca (Fig. 66 ; see also p. 448). In this form partitions are formed within the nucleus between the grains and masses of chromatin, and finally the nucleus becomes segmented into a mulberry -like mass of daughter - nuclei, , » .'. :••; T • -V:-xs>c' .•>••'• -:.: .- XTT^_ which separate from one another. In most cases, prob- ably, of multiple fission the nucleus contains a centriole, :o. DO.— j our stages 01 direct nrainpie nssiori in _, i-i1pn-111H-n-1-,]pfjt,s,inn the nuclei of Trachelocerca phcenicopterus. After and tne multiple US. Lebedew (93). is brought about in a manner analogous to the formation, of a plasmodium by multiplication of the nucleus in a cell which remains undivided — that is to say, the centriole multiplies by fission a number of times without the nucleus as a whole becoming divided. Thus, in a nucleus of the simple protokaryon type, containing at first a single karyosonie and cen- triole, division of these structures may take place within the mem- brane without the nucleus as a whole dividing, so that the nucleus contains finally two or more karyosomes, each containing a cen- triole. The karyosomes are ultimately set free from the nucleus, either by being budded off singly from it, or by the nucleus as a whole breaking up ; then each karyosome becomes the foundation of a new nucleus. Division of this type, which may be termed a multiple promitosis, has been described by Zuelzer (86) in Wag- nerella. In cases where the division of the nucleus is of the karyo- kinetic type, repeated divisions of the centriole result in the forma- tion of a complicated multipolar mitotic figure, leading to a multiple division of the nucleus, as seen in the divisions of the nuclei in the male sporont of Aggregata (Fig. 67), as described by Moroff (94). ABC FIG. 66. — Four stages of direct multiple fission in THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 121 The presence of more than one centriole in a nucleus has led Hartmann (60) to formulate the theory that such nuclei are to be regarded as " polyenergid " nuclei.* Hartmann proposes to dis- tinguish a nucleus with a single centriole as a " nioiiokaryon " from a polyenergid nucleus or ' polykaryon ': containing many cen- trioles ; he interprets many cases, in which a nucleus appears to become resolved into chromidia from which secondary nuclei are formed, as being really a setting free of monokarya from a complex polykaryon — an interpretation which certainly gets over the diffi- culty of the formation of centrioles in second- ary nuclei (see further, p. 255, infra). In conclusion, men- tion must be made the theory of cell-divi- sion and of the causes which bring it about, put forward by Hertwig (91, 92). This theory is based on the sup- position, of which men- tion was made in the previous chapter (p. 70, supra) — that for the normal performance of FIG. 67.— Multiple nuclear division in the male m: m M sporont of Aggregate jacquemeti. The nucleus, of which the outline has become irregular but is still visible, is surrounded by eight centrioles, from each of which striatious pass towards and into the nucleus. After Moroff (94), magnified 750 linear. vital functions a cer- tain quantitative re- lation must be main- tained between the nuclear substance and the cytoplasm. As a standard for the proportion of nuclear mass and cytoplasm (" Kernplasma-Norm "), the individual im- mediately after fission may be taken. Exact measurements made on Infusoria show that, while the body grows continuously in size from one division to the next, the nucleus at first diminishes slightly * The conception of " energids " is due to Sachs, who coined the term to denote " a single cell-nucleus with the protoplasm governed by it, so that a nucleus and the protoplasm surrounding it are to be conceived of as a whole, and this whole is an organic unity, both in> the morphological and the physiological sense." Hertwig (66) has criticized this conception, and has shown its untenability in the case of Protozoa, which behave as single individuals whether they possess one nucleus or many. Hartmann, considering the centriole as the criterion of in- dividuality rather than the nucleus, has revived the energid theory in the manner described above. It leads him to regard an ordinary Metazoan karyokinesis as the division of a polykaryon, in which each separate chromosome represents a distinct nuclear element or monokaryon — a conclusion which appears to lead rather to a reductio ad absurdum of the theory. 122 THE PROTOZOA in size, and then grows slowly until the next division-period is reached. As a result of the slow " functional growth ' of the nucleus, a disproportion between the mass of the nuclear substance and that of the cytoplasm is brought about, producing a condition of tension between the nucleus and the cytoplasm (" Kernplasma- Spannung "). When the tension reaches a maximum, the nucleus acquires the power of growing rapidly at the expense of the cyto- plasm, and this " division-growth " leads to the fission of the cell, restoring the standard balance of nucleus and cytoplasm. Relative increase of the nuclear substance retards the cell -division, and brings about increase in the size of the cell ; relative decrease of the nuclear mass has the opposite effect. 2. Division of the Cell. — A distinction has been drawn above between binary fission, or division of the body into two, and mul- tiple fission into many parts simultaneously. The daughter-indi- viduals produced in either case may be similar to the parent-indi- vidual in all respects except size, or may differ from it in lacking more or fewer of its characteristic parts and organs, which are then formed after the daughter-individuals are set free. In extreme cases one or more of the daughter-individuals may possess, when first liberated, no structure more elaborated than the essential parts of a cell, cytoplasm and nucleus or chromidia ; in such cases the daughter is termed a " bud," and the process of fission by which it arises is termed " budding " or gemmation, distinguished further as "simple gemmation" when only one bud is formed at a time, and ;' multiple gemmation " when many arise simultaneously. In many cases of multiple gemmation the parent- organism does not survive the process, but breaks up almost completely into buds, leaving only a greater or less amount of residual protoplasm, which degene- ates and dies off ; budding of this kind is termed sporulation. In binary fission, when the organism is of simple structure, as in the case of amoebae, the division is equally simple. After division of the nucleus, the two daughter-nuclei travel apart, and the body follows suit, by flowing, as it were, in two opposite directions, forming two smaller individuals each with a nucleus, and con- nected at first by a protoplasmic bridge, which soon snaps and is drawn in. The contractile vacuole, if present, is taken over by one of the two daughter-individuals, while the other forms a new vacuole ; in many cases the normal number of contractile vacuoles is doubled before division begins. In forms of more complicated structure, the division also becomes a more complex process. Where the body-form is definite, the plane of cleavage bears usually a constant relation to it. Thus, in Ciliata the division of the body takes place typically transversely to its longitudinal axis, except in the order Peritricha. In Flagel- THE REPRODUCTION OF THE PROTOZOA 123 vKK&r' j *S;rc^.^) FIG. 68. — Budding of Acanfhocystis aculeata (compare Fig. 64, A). A, B, Division of the nucleus, in which the central grain takes no part ; C, extrusion of a bud ; D, three buds in process of extrusion, the nucleus of the parent dividing again; E, free bud; F, flagellula, and G, arnoebula, produced from buds; H and /, two stages in the extrusion of a centriole from the nucleus of a bud to form the central grain of the adult form. After Schaudinn (82). 124 THE PROTOZOA lata, on the other hand, the division of the body is usually longi- tudinal. In any case, the two products of fission may be equal or subequal in size, without perceptible difference of parent and young ; or they may be markedly unequal, in which case parent and offspring can be distinguished clearly. The various organs of the body may be doubled before division : either by splitting or new growth of one set ; or, if there are many organs of a particular kind present, such as the cilia and tricho- cysts of Ciliata, they may be simply shared between the two daughter-organisms ; or, finally, any given organ present in the animal before division may be retained by one of the two daughter- individuals, while the other forms the organ in question anew after division. Thus, in Ciliata one daughter-individual retains the old peristome ; the other forms a new one for itself. The greater the number of organs formed afresh in the daughter-individual, the more advanced is the transition from ordinary fission towards budding. In typical gemmation small portions of the parent-organism grow out, into which pass either nuclei, the products of the division of the parent-nucleus (Fig. 68), or of budding from the nucleus of the parent (Fig. 55), or chromidia, alone or together with a nucleus. Such buds may arise on the surface of the parent-body, or they may be cut off in the interior of the cytoplasm of the parent, and may remain for some time within its body. Endogenous budding of this kind is seen in the Neosporidia (p. 325), in the Acinetaria, where it is combined with nuclear budding, and in Arcella (Fig. 80) and some amoebae, where it is combined with formation of secondary nuclei from chromidia. Bibliography. — For references see p. 479. CHAPTER VIII SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA fiapela, Kinrpi ve/j-ea-ffard, KuTrpi dvaroiffiv IT is a matter of common knowledge that amongst all the higher animals and plants the phenomena of sexual generation and sexual differentiation are of universal occurrence. Reduced to its simplest terms, and stripped of all secondary complications, the sexual process in an ordinary animal or plant consists essentially of the following series of events : In the multicellular body certain cells are produced which may be termed comprehensively and universally the gametes. In the two sexes the gametes exhibit characteristic differences ; those of the male sex, the spermatozoa, are typically minute, active, and produced in large numbers ; those of the female sex, the ova, are, on the contrary, relatively bulky, inert, and produced in far fewer numbers. The gametes are set free from the body, or, at least, from the organs in which they arise, and each male gamete, if it finds a partner and if circumstances permit, unites with a female gamete ; their bodies fuse completely, cell with cell and nucleus with nucleus, and the product is a " fertilized ovum," or zygote, a single cell which proceeds to multiply actively by cell-division, the final result being a new multicellular individual. In the Protista belonging to what has been termed in the first chapter of this book the " cellular grade " — that is to say, in the Protozoa and the unicellular plants sexual phenomena are also of widespread, probably of universal, occurrence, and the process of sexual union differs only in unessential points from that seen in higher organisms. In the first place, since the individual in Protozoa is a single cell, the gametes themselves are also complete individuals, modifica- tions merely of the ordinary individuals of the species produced at certain periods or phases of the life-cycle. Secondly, the differentiation of male and female gametes rarely attains to the high degree seen in the Metazoa, and may be nil ; the two gametes may be perfectly similar in all perceptible features of structure or constitution, as, for example, Copromonas (Fig. 111). 125 126 THE PROTOZOA Sexual union of similar gametes is termed isogamy ; of dissimilar, anisogamy. When the gametes are differentiated, then one gamete is generally smaller, more active, often with highly developed motor mechanisms, and without reserve food-material in the cytoplasm ; this is the microgamele, regarded as male. The other gamete, on the contrary, exhibits a tendency, more or less pro- nounced, to be large, inert, without motor mechanisms of any kind, and to store up reserve food-material in the cytoplasm — the macrogamete, regarded as female. The differentiation of the gametes is seen to be a speci alization of two kinds of cell-individuals, the one rich in motile or kinetic protoplasm but poor in trophic substance, the other rich in trophic protoplasm but poor in kinetic substance. In some cases the sexual differentiation may affect also the mother-cells of the gametes, the gametocytes, or may be thrown back still farther in the series of generations preceding the gametes ; in such cases a number of successive generations of yamonts exhibiting sexual differentiation terminate in a gameto- cyte generation from which the actual gametes arise. Thirdly, in the process of sexual union, or syngamy, as it may be termed comprehensively, the bodies of the two gametes do not always fuse completely ; in some cases the two gametes come together and merely interchange portions of their nuclear apparatus, remaining separate and retaining their distinct individuality. The nucleus which remains stationary in the one gamete then fuses with the migratory nucleus derived from the other gamete. Examples of this type of syngamy are seen in the Infusoria (Fig. 77). The type of syngamy in which the two gametes fuse completely is sometimes termed copulation (or total karyogamy) ; that in which they remain separate and exchange nuclear material, is known as conjugation (or partial karyogamy), and the two sexual individuals themselves as conjugants (they should not, perhaps, be termed " gametes," strictly speaking, for reasons explained below) ; but the term " conjugation " is often used quite loosely for either type and lacks precision. These differences in the sexual process between Protozoa and the higher organisms enable us to give a wider significance, and at the same time a more precise definition, to the word " syngamy." However varied in detail, syngamy is essentially nothing more than an intermingling of chromatin-substance derived from two distinct cell-individuals. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. The chromatin that undergoes syngamic union may be in the form either of chromidia or of nuclei ; in the former case the process is termed cliromidiogamy , in the second karyogamy. Chromidiogamy. /though probably the most primitive type, is known to occur only in a few Sarcodina (Difflugia, p. 230 ; Arcella, p. 148). In the vast SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 127 majority of Protozoa, as in all known cases amongst Metazoa and plants, sjaigamy takes the form of karyogamy. The nuclei of the gametes are termed pronuclei, and the nucleus that results from fusion of the pronuclei in the zygote is termed a synkaryon. In many Protozoa (e.g. Coccidium, Fig. 69) the fusion of the two pronuclei is effected by means of a peculiar mechanism termed a " fertilization- spindle." When the two pronuclei are in contact, the female pronucleus first takes an elongated, fusiform shape, having its chrornatin-grains spread over an achromatinic framework. The chromatin of the male pronucleus is then spread over the same structure. This mechanism has nothing to do with nuclear division, but merely effects a complete intermingling of the chromatin of the pronuclei, after which the synkaryon assumes its normal appearance and rounded form. In Infusoria the two pronuclei fuse in the condition of the karyokinetic spindle in many cases. FIG. 69. — Fertilization of Coccidium schubergi. A, Pene- tration of the macrogamete by one of five micro- gametes ; the female pronucleus has an elongated form ; B, the favoured, microgamete has passed into the interior of the macrogamete, which has secreted a membrane (oocyst) at the surface of the body, ex- cluding the other rnicrogametes ; C, the female pro- nucleus has assumed an elongated, spindle-like form, while the male pronucleus lies at one pole of the spindle in the form of a little mass of granules ; the excluded rnicrogametes are degenerating ; D, the granules of the male pronucleus have spread themselves over the spindle-figure formed by the female pronucleus ; E, the fertilization-spindle seen in D has rounded itself off to form the synkaryon, and fertilization is complete. $ , Microgametes ; ? , macrogamete ; n$ , male pronucleus; n?, female pronucleus; f.s., fertilization-spindle; c, oocyst ; n^ , synkaryon. After Schaudinn (99), magnified 2,250. True syngamy, as denned above, must be distinguished carefully from certain other phenomena which are likely to be confused with it ; it must not be assumed that every fusion of cells, or even of nuclei, is necessarily a case of syngamy. In some Protozoa the mother-cells of the gametes, the ganietocytes, enter into a more or less close association prior to the formation of gametes, which are produced in due course and then perform the act of syngamy in the normal manner. An example of such association is seen in gregarines (p. 330), where association between adult ganietocytes is the rule. Sometimes the two gametocytes associate in the earliest stages of their growth, as in Diplocystis (Fig. 70, A), and their bodies may then fuse completely into one ; but their nuclei remain distinct, as in Cystobia (Fig. 70, B), and give rise in due course to the pronuclei of distinct gametes. Forms in which precocious association of this kind occurs are described as being " neogamous " (Woodcock). In many cases, union of distinct individuals can be observed which have nothing to do with syngamy, since no fusion takes place of nuclei, but only 128 THE PROTOZOA of cytoplasm. Such unions are distinguished as plastogamy (or plasmogamy) from true syngamy. Plastogamic union may be temporary or permanent ; in the latter case it loads to the formation of plasmodia, as in the Mycetozoa (p. 239). The significance of plastogamy is obscure in many cases, but in some^it may perhaps be comparable to the association of gametes' already described, and in this way may throw light on some cases of so-called " autogamy" (see p. 138, infra). A further case of unions which are not in any way sexual in nature is seen in the remarkable phenomena of agglomeration exhibited by some Protozoa— for example, trypanosomes. In this case the organisms adhere to each other by the posterior or aflagellar end of the body, apparently by means of a sticky secretion formed by the kinetonucleus, so that large clumps are formed composed of numerous individuals. The phenomena of agglomeration are associated with conditions unfavourable to the parasite, and appear to be due to the formation of special substances, agglutinins, in the blood of the host. Similar phenomena are well known in bacteria as agglutination, since in this case the agglutinated individuals are unable to separate, while in A FIG. 70. — Precocious association and neogamy of gametocytes in gregarines. A, Diplacystis minor, parasite of the cricket: m., common membrane uniting the two associates ; g., grains of albuminoid reserve-material. B, Cystobia Jiolotlmrice, parasite of Holothuria tubulosa, showing the two nuclei in an undivided body. A after Cuenot, magnified about 120 diameters ; B after Minchin. the case of trypanosomes that are agglomerated it is possible for the indi- viduals to become free again if the conditions are ameliorated. In other Protozoa, also, phenomena of the nature of agglomeration are seen in de- generating forms (see p. 209, infra). Certain aspects of syngamy mast now be discussed in more detail — namely, the relation of syngamy to the life-history as a whole ; its occurrence in the world of living beings ; its significance for the life-cycle ; and its effects on the species and the individual. 1. Syngamy in Relation to the Life-History of the Organism.— In any living organism the principal manifestation of vital activity is the power of assimilation, resulting in growth. As a general rule, however, the growth of an organism is not indefinite, but has a specific limit ; an individual of a given species does not exceed a certain size, which may be variable to a slight extent, but which is fairly constant for normal individuals of the species in question under similar environmental conditions. When the limit is SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 129 reached the organism tends to reproduce itself. In Protista, as described in the last chapter, two principal types of reproduction occur — namely, simple or multiple fission. In either case the organism grows to its full specific size, and then divides into smaller individuals ; the greater the number of daughter-individuals pro- duced at each act of reproduction, the more minute those daughter- individuals. Following the act of reproduction comes a poriod of growth, during which the small forms grow up into full-sized individuals which reproduce themselves in their turn. Thus the life-history of a Protist may be described as an altarna- tion of periods of growth and periods of reproduction. If, how- ever, the life-history consists of only these two events in alternating succession, it is an infinite series, not a cycle ; continuous, not recurrent. Possibly such a condition, varied only by states of repose interrupting the vital activity of the organism, is found in Bacteria and allied forms of life, where true syngamy apparently does not occur. But it is probable that in all Protozoa, as in all Metazoa and plants, the life-history is a recurrent cycle, of which an act of sjmgamy may be taken as the starting-point ; this point will now be discussed. 2. The Occurrence of Syngamy in the Series of Living Beings. — With regard to this question, there are two possibilities ; first, that syngamy and sexuality constitute a fundamental vital phenomenon, common to all living things ; secondly, that it is an acquisition at some period or stage in the evolution of organisms, and not a primar}^ characteristic ^ of living beings. The sex-philosopher Weininger* has argued in favour of the first of these hypotheses, and goes so far as to regard all protoplasm as consisting primarily either of arrhenoplasra (male) or thelyplasm (female), standing in fundamental antithesis to one another, and combined in varying proportions in a given cell or sample of the living substance. A view essentially similar has been put forward by Schaudinn, and is discussed below. It is beyond question that sexuality is a universal attribute of all living beings above the rank of the Protista, whether animals or plants. In Protista, however, syngamy has not been observed to occur with certainty in the Bacteria and organisms of a similar type of organization. It is true that certain rearrangements of the chromatin, observed in some larger organisms of the bacterial type at certain phases of their life-history, have been compared to sexual processes, but such an interpretation is, to say the least, highly doubtful. In Protozoa, syngamy has been observed to occur in a vast number of forms, but by no means in all. In the * Weininger, 0., " Sex and Character," chapter ii. London : W. Heinemann, 1906. 9 130 THE PROTOZOA case of those species in which syngamy has not been observed, there are three abstract possibilities : first, that it does occur, but has not yet been seen ; secondly, that it is secondarily in abeyance ; thirdly, that it is primarily absent — that is to say, that it has never occurred either in the form in question or in its ancestral lineage. On the whole, the first of these three possibilities is the most probable, though the second must, perhaps, also be taken into account, as will be shown later. So far as a generalization is possible or permissible in the present state of knowledge, it appears that sex and syngamy are phenomena of universal occurrence in all truly cellular organisms, but we have no certain knowledge that they exist in any organisms of the bacterial type of organization. With the passage from the bacterial to the cellular type of structure, syngamy became, apparently, a physiological necessity for the organism, and was probably acquired once and for all. 3. The Significance of Syngamy in the Life-Cycle. — In order to appreciate the part that syngamy plays in the life-histories of organisms generally, it is necessary to compare briefly and in general outline the life-cycles of Metazoa and Protozoa in typical cases. In the Metazoa the cycle starts from a single cell, the zygote or fertilized ovum, which multiplies by cell-division in the ordinary way. Thus is produced a multicellular individual, composed always of at least two classes of cells — tissue-cells (histocytes) and germ-cells. The histocytes are differentiated in various ways, related to various functions, to form tissues, and so build up the soma. The germ-cells are not differentiated for any functions but those of sex and reproduction, and occur primarily as a mass of undifferentiated cells constituting the gertnen ; they are lodged in the soma and dependent upon it — parasitic upon it, so to speak — but in a sense distinct from it ; they draw their sustenance from the soma, influence greatly its development and activities, but contribute nothing to the work of the cell-commonwealth. Of these two portions of the Metazoaii individual, the soma is neces- sarily mortal, doomed inevitably to ultimate senility and decay. The cells of the germen, on the other hand, are potentially im- mortal, since under favourable conditions they can separate from the soma and give rise in their turn to a new individual of the species with soma and germen complete again. This type of generation is always found in every species, though non-sexual methods of generation may also occur in many cases. In the life-cycle of the Metazoa, as sketched above in its most generalized form, two individualities must be clearly distinguished, the one represented by the soma together with the germen, crn- SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 131 stituting the complex body of a Metazoan individual ; the other represented by the single cells of which both soma and germen alike are built up. The phrase " reproduction," whether sexual or non-sexual, as applied to the Metazoa, refers only to the complex multieellular body as a whole, and not to its constituent cells, which reproduce themselves uninterruptedly by fission during the whole life-cycle. In the comparison of a typical Protozoan life-cycle with that of the Metazoa, we may start in both cases alike from a single cell- individual which is the result of an act of svngamv. In Protozoa, i/O v also, the zygote multiplies, sooner or later, to produce numerous cell-individuals ; but in this case the cells remain separate from one another and independent, so that no multieellular body is produced, except in the colony-building species, nor is there any distinction of somatic and germinal cells, save in rare cases, such as Volvox (p. 267). In Protozoa the phenomena of vital exhaustion, so-called " senility " (Maupas) or " depression " (Calkins, Hertwig), appear to be as inevitable as in the cells of the Metazoan body (see pp. 135 and 208. infra) ; but if the derangement of the bodily functions and the vital mechanism has not gone too far, the organism is able to recuperate itself by self-regulative processes, of which the most important and most natural are those involved in the normal process of syngamy. Consequently no cell - individuals among Protozoa are doomed necessarily and inevitably to decadence .and death, but a 1 possess equally potential immortality — that is to say, the capacity for infinite reproduction by fission under favour- able conditions. The Metazoan individual is represented in the Protozoa only by the entire life-cycle, from one act of sjaigamy to the next, and not by any living organic individual. In the life-cycle of a Protozoon, as there is only one individuality, •so there is only one method of reproduction — that, namely, of the •cell, by fission ; and it must be made clear that the reproduction of the cell-individual is not in any special relation to syngamy in Protozoa, anv more than in Metazoa. \J It has been pointed out above that the life-history of a Protist organism consists of alternate periods of growth and reproduction. In those Protozoa in which syngamy has been observed, it is found to take place sometimes at the end of a psriod of growth and before a period of reproduction, sometimes at the end of a psriocl of reproduction and before a period of growth, and sometimes there may be a difference between the two sexes of the same species in this respect. In the first case, syngamy takes place between fiill-grown individuals of the species, as in Actinophrys (Fig. 71)— so-called macrogamy, which is almost always isogamous. In the second case, syngamy is between the smallest individuals produced 132 THE PROTOZOA by fission or gemmation, as in Foraminifera (p. 235), Arcella (Fig. 80), etc. — so-called microgamy, which may be isogamous or slightly anisogamous. In the third case, syngamy is between two- individuals showing the utmost disparity in size, a tiny micro- gamete and a bulky macrogamete, as in Coccidium (Figs. 63, 152) ; the result being am'sogamy of the most pronounced type. From these facts, it is abundantly clear that sj^nganiy in the Protista cannot be regarded as related specially to reproduction, but as a process affecting the life-cycle as a whole, related equally W5^j tlie darker nucleus , , " has divided into a number of portions ; D, a as tile power to develop number of merozoites are formed from the without syngamy possessed darker nuclei ; the lighter nucleus is abandoned •L,. !•«• ,• in the residual protoplasm (r.p.) containing by a sexually-differentiated the melanin-piginent. After Schaudinn (130) gamete, which under nor- mal circumstances could do so only after syngamy with a gamete of the opposite sex. To this it must be added that the gamete wThich has this power is always the female ; but this limitation receives an explanation from the extreme reduction of the body of the male gamete and its feeble trophic powers, rendering it quite unfitted for independent reproduction, rather than from any inherent difference between the two sexes in relation to reproductive activity. Parthenogenesis has been de- scribed by Schaudinn for the human malarial parasite (Fig. 72) and in Trypanosoma noctuce, and by Prowazek for Herpetomonas muscce-domesticce ; none of these cases, however, are entirely free 138 THE PROTOZOA from doubt, and in any case parthenogenesis seems to be of much rarer occurrence among Protozoa than among Metazoa.* Autogamy, on the other hand, is a phenomenon which has been frequently observed in Protozoa, chiefly, though not exclusively, among parasitic forms ; it may be defined as syngamy in which the two gametes, or at least the two pronuclei, that undergo fusion are sister-individuals derived by fission of the same parent cell or nucleus. Hartmann (116) has brought together the many cases of autogamy known to occur among Protozoa and other Protist organisms, and has classified them under a complex terminology. It is sufficient here to mention two typical cases, those, namely, of Actinosphcerium and Entamceba coli, made known by R-. Hertwig (64) and Schaudinn (131) re- spectively. In Actinosphcerium an ordinary indi- vidual ' (Fig. 3) be- comes encysted as a multinucleate " mother -cyst ," which becomes di- vided up into a num- ber of unmucleate " primarj7 cysts," after absorption of about 95 per cent, of D FIG. 73. — Autogamy in Entamceba coli. A, The amoeba at the beginning of encystation with a single nucleus ; B, the nucleus dividing ; G, the two daughter-nuclei throwing off chromidia ; a space has appeared be- tween them ; D, each nucleus has formed two re- duction-nuclei, which are being absorbed ; E, a resistant cyst-membrane has been secreted ; the v _ i . -» partial division in the protoplasm has disappeared, the nuclei originally and the two reduced nuclei are each dividing into -present Each T3ri- two ; F, each daughter-nucleus of the two divisions in the last stage has fused with one of the daughter- mary cyst then dl- nuclei of the other division to form two synkarya. yj^es completely into After Hartmann (116), drawn by him from the de- J .. scription given by Schaudinn (131). two distinct cells— " secondary cysts." Each secondary cyst then goes through a process of nuclear re- duction (see below), after which it is a gamete ; the two gametes then fuse completely, cell and nucleus, to form the zygote. * Prowazek (557) has described in Herpetomonas muscce-domesticce a process interpreted by him as parthenogenesis (" etheogenesis ") of male individuals, but the correctness both of his observations and of his interpretations are open to the gravest doubt. According to Flu (536), the objects to which Prowazek gave this interpretation are in reality stages in the life-history of a quite distinct organism, named by Flu Octosporea muscce-domesticce, and now referred to the Microsporidia. It is greatly to be deprecated that interpretations of such un- certain validity should be used, as has been done, to support general theories in the discussion of the problem of syngamy. SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 139 In Entamceba coli (Fig. 73) the process starts in like manner from a uninucleate individual, the nucleus of which divides into two, but the cell divides incompletely and only temporarily. Each nucleus then breaks up completely into chromidia and disappears from view. Some of the chromidia are absorbed, while from others a secondary nucleus is formed on each side of the cell, so that two nuclei reappear again in the cyst, but smaller than before and staining feebly. Each secondary nucleus now divides twice to form three nuclei on each side, two of which degenerate as re- duction-nuclei, while the third in each case persists as a gamete- nucleus. As soon as the process of reduction is complete, the incomplete separation of the two cells disappears, so that the two gamete-nuclei lie in a single cell, which at this stage forms a tough cyst. Now each gamete-nucleus divides into two pronuclei, those of the same pair being slightly different from those of the other, according to Schaudinn (133). Then a pronucleus of each pair fuses with a pronucleus of the other pair, so that two synkarya result. At a later stage each synkaryon divides twice, and eight amoebulae are formed by division of the cell within the cyst. From these two examples, it is seen that autogamy is a process of extreme inbreeding as regards the gametes. In typical cases of syngamy the two gametes must be derived from two distinct strains, and those of the same strain will not conjugate ; Schaudinn (131), for example, observed that the gametes of Polystomella crispa would only copulate when a couple came together in which each gamete was of distinct parentage. In a great number of Protozoa the differentiation of the gametes and their mode of formation makes it certain that the couple which join in syngamy are derived from different parents. On the other hand, in many cases of autoganr^ that have been described, it is equally certain that the conjugating gametes and pronuclei have a common parentage, and it is hardly possible to consider autogamy otherwise than as a degeneration of the sexual process, evolved in forms in which one feature of true syngamy — namely, the mixture of distinct strains — is, for some reason, no longer a necessity ; we shall return to this point when discussing the nature and origin of the syngamic process. It is possible, moreover, to recognize progressive stages of the degeneration, as shown by the two examples selected. In the less advanced stage (Actinosphcerium) the parent cell divides into two complete cells, each of which, after a process of matura- tion, becomes a gamete. In the more advanced stage (Entamoeba coli}, the division of the parent-cell is checked, and only its nucleus divides, each daughter-nucleus becoming a pronucleus after reduction. The occurrence of autogamy has been asserted in a number of cases which are, to say the least, extremely doubtful, as, for example, the Myxosporidia 140 THE PROTOZOA (p. 407) and allied organisms, where it is far from certain that the two nuclei or cells, from which ultimately the pronuclei or gametes arise, have a common parentage. Autogamy has recently become very fashionable, and there is a tendency to regard as such, not only many cases which are probably truly heterogamous, but also nuclear fusions or appositions which are not in any way sexual (e.g., Schilling, 134). The essential point to consider, in cases of autogamy, is whether there is a union of chromatin derived from distinct strains — amphimixis — or from a common parentage — automixis. Thus, it has been pointed out above that in gregarines two gametocytes may associate, and even fuse into one body, but with the nuclei remaining distinct (Fig. 71, B). When gamete-formation takes place in a " neogamous " species of this type, the gametes of one sex derive their pronuclei from one gametocyte-nucleus, those of the opposite sex from the other, with subsequent syngamy of a truly heterogamous type. If the fusion of the gametocytes were to go farther, a plastogamic, non-sexual union of the two nuclei might result, producing a single nucleus containing chromatin from two distinct sources ; in that case, when gamete-formation took place, the syngamy would be. to all intents and purposes, a typical case of autogamy, and would certainly be so described if it were not known that the single gametocyte-nucleus had arisen by fusion of two distinct nuclei. If, however, in each couple of copulating gametes, one pronucleus contained chromatin derived from one of the two original gametocyte-nuclei, the other pronucleus, similarly, chromatin derived from the other nucleus, the result would be a true amphimixis, just as in ordinary heterogamy. In Actinosphcerium, plastogamic fusions of the ordinary vegetative, multi- nucleate individuals are stated to be of common occurrence ; it is therefore possible that an individual which encysts may contain frequently nuclei from distinct sources. According to Brauer, fusion of nuclei takes place in the mother- cyst to form the nuclei of the primary cyst. There is therefore at least a possibility that the autogamy of Actinosplicerium may be, in some cases, combined with amphimixis. In other cases, however, such as Entamceba coli and Amoeba albida (Fig. 87). there seems little reason to doubt that the autogamy is a true automixis. Analogous cases of self-fertilization are well known in flowering plants, where they are sometimes the rule, sometimes an alternative to cross-fertilization. In free-living Ciliata, also, syngamy has been observed between cousins, the descendants of an ex-conjugant after but four divisions (Jennings, 121), which is not far removed from automictic autogamy. The conclusion put forward above, on experimental grounds, that syngamy has a strengthening or invigorating effect on the cell-organism, receives further support from the many instances in which it is observed to occur as a preliminary to the production of resistant stages destined to endure unfavourable conditions of life. Thus, in free-living Protozoa syngamy occurs commonly in the autumn, previously to the assumption of a resting condition in which the organisms pass through the winter. In Difflugia, for instance, syngamy in the autumn is followed by encystment, and the cysts remain dormant until the spring. This is strictly comparable to the state of things known in many Metazoa, such as Rotifers, Daphnids, etc., where in the summer soft-shelled eggs are produced which develop parthenogenetically, but in the autumn hard-shelled winter-eggs are produced which require fertilization. In parasitic forms, such as Coccidia and Gregarines, syngamy is related to the formation of resistant cysts which pass out of the host SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 141 and endure the vicissitudes of the outer world, until taken up by a new host in which the parasite is set free from its cyst and starts upon a fresh cycle of growth or multiplication without sjiigarny, under the most favourable conditions of nutrition. 2. As regards the effects of syngamy upon the species, it must be pointed out, in the first place, that a great difference exists between multicellular and unicellular organisms as regards the effects of external conditions of life upon the sexual process. In Metazoa the germ-cells, as already pointed out, are a race of cells apart, and are sheltered by their position in the body from the direct effects of external conditions — at least, to a very large extent. In Protozoa, on the other hand, there is no special race or strain of germ-cells, but any individual may become a gamete or the progenitor of gametes, and all alike are exposed to the direct action of the environment. If, now, Protist organisms placed under slightly different conditions of existence, tend to vary in their characters as a direct consequence of environmental influences, syngamy would check any such tendency, and would, on the con- trary, tend to keep a given species constant and uniform in char- acter, within narrow limits. Were there no intermingling of distinct strains, such as syngamy brings about, individuals of a species subject to different conditions of life would tend to give rise to divergent strains and races ; syngamy levels up such diver- gencies and keeps the tendency to variation within the specific limits (compare Enriques, 112 and 113; Pearl, 124). If this sup- position be correct, it would follow that no true species could exist until syngamy had been evolved ; and if it be true that no syngamy occurs in organisms of the bacterial type of organization, then such organisms must be regarded as having diverged under direct environmental influences into distinct races and strains, but not as constituting true species. The '" species ': of bacteria would then be comparable to the races of the domestic dog, rather than to the natural species of the genus Canis. Not until syngamy was acquired could true species exist amongst the Protista, a condition which was probably first attained after the cellular grade of organization had been evolved. The conclusions reached in the foregoing paragraphs may be summed up briefly as follows : Syngamy is a process of inter- mingling, in a single cell-individual, of chromatin derived from two distinct individuals, gametes, which may exhibit differentiation into " male " individuals, characterized by preponderance of kinetic activity, and " female," in which trophic activities are more pronounced. Syngamy is probably of universal occurrence in organisms of the cellular type of organization, and from them has been inherited by the higher plants and animals, but apparently 142 THE PROTOZOA it does not occur amongst organisms of the bacterial grade. Syn- ganiy is related to the life-cycle as a whole, and not specially to cell-reproduction. In its effects on the cell-individual, syngamy appears to have an invigorating effect, renewing vital powers that have become effete and exhausted ; but in species that live in very favourable conditions of nutrition, etc., whether such conditions are due to artificial culture or to natural causes, such as parasitism, syngamy may be deferred for a very long time, and may even be completely in abeyance, or may degenerate into parthenogenesis or autogamy. In its relation to the race, syngamy tends to level down individual variations, and so produce true species amongst the Protista. Before proceeding to discuss the nature and probable origin of the syiigamic process, it is necessary to take into account a process which appears to be a universal concomitant of syngamy — namely, the process of nuclear reduction in the gametes. In all cases of syngamy that have been carefully studied, it has been found that the gametes differ from the ordinary cell-individuals of the species in having undergone a process of so-called " maturation " which con- sists essentially in nuclear reduction — that is to say, in a diminution of the normal quantity of the chromatin by so-called "reducing" divisions of the nucleus. Hence the proiiuclei which undergo sjTigamic fusion differ in their constitution from the nuclei of cells not destined for this process, and do not multiply, as a rule, under normal conditions so long as they remain single. In some cases among plants, however, the cells that have undergone nuclear reduction may multiply by fission and produce a multicellular organism (gametophyte) from which gametes ultimately arise ; in this way is brought about the well-known alternation of genera- tions of the ferns and flowering plants. Since, moreover, in Metazoa, ova that have undergone nuclear reduction can be stimulated artificially to start their development without fertilization, it is clear that the nuclear reduction does not in itself inhibit further development or cell-multiplication. True nuclear reduction in gametes must be distinguished clearly from the process of elimination of effete or vegetat ve chromatin which precedes the formation of the gametes or their nuclei, probably in every case. As has been stated above (p. 72), vegetative and generative chromatin may be combined in the same nucleus, or may occur, the one in the form of a nucleus, the other in the form of chromidia, or may constitute two distinct nuclei. When the two are combined in one nucleus, a necessary preliminary to gamete- formation is the purification of the generative chromatin of all effete vegetative material. When the vegetative chromatin is already separate from the generative, the latter alone takes a SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 143 share in syngamic processes, and the vegetative chromatin, whether as chromidia or a nucleus, disappears from the life-history. Nuclear reduction, in the strict sense, concerns simply the nuclei composed of generative chromatin, and is a process which results in the reduction of the chromatin to half the specific quantity, a deficiency made up again to the full amount by the union of the two pronuclei to form the synkaryon. It is therefore a process which is seen in its most characteristic form in those cases where it is possible to gauge the amount of chromatin in the nucleus more or less accurately by the number of chromosomes formed during division. In the Metazoa, where each species is characterized by possessing a number of chromosomes which is generally constant (the so-called " somatic number "), the process of reduction appears to be ex- tremely uniform in its essential details throughout the whole series, from the Sponges and Ccelenterates up to man, and admits of a description in general terms. The gametocyte (oocyte or sperrna- tocyte), when at the full term of its growth, has a large nucleus which then goes through two maturative divisions in rapid succes- sion. When the garnetocyte-nucleus prepares for division, it appears with half the somatic number of chromosomes ; but each chromosome is in reality bivalent, and produced by the fusion or close adherence of two separate somatic chromosomes. In the first reduction-mitosis, the two adherent chromosomes in each case separate from one another and travel to opposite poles of the spindle ; hence this division is in reality a reducing, though it simulates in some of its features an equating, division. Im- mediately or very soon after the two chromosomes of each pair have separated, they split longitudinally in preparation for the next mitosis, which follows hard upon the first, and in which the two sister-chromosomes of each pair go to opposite poles of the spindle. Consequently the second reduction-division is in reality an equating mitosis, though on account of the precocious splitting of the chromo- somes it may simulate a reducing division. Thus, to sum up the process briefly, the number of chromosomes in the germ-cells is reduced to half the somatic number by two successive mitoses, the first a reducing, the second an equating division. In the male sex, the spermatocyte divides into four gamete-cells of equal size, the spermatids, each of which becomes a spermatozoon. In the female sex the oocyte-di visions are veiy unequal, producing the ovum, ripe for fertilization, and three minute sister-cells of the ovum which, as the so-called " polar bodies," are cast off and die away. By syngamy between a ripe ovum and a spermatozoon, each containing half the somatic number of chromosomes, the full somatic number is restored. 144 THE PROTOZOA In Protozoa the chromosomes are seldom so sharply defined as in Metazoa, and consequently it is difficult or impossible to deter- mine their number. Many cases in which a fixed number of chromosomes is alleged to occur, as in Trypanosoma noctuce (Schau- dinn, 132), cannot be accepted without question in the present state of our knowledge. On the other hand, in all groups of the Protozoa, where the sexual processes have been carefully studied, the union of the gamete-nuclei has been found to be preceded in a great many cases by two successive divisions of each nucleus, with one or the other of the following results : either the successive formation of two reduction-nuclei,* which are cast out of the cell or absorbed without dividing further, while the third persists as the pronucleus of the gamete ; or the production of four nuclei, all of which, or only one of them, persist as pronuclei. These reducing divisions in Protozoa suggest forcibly a comparison with those of the Metazoa, and from this analogy it may be further inferred that 'in Protozoa also the chromatin of the conjugating pronuclei has undergone a reduction to half the specific quantity ; but it is seldom possible to confirm this inference by accurate enumeration of the chromosomes. In the case which has been the most care- fully studied of all others, that, namely, of ActinospJicerium, Hertwig (64) found the number of chromosomes in the first reduction- spindle to be between 120 and 150 ; in the second reduction-spindle the number was about the same, but the chromosomes were about half the size of those in the first reduction-spindle. Moreover, in both the reducing divisions of Actinosplicerium the chromosomes in the equatorial plate divide to form the daughter-plates, as in ordinary karyokinesis, whereas in the reducing divisions of Metazoa the individual chromosomes are not divided, but merely sorted out. Heiico it would appear that in Actino splicer ium, and probably many other Protozoa, the reduction of the chromatin in the pronuclei is effected by more direct, though perhaps less exact, methods than in the highly-perfected process seen in the Metazoa. Nevertheless, a few cases are known among Protozoa in which the small number of chromosomes permits of their being accurately counted, and in which they are seen to be reduced to half the usual number in the maturation-divisions of the gametes. In Pelomyxa the first division reduces the chromosomes from eight to four ; the second division, however, is equating, and no further reduction takes place (p. 150). In some Infusoria it has been observed that * These reduction-nuclei are sometimes termed "polar bodies," by analogy with the maturative process of the Metazoan ovum, but the term is to be avoided in this connection, as it places upon these divisions an interpretation which is at least highly doubtful ; the polar bodies of Metazoa are sister-cells of the ovum ; the reduction-bodies in Protozoa are simply nuclei which are extruded or absorbed. It is certainly not justifiable in fact, and probably no more so in theory, to regard their formation as abortive cell-division. SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 145 the first division of the micronucleus is an equating division, the second reducing ; so in Opercularia (Enriques, 112), Chilodon (Enriques, 113), Carchesium (Popoff, 125), Didinium (Prandtl, 126), and Anoploplirya (Fig. 74) ; in the last named the second division of the micronucleus reduces the chromosomes from six to three, and union of the pronuclei brings the number up to six again. In Carchesium the number of chromosomes is reduced from sixteen to eight. A similar reduction-process has been described by Mulsow (123) in gregarines (p. 335). Hence in these cases the pronuclei K FIG. 74.- — Behaviour of the micronucleus during successive stages of the con- jugation of Anoplophrya (Gollinia) branchiarum. A, Micronucleus of one conjugant preparing for division ; B, later stage, with six chromosomes dis- tinct ; 0, nuclear spindle, with an equatorial plate of sis chromosomes ; D, diaster-stage, with six daughter-chromosomes at each pole of the spindle ; E, later stage, with the chromosomes at each pole fused into one mass ; F, G, H, reconstruction of the daughter-nuclei ; the remains of the spindle between them disappears gradually ; /, the two micronuclei preparing for division ; appearance of six chromosomes in each (one nucleus is seen in profile, the other from one pole) ; J, diaster-stages, showing three chromo- somes at each pole of the spindle (reducing division) ; K, later stage, the chromosomes fused into masses of chromatin ; L, four granddaughter-micro- nuclei ; M , one of them grows in size, the other three begin to degenerate ; A7, division of the persistent micronucleus to form the two pronuclei , '.O, two pronuclei and three degenerating micronuclei. After Collin (50), magnification about 2,000 diameters. have exactly half the amount of chromatin contained in the ordinary nuclei, just as in the Metazoa. Doflein (111) and Hartmann (116) consider that a process of reduction is absolutely essential to the conception and definition of syngamy, and regard reduction as a criterion whereby true syngamic union of gametes and pronuclei can be distinguished from plastogamic and nuclear fusions which have nothing to do with the sexual process. " No fertilization without reduction " (Hartmann). But it must be acknowledged that in a great many cases of gamete-formation in Protozoa a reduction of the chromatin- 10 146 THE PROTOZOA substance of the conjugating pronuclei cannot be deduced from observation, and could only be inferred from analogy. In the gamete-formation of Coccidium schubergi, so carefully studied by Schaudinn (99), a large number of male pronuclei are formed simultaneously by local condensations of chromidia thrown off from the nucleus of the gametocyte, which is left behind in the residual protoplasm, with its conspicuous karyosome (Fig. 50) ; in the female gamete, also, the process of reduction appears to consist of a simple elimination of the karyosome (Fig. 75), a process which could be interpreted more naturally as elimination of effete vegetative chromatin than as a process of true nuclear reduction. In the case of Coccidium, as in others that might be cited, it must either be assumed that reduction-processes, in the strict sense of FIG. 75. — Four stages in the maturation of the female gametocyte of Coccidium schubergi. A, Full-grown macrogametocyte contained in the host-cell ; B, the macrogametocyte is beginning to round itself off and to expel the karyosome from its nucleus ; C, the karyosome expelled from the nucleus of the macrogametocyte has reached the surface of the body and broken up into a number of fragments, which lie scattered in the body of the host-cell or are extruded from it ; D, the macrogametocyte has now become a ripe macro- gamete, having rounded itself off, eliminated the karyosome from its nucleus, and divested itself entirely of the host-cell, n., Nucleus of the gametocyte ; k., its kaiyosome ; n.', nucleus of the host-cell ; k.', k.', fragments of extruded karyosome. After Schaudinn (99), magnified 1,000. the phrase, occur but have been overlooked, or that the method of reduction is one that can only be brought into line with the typical method by theoretical interpretation founded on analogy. It must therefore remain an open question, in the present state- of our knowledge, whether a process of nuclear reduction strictly comparable to the process seen in Metazoa is essential to the definition of true syngamy, or whether such a process has not been evolved and perfected gradually as a consequence of the sexual process. It is quite conceivable that syngamy may have been at its first origin merely a process of intermingling of chromatin of distinct cell -individuals ; that in this crude and primitive form syngamy would tend to disturb the normal balance of nucleus and cytoplasm, since it would lead to quantitative excess of the SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 147 nuclear substance ; that, consequently, by a regulative process which may primitively have followed the syngamic union, the chromatin of the zygote was reduced to the normal quantity by elimination of half of its mass ; and that from this hypothetical primitive process of regulation of the nucleo-cytoplasmic balance a process of nuclear reduction preceding the syngamic act has been gradually evolved until it reaches its perfection in the form seen in the Metazoa. On this view, it is to be expected that in Protista a great diversity in the methods of nuclear reduction would occur, from those of the roughest type to others highly elaborated and perfected ; and this expectation certainly receives justification from the data of observation. Hertwig (119), on the other hand, compares the reducing divisions in the maturation of the gametes to the so-called " hunger-divisions " in Infusoria, which exhibit a great disproportion in the relative mass of nucleus and cytoplasm as the result of starvation in artificial cultures ; in such forms the body is smaller than in forms from a normal culture, but the nucleus is not merely relatively, but absolutely, larger than that of a normal form. The disturbance in the nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio (see p. 70, supra) can however, be regulated by reducing divisions of the nucleus. On the ground of this comparison, Hertwig considers that the maturative processes of the gametes are to be regarded as the necessary consequences of antecedent events* in the life-history —as processes which in their turn bring about syngamy, and not such as have the object of preparing the nuclei for fertilization. In order to give a more concrete idea of the processes of syngamy and reduction in Protozoa, a few typical examples will now be described, selected in order to illustrate the salient features of these processes. The most convenient method of classification of the examples chosen is to distinguish those cases in which chro- niidia are present in addition to nuclei from those in which nuclei alone are present. 1. Syngamy and Reduction icitli Nuclei and Chromidia. — In a great many Sarcodina, especially those belonging to the orders Anicebsea (p. 218) and Foraminifera (p. 231), chromidia may be present in the gamete-forming individuals as a permanent con- stituent of the body-structure. In such cases the chromidia represent, wholly or in part, the generative chromatin, and give rise, by formation of secondary nuclei, to the nuclei of the gametes. As an example Arcella may be taken, the life-cycle of which is described in a subsequent chapter. In this form two distinct forms of syngamy have been described. * It is, of course, hardly necessary to point out that starvation is by no means the only influence which can bring about a disturbance of the nucleo-cytoplasmw equilibrium ; over-nutrition, for example, may have the same effect. 148 THE PROTOZOA (a) Karyogamy. — The body of an Arcella gives rise by multiple gemmation to a number of arncebulae, each containing a secondary nucleus derived from the chromidia, while the primary nuclei of the parent-form degenerate (Fig. 80). The number and size of the amoebulae vary, however, in different individuals. In one Arcella the number is less and the arncebulae are larger, eight or nine macramcebce being produced. In another the amcebulge are more numerous and smaller, about forty micramcebce being formed. In either case the amcebulae swarm out of the parent-shell and are the gametes. A micramoeba copulates with a macranioeba, the two fusing completely to form a zygote with a synkaryon. The amoeboid zygote thus produced is the starting-point in the growth and development of an Arcella (Fig. 80, A). In this example the karyogamy is a case of microgamy, which, like other such cases, precedes a period of growth and follows a period of active reproduction. It is possible that the syngamy of the gametes is preceded by reducing divisions of the nuclei of the amcebulae, but no such reduction has been observed in Arcella. In Foraminifera (p. 235), in which the syngamy is perfectly isog- amous, each secondary nucleus formed from the generative chromidia divides twice to form the gamete-nuclei — divisions doubtless to be regarded as reducing divisions. In Centropyxis, according to Schaudinn (131), amcebulaa, all of the same size, are produced as in Arcella, by formation of secondary nuclei ; but in some broods each amcebula divides into four micramcebae (micro- gametes), while in other broods the amoebulse remain undivided as macramcebae (macrogametes) ; copulation then takes place between two gametes of different size. (b) Chromidiogamy (Fig. 80, M — Q).— Two ordinary adult Arcellce come together and apply the mouths of their shells. The proto- plasm of one individual flows over almost entirely into the other shell, taking with it both chromidia and primary nuclei, only so much protoplasm being left in the one shell as suffices to hold the two shells together. The primary nuclei now degenerate, and the chromidia derived from each conjugant break up into a fine dust of chromatin-particles and become intimately commingled. When this process is complete, the protoplasm with the chromidia becomes again distributed between the two shells, and the two conjugants separate. Then in each individual secondary nuclei are formed from the chromidia, and by a process of multiple gem- mation a number of uninucleate amoebulae are formed which swarm out of the shell, and, like the zygotes resulting from karyogamy, become the starting-point of a new Arcella. Thus chromidiogamy is here a case of macrogamy which, like other similar cases, follows a period of growth and precedes a SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 149 period of active reproduction. Chromidiogamy is a rare but very interesting form of syngamy which, from the standpoint of general notions with regard to the evolution of the nucleus, may be re- garded as the most primitive type. It is known to occur also in Difflitgia (Zuelzer, 85), where also copulation of swarm-spores takes place as an alternative method (p. 230). A case must now be considered in which the chromidia represent vegetative, while the nuclei contain the generative, chromatin. An example of this state of things is furnished by Plasmodiophora brassicce, a well-known parasite of cabbages, turnips, etc., in which .. ;-.;••'.•;-•. •&iK&i i ?'?"4 U • ' • > • T 5... /v 3" L ^£rlfr-(S!T^ ^ '"> v 'IvTpC^ D FIG. 76. — Gamete-formation and syngamy in Plasmodiopliora brassicce. A, Normal vegetative nuclei of the myxamcebse ; B, C, extrusion of chromidia from the nuclei ; D, division of the nuclei by karyokinesis (first reducing division) ; E, nuclei after reduction ; F, formation of gametes which are fusing in pairs ; G, spore (zygote) containing two nuclei, one of which is going through a further reduction-division ; H, fusion of the two pronuclei within the spore ; 1, ripe spore with synkaryon and two centrioles. After Prowazek (127), magnified about 2,250 diameters. it produces a disease known as " fingers and toes " (Kohlhernie). According to the investigations of Prowazek (127) and others, Plasmodiopliora goes through a development which may be briefly summarized as follows : At the end of the " vegetative " period of growth and multiplication, there are found within the cells of the infected plant a number of " myxamcebae," amoeboid individuals (plasmodia) each with many nuclei containing distinct karyosomes (Fig. 76, A). From the nuclei chromidia are given off into the cell, and during this process the karyosomes disappear and centrosomes make their appearance (Fig. 76, B, C). The chromidia are ab- 150 THE PROTOZOA 3orl>ed and disappear, and the nuclei divide twice by karyokinesis (Fig. 76, D), so that their number is quadrupled. The myxamceba then undergoes multiple fission into as many cells as there are nuclei in the plasmodium (Fig. 76, F), and each of these cells is a gamete. The gametes now conjugate in pairs, and the zygotes become encysted to form the spores. Within the spores the nuclei of the gametes are stated to undergo a further process of reduction before they fuse to form the synkaryon (Fig. 76, G). The syngamy in Plasmodiopliora is stated to be a case of autogamy, but this allegation assumes that the nuclei of the myxamcebse are sister- nuclei derived all from the division of one original nucleus ; they may equally well be nuclei of different origins brought together by plastogamic fusions. The two examples selected, Arcella and PlasmodiopJiora, show that the chromidia may represent generative chromatin in one case, vegetative in another. Goldschmidt (57) has proposed to distinguish these two conditions by a special terminology, retaining the name " chromidia " (trophochromidia, Mesnil, 74) for those which are purely vegetative, and coining a new term, sporetia (idio- chromidia, Mesnil) for those of generative nature. It is more convenient, however, to retain the term " chromidia " in its original significance, to denote simply extraiiuclear particles of chromatin, and to qualify the term by the adjectives " vegetative " and " generative " when required (see also Goldschmidt, 41, p. 130)^ The formation of vegetative chromidia, which are finally absorbed, is a common phenomenon in many Protozoa ; it may take place as a purely regulative process, as in Actinosphcerium during de- pression-periods (p. 208), when hypertrophy of the nuclear apparatus is corrected by the extrusion from the nuclei of chromidia, which ultimately degenerate and become converted into masses of pig- ment, and as such are eliminated from the protoplasm. The account given by Bott (103) of gamete-formation in the commoni Pelomyxa (Amcebcea nuda, p. 227) describes a condition in which chromidia, extruded from the nuclei, are partly vegetative, partly generative ; secondary nuclei are formed from them, which later cast out a portion of their chromatin, then give rise to the gamete-nuclei. After the secondary nuclei have been purified in this way of their vegetative chromatin, the generative chromatia remaining in each of them forms a karyokinetic spindle with eight chromo- somes, and a reducing division follows by which each daughter-nucleus obtains four chromosomes. The " pronuclei of the first order," resulting from t he- first reducing division, divide again, forming a spindle with four chromosomes which split, so that the " pronuclei of the second order " have also four chro- mosomes. From the nuclei that have undergone reduction in this manner the nuclei of the gametes arise in a somewhat remarkable fashion : the pro- nuclei of the second order separate into two compact masses of chromatin ; a vacuole is formed near them ; and the chromatin of the two masses wanders, in the form of finely- divided granules, into the vacuolo to form the definitive- pronucleus of the gamete, which forms a membrane when the process is- complete. When formed the gametes wander out as Heliozoon-like ind; SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 151 .viduals, which copulate in pairs, and the uninucleate zygote grows up into the uiultinucleate Pelomyxa. The conception of vegetative and generative chromidia has not been accepted universally or without criticism. Hartmann, as pointed out above, considers that many cases of generative chromidia are really the result of a disruption of a polyenergid nucleus ; Awerinzew (47) is of opinion that, while all Protozoa possess vegetative chromidia at some stage at least in the life- cycle, generative chromidia are to be considered as a new acquisition, a hasten- ing of the process of the formation of numerous gamete-nuclei ; Dobell (51) puts forward a similar view with regard to generative chromidia. With regard to the latter criticism, it may be pointed out that nuclei may become resolved into chromidia in order to undergo simple binary fission. With regard to Hartmann's view, there is at present, at least, little evidence that it is an adequate explanation of the many cases of formation of secondary generative nuclei from chromidia known amongst the Sarcodina. The ques- tion is discussed further below (p. 255). 2. Syncjamy and Reduction with Nuclei only. — A very simple example is furnished by the common Actinophrys sol (Fig. 71), as described by Schaudinn (129). Conjugation takes place between two adult forms (macrogarny), which come together and become enclosed in a common cyst. The nucleus of each individual then divides by karyokinesis, and one nucleus of the pair thus produced is expelled from the body and undergoes degeneration as a reduction nucleus. The persistent nucleus of each individual then repeats the process and forms a second reduction-nucleus. The nucleus now remaining in each cell is the definitive pronucleus. The two gametes now copulate, their pronuclei fusing to form the synkaryon, after which the synkaryon divides by karyokinesis and the zygote divides into two individuals which later escape from the cyst and resume the free-living vegetative life. The course of syngamy in Actinophrys is exactly similar to that performed by the two " secondary cysts " derived from division of a " primary cyst " in Actinosphcerium (see p. 138, supra}. In both cases alike the nucleus of the conjugants may be supposed to contain both vegetative and generative chromatin mixed together. It is possible that the vegetative chromatin is extruded from the nucleus in the form of chromidia prior to the reducing divisions, but no elimination of vegetative substance has been described. The last example of syngamy in Protozoa that need be con- sidered specially at this point is that of the Infusoria, which have been the subject of numerous investigations. These organisms present the highest degree of specialization of the body-structure and elaboration of the nuclear apparatus found in any Protozoa. Their syngarnic processes vary in detail to some extent in different cases (see p. 448), but the whole process is essentially as follows (Fig. 77) : Two individuals come together and adhere, placing themselves side by side. The two conjugants may be similar in visible constitution, or may differ to a greater or less extent, and 152 THE PROTOZOA FIG. 77. — Diagram showing the successive stages of conjugation in Infusoria. A, The two conjugants attached, each with a macronucleus (N) and a micro- nucleus (n) ; B, C, the micronucleus of each conjugant dividing ; D, each conjugant has two micronuclei which are beginning to divide again ; E, each conjugant has four micronuclei ; the niacronuclei are beginning to become irregular in form ; in later stages they degenerate, break up, and are absorbed ; F, three of the four micronuclei of each conjugant are degenerating and being absorbed ; the fourth is dividing ; G, one half of each dividing micro- nucleus of the preceding stage has travelled over into the other conjugant as the migratory pronucleus ; H, I, fusion of the stationary pronucleus of each conjugant with the migratory pronucleus derived from the other conjugant to form the synkaryon (S.) ; J , the two conjugants now separate ; in each ex-con jugant the synkaryon (S.) divides ; the old macronuclei are now almost completely absorbed ; K, L, the synkaryon has divided into two nuclei, one of which grows large and becomes the new macronucleus, the other remains small and becomes the new micronucleus, of each ex-conjugant. After Delage and Herouard. SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 153 are sometimes markedly different in size (Doflein, 111). The greatest amount of differentiation is seen in the order Peritricha (p. 448), where microconjugants and macroconjugants can be dis- tinguished. Each conjugant has a microiiucleus and a macro- nucleus. The macronucleus begins to degenerate, and finally dis- appears completely. The microiiucleus, on the other hand, en- larges and divides by a simple form of karyokinesis (see p. 114, supra). The division of the microiiucleus is repeated twice as a rule, but sometimes three times, and, as stated above, in one of these divisions the number of chromosomes is halved in a great mairy, possibly in all, cases. Of the four (or eight) micronuclei thus formed, all but one represent reduction-nuclei which are absorbed and disappear. The persistent microiiucleus then divides by equating division into two pronuclei, which may be distinguished as migratory and stationary, respectively ; they sometimes exhibit distinct structural differentiation. At this juncture the cuticle of each conjugant is absorbed at the point of contact, and the migratory pronucleus of each conjugant passes over into the protoplasm of the other and fuses with its stationary pronucleus. The gap in the cuticle is now repaired and the two individuals separate, each '' ex-conjugant " having a synkaryon constituted by a fusion of one-eighth (or one-sixteenth) of its own original micronucleus with the same fraction of the microiiucleus of the other partner. The synkaryon grows and divides into two nuclei, one of which grows and becomes the macronucleus, while the other remains small and becomes the micronucleus, of the ex-coiijugant, which thereby becomes indistinguishable from an ordinary in- dividual of the species, and proceeds to start on a course of vegeta- tive growth and reproduction in the usual manner, until the next act of syngamy initiates a fresh cycle. It has been observed that the two ex-conjugants sometimes differ markedly in their capacities, one of them multiplying much faster than the other. In the syngamy of Ciliata it is seen clearly that the macronucleus represents effete vegetative or " somatic " chromatin, which is eliminated bodily from the life-history of the organism, while the micronucleus represents reserve generative chromatin from which, after reduction, the entire nuclear apparatus is regenerated. The remarkable feature in the syngamy of Infusoria is the manner in which the coiijugants remain distinct, and merely exchange pronuclei (so-called "partial karyogarny "). Versluys (137), following Boveri, derives this from an ancestral condition of iso- gamic copulation — that is to say, a condition in which the two coiijugants fused completely as gametes, both body and nucleus, after which the zygote divided into two individuals ; on this view the final division of the micronucleus which gives rise to the two 154 THE PROTOZOA pronuclei is to be regarded as the equivalent of the division of the synkaryon which took place ancestrally after syngamy. While, however, there is a general agreement that partial karyogamy (conjugation) is to be derived from total karyogamy (copulation), it is very doubtful if the two conjugants in Infusoria represent simple gametes ; it is more probable that the type of syngamy characteristic of Infusoria is derived from an ancestral condition in which each conjugant produced a number of minute gametes (swarm-spores) which copulated (compare especially Popoff, 125, and Hartmann, 116, and see p. 453, infra). On this view the divisions of the micronucleus represent a primitively much larger number of divisions which produced the numerous gametes, and the conjugants themselves are not to be regarded as true gametes, but rather as gametocytes or gamonts. Having now illustrated by typical examples the various forms which the syngamic process takes in Protozoa, we may conclude this chapter by a consideration, necessarily brief, of the problem of the significance and origin of syngamy and sex. This is a problem which has a vast literature, and it is only possible here to indicate in outline some of the theories that have been put forward, none of which can claim to be a complete solution of one of the profoundest nrysteries of the living substance and its activities. Considering first the fertilization of the Metazoa, it is evident that the union of the spermatozoon with the ovum has two prin- cipal results. In the first place the spermatozoon brings with it a pronucleus, the equivalent of that contained in the ovum, but derived from a distinct individual, and therefore possessing different hereditary tendencies acquired from its own particular ancestral history. The union of the male and female pronuclei brings about, therefore, a process for which Weismann has coined the term amphi- mixis— that is to say, a mingling of different hereditary tendencies in one and the same individual. In the second place the spermato- zoon produces a result which may be termed briefly " developmental stimulus ': (Entwicklungserregung) — that is to say, it produces a disturbance in the equilibrium of the protoplasmic body of the ovum which causes it to start on a course of cell-division oft-re- peated, a process of cleavage which converts the unicellular ovum into the mass of cells which supplies the material for the building up of the multicellular body. It is very probable that the develop- mental stimulus is supplied by the greatly-developed centrosome of the spermatozoon, that of the ovum having completely atrophied, apparently, after the completion of its maturative processes. The introduction of a male pronucleus — that is to say, the process of amphimixis — can be effected only by the spermatozoon. But the researches of Loeb and others have demonstrated fully that the SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 155 spermatozoon is not indispensable for supptying a developmental stimulus ; an unfertilized ovum can be induced by artificial stimuli of various kinds to start upon a course of development similar to that initiated, under natural circumstances, by fertilization with a spermatozoon. Hence, of the two results produced in the fertiliza- tion of Metazoa, amphimixis alone would appear to be that which is essential and peculiar in the process, and which only fertilization can bring about. From the above considerations, amphimixis is regarded by many thinkers as the essence of syngamy, a necessity for the evolution of living beings in that it supplies, by the intermingling of different hereditary tendencies, the conditions required for the production of " innate " variations in organisms in which the germinal substance is shielded from the direct influence of external conditions by its position within a multicellular body. Apart from the question, however, whether any such innate variations exist in the Protozoa, where all cells alike are exposed equally to the direct action of the environment, the criticism has often been made that amphimixis gives only a teleological explanation of the sexual process, and as- such cannot be invoked as a causal explanation of its origin. The intermingling of distinct hereditaiy tendencies, however useful to the organism or important in the evolution of living beings generally, cannot be regarded as the incentive to syngamy at its first appear- ance in the Protista. In other words, amphimixis must be regarded as a secondary consequence, not as a primary cause, of syngamy. It is necessary, therefore, to seek some explanation for the first origin of syngarny other than the benefits which it may confer through amphimixis, and it is undoubtedly among Protist organisms that the conditions under which synganiy first arose must be sought. It has been pointed out above that syngarny appears to have a strengthening or recuperating effect upon the cell-organism, and upon such grounds has been founded the theory of " rejuven- escence " (Verjiingung). According to this theory, connected chiefly with the name of Maupas, the cell-protoplasm, after many generations of reproduction by fission, tends to become effete and senile to an ever - increasing degree, a condition which, if not remedied, ends in the death of the organism ; the natural remedy is furnished, however, by the process of syngamy, which has the effect of renewing the " youth " of the cell and starting it upon a fresh series of generations, until senilhty, once more supervening, necessitates syngamy again. The rejuvenescence-theory has been criticized by many critics who have themselves done little more, in some cases, than give a more precise meaning to the terms " youth '" and " old age," terms that certainly stand in need of further explanation, since 156 THE PROTOZOA it can hardly be supposed that the time-factor alone can account for the exhaustion or depression of the vital faculties. It is gener- ally admitted that unicellular organisms, such as the Protozoa, tend, after a greater or less number of generations, to exhibit a certain degree of exhaustion in their vital properties, or, it may be, of derangement in their organization and vital mechanisms. Hert- wig (164) is of opinion that " the conditions of death exist in the living substance from the beginning, and are a necessary conse- quence of its vital function " —a generalization which may be accepted for those Protista in which the body exhibits the degree of specialization and structural complication proper to a true cell (as the term is understood in this book — see p. 98) ; but it is very doubtful if it is true also for the simplest forms of life, such as the bacteria and allied organisms. If it be further admitted that syngamy is the natural remedy in unicellular organisms for a natural disease, the problem before us is to discover, if possible, the precise nature of the derangements, and of the method by which the remedy restores them to the normal functional condition. At the outset, attention must be drawn to a very constant and general preliminary to syngamy in Protozoa — namely, the elimina- tion of a large amount of chromatin which appears to have been regulating the vital activities during previous generations (vegeta- tive chromatin), and its replacement by chromatin which has been inactive and lying in reserve (generative chromatin). This process is seen in its most striking form in the Ciliata, where the macro- nucleus is entirely eliminated during the act of syngamy, and is replaced in subsequent generations by a new macroiiucleus derived from the micronucleus formed by fusion of portions of the micro- nuclei of the partners in syngamy. Hence it might seem as if the chief result of syngamy was to replace effete vegetative chromatin by fresh generative substance which through inactivity has retained its powers unimpaired. But in the first place it must be pointed out that, to effect a replacement of this kind, the union of two individuals is not necessary ; it would be sufficient for a single individual to form a new nucleus from its store of generative chromatin, and to get rid of its old, effete vegetative chromatin. If we regard the chromidia of Arcella as composed of generative chromatin, the buds produced by formation of secondary nuclei from the chromidia would represent nuclear regeneration of this kind. Secondly, it is open to doubt how far the theory of vegeta- tive and generative chromatin can be applied throughout the whole series. In such forms as Arcella the chromidial mass, although it furnishes the gamete-nuclei, is a cell-element in a functional con- dition, and in the more primitive forms the distinction between vegetative and generative chromatin cannot be pressed so far as SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 157 in highly- organized forms, such as the Ciliata. Hertwig (68) con- siders that the separation of two kinds of chromatin is an adaptation to particular conditions of life, evolved progressively, and attaining its greatest perfection in the Ciliata ; whereby chromatin which has become functionally effete is separated from that which has retained its constitution. According to the view put forward by Hertwig (118), syngamy remedies the effete condition of the cell chiefly by regulating the necessary quantitative balance between the nucleus and the cyto- plasm. Such regulation may be effected also by internal re- arrangements of the nuclear substance or by plastoganiy, but is brought about most efficiently by syngamy, since the definite and necessary mutual relations between nucleus and cytoplasm are better maintained by " arrangements which prevent disturbance, than b^y arrangements which compensate for disturbances that have already set in." The obvious criticism of this theory is that it is difficult to understand why an internal regulative process of the cell should require the co-operation of two individuals, and the reason contained in the sentence just quoted from Hertwig scarcely seems an adequate explanation. The fact that two cells participate in syngamy indicates in itself that the necessity for syngamy depends on a loss of balance between two constituents or substances in the cell, and that the union of the two gametes restores equilibrium. As Hertwig (119) has pointed out, the quantitative relation of nucleus to cytoplasm is more altered in the gametes of Metazoa than in any other cells, and to opposite extremes in the two sexes ; in the ovum the quantity of cytoplasm is enormous in proportion to the nucleus, while in the spermatozoon the exact reverse is the case. The same argu- ment applies to a greater or less degree in the case of anisogamous gametes of Protozoa. It would not, however, apply to the many cases of isogamy in Protozoa where the quantitative relations of nucleus and cytoplasm are the same in each gamete ; in such cases union of the gametes would leave the nucleo-cytoplasmic relation exactly what it was before. A theory of a different kind has been put forward by Schaudinn (133) and his folloAvers Prowazek (128) and Hartmann (116), which is based on the notion that sex and sexual differentiation are primary characteristics of living matter. A normally function- ing cell is regarded as hermaphrodite, having male and female elements equally balanced. The differentiation which leads to the formation of gametes arises, as Biitschli originally suggested, from inequalities in the results of cell-division, which may be supposed to lead always to more or less imperfect partition of the qualities of the parent-cell between the daughter-cells. As a result 158 THE PROTOZOA of the defects in the process of cell-division, some cells acquire more ;' male " properties, other more " female " ; the cells preponder- atingly male show greater kinetic and motile energy, those that have more female qualities show greater trophic activity. With con- tinued cell-division these opposite tendencies tend to accumulate in certain cells which in consequence become altogether one-sided in their vital activities. Thus a want of balance in the vital functions is brought about, which may reach such a pitch that the organism is unable to continue to assimilate and reproduce, and must die unless the balance is resorted by syngamy with an individual that has become specialized in the opposite direction. By the union of two gametes differentiated in this manner, equilibrium is restored and the vital functions are rein vigor ated. No gametes, however, whatever their degree of specialization, are to be considered as perfectly unisexual, but only relatively so ; a male gamete will always contain a certain amount of female substance, and a female gamete a certain amount of male substance, thus accounting for the possibility of partheno- genesis. Schaudinn's theory of sex is thus very similar to that developed by Weiniiiger on purely psychological grounds. Schaudimi, whose work on Protozoa must secure full considera- tion for any statement of his observations, however inherently improbable the facts or the interpretations based upon them may seem, founded his theorj^ chiefly on data alleged to have been observed by him in the development of Trypanosoma noctuce (Schau- dinn, 132). According to him, an " indifferent " ookinete might give rise either to male or female forms. In the formation of males, certain nuclear elements were separated out to become those of the daughter-cells, while certain other nuclear elements remained behind and degenerated together with a quantity of residual protoplasm. In the formation of females, the same two sets of nuclear structures were separated out, but those proper to the male sex degenerated, while those of the female sex, which were just those which degenerated in the formation of males, in this case persist and become the nucleus of the female gamete. Thus the indifferent ookinete was supposed to be really hermaphrodite, containing male and female elements mixed together, and giving rise to individuals of one or the other sex by persistence of one set of characters and atrophy of the other. It must be noted here that these observations of Schaudinn's are entirely unconfirmed, nothing similar having as yet been found by other investigators, either in trypanosomes or in any other Protozoa ; and further that, even if Schaudinn's observations be accepted as exact in every detail, they will not bear the interpretations which he places upon them — namely, that the small and large forms produced as he describes are males and females, since, a.s he himself admits, they do not, SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 159 when developed, perform any act of syngamy. The alleged sexuality of the forms described by Schaudinn lacks the only de- cisive criterion of sexual differentiation — namely, sexual behaviour ; and the differentiation exhibited by the two forms of trypanosomes described by Schaudinn admits of an entirely different and far less forced interpretation (see p. 176, infra). There are two further criticisms that may be made of Schaudinn's theory. The first concerns the alleged universality of sexual differences in living matter. It must be pointed out that, as stated above, at the present time we have no evidence whatever of the occurrence of true syngamy in any organisms of the bacterial grade. The processes that have been interpreted by Schaudinn as autogamy in certain bacteria may be much more easily regarded as processes of internal regulation of the chromatin-substance. Nowhere yet has the union of two distinct gametes been observed in any bacterial organisms. The theory that sex is a universal characteristic, and syngamy an elementary function, of living things, does not rest at the present time on any basis of established fact. The second criticism is that the terms " male " and " female ': require definition and explanation, without which they remain meaningless, connoting merely unknown, mystic properties, not further analyzable, of the living substance. The characteristic feature exhibited by male cells is the preponderance of kinetic activity, and by female cells, of trophic functions, as Schaudinn and many others have pointed out. Before Schaudinn, the same idea was expressed in different language by Geddes and Thomson (114), who regarded the male sex as characterized by katabolic, the female sex by anabolic activities. It we suppose that these two manifestations of physiological activity have each a distinct material basis in the living cell, then it can easily be imagined that the imperfections of cell-division may lead to the production of cells in which one or the other substance predominates. This is the view that Doflein (7) has developed in his very interesting critical summary of the views that have been put forward upon the sexual problem. He supposes, further, that these two different physio- logical qualities depend upon substances which have intense mutual interactions and attract each other strongly, and that a certain equilibrium between them is necessary for the normal life of the cell. When, therefore, one or the other substance preponderates greatly in a cell, a functional derangement results ; but since cells differentiated in opposite directions attract each other strongly, they tend to unite, and by their union to restore equilibrium. The question of the sexual differentiation of the gametes is one that will be discussed at greater length in the next chapter. It is only necessary to point out here that a clear distinction must be 160 THE PROTOZOA drawn between intrinsic differences, not necessarily visible, and structural or other differences which are more or less obvious. The fact that gametes and pronuclei tend to unite proves that in all cases there must be intrinsic differences between them which stimulate them to do so ; in this sense, at least, we may endorse fully the dictum of Her twig, that " fertilization depends on a fusion of sexually-differentiated cell-nuclei." On the other hand, gametes of opposite sexes exhibit every possible condition from complete similarity in structure and appearance to the greatest possible contrast in every feature of their organization. There can be no doubt that visible differentiation of the gametes is largely, if not entirely, an adaptation to the functions that they have to perform ; and this conclusion is by no means weakened by the fact that there are many cases of isogamy which are un- doubtedly secondary, in which a more primitive and phylogeneti- cally older structural differentiation has gradually become annulled, under circumstances in which adaptive differences in the gametes are no longer necessary — as, for example, in gregarines (p. 173). In Metazoa it is generally recognized that the two pronuclei that undergo fusion are perfectly equivalent,* and that the dif- ferences seen between them in the gametes are temporary and, in the case of the spermatozoon, an adaptation to circumstances ; here the real differentiation of the gametes affects only cytoplasmic characters. In Protozoa, on the other hand, the conjugating pronuclei often exhibit differences of structure when the cells themselves appear perfectly similar. In the Infusoria, for instance, differences have been noted between the migrator}7 and stationary pronuclei ; how far these differences may be correlated directty with the differences in their activities must remain an open question. In the foregoing paragraphs we have set forth and discussed some of the attempts that have been made to solve the problem of sex. It cannot be said that a perfectly satisfactory solution has been attained, but at least certain conditions of the problem may be laid down. In the first place, no theory of sex is satis- factory which does not explain why the union of two cells should be necessary in syngamy. In the second place a teleological inter- pretation, such as amphimixis, can only state a secondary con- sequence, not a primary cause, of sexual union ; but such a consequence may suffice to explain the retention and persistence of sexual phenomena after the conditions have ceased to exist under which they came into existence. In the simplest Protista of the bacterial grade, it may be supposed, either that the living matter is not differentiated into localized substances having distinct physiological qualities, or that in such * Apart, that is to say, from the much-discussed question of the supernumerary chromosome. SYNGAMY AND SEX IN THE PROTOZOA 161 minute bodies reproduction by fission does not produce differentia- tion in the fission-products. With increased size such differences may arise, at first to a minor extent, and capable of being adjusted by internal rearrangements of the living substance such as have been described in the larger Bacteria. Not until the process of natural evolution had gone so far as to produce the full complica- tion of structure seen in a true cell would localized differences hi the living substance be brought about to a sufficient extent to lead to differences between the daughter-cells produced by fission, as a consequence of the imperfections of the process of cell-division. The differences produced in this way might be changes in the nucleo-cytoplasmic balance, as Hertwig supposes, or in the relative proportions of substances exerting different physiological activities, as suggested by Biitschli, Geddes and Thomson, Schaudinn and Doflein, or possibly of all these and other changes yet unknown. In any case it is reasonable to suppose that the imperfect character of the primitive types of cell-division, described in the last chapter, might produce accumulated material or structural inequalities in the daughter-cells, such as could only be rectified by the union of two cells differentiated in opposite directions, thus making syngamy a necessity for the continued existence of the species. This theory explains the necessity for syngamy recurring with greater frequency in forms having a high degree of structural differentiation than in forms of a primitive and simple type of organization. With increasing perfection in the process of the division of the cell, and especially of the nucleus, the primary cause of, or necessity for, syngamy might be expected to disappear ; but at this stage in evolution other benefits to the species consequent on the process of amphimixis might be a sufficient cause for the retention of a process already well established. This conclusion appears to receive some support from the fact that intensive culture, whether artificial, or natural as in parasitism, seems to diminish the necessity for syngamy. It can hardly be supposed that intensive culture can diminish consequences arising from defective cell-division ; but it might conceivably produce a strengthening effect equal to, and capable of supplanting, the benefits derived from^ amphimixis. Enriques (113) has stated that in Infusoria ex-conjugants may proceed to conjugation again, so that between one act of syngamy and the next there may not be a single cell-division intervening. In this case neither cell-division/f!or any consequences of cell- division can be the factor bringingfabout sexual union, but some other explanation must be sought. Enriques considers that the function of syngamy in Infusoria is to maintain the fixity of the species. Bibliography. — For references see p. 479. CHAPTER IX POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES OF THE PROTOZOA A. POLYMORPHISM. ONE of the most striking peculiarities of living beings is the infinite variety of form, structure, and appearance, which they present. There is, perhaps, no living individual of any kind which is exactly similar, in all respects, to any other. Nevertheless, the most uncultured intellect cannot fail to recognize that, in the case of all ordinary, familiar plants and animals there is a pronounced tendency to segregation into distinct kinds or species — that is to : ay, natural groups of individuals which, though they may vary greatly amongst themselves, yet resemble one another far more than they do the individuals of another species. It is not necessary to point out that species are not to be regarded as permanent or immutable entities. It is certain that a species majT in course of time become modified so as to acquire characters different from those it originally possessed, thus giving rise to a new species, or that a single parent-species may become split up into a number of groups which, by a similar process of modification, became so many daughter-species differing from one another and from the parent- species to a greater or less degree. The problem of the origin of species is one that it is not necessary to discuss here ; it is sufficient to point out that the mutability of species often makes it very difficult to define or delimit a given species exactly, of which a striking example is seen in the pathogenic trypanosomes of the brucii- group, probably to be regarded, as pointed out above (p. 27), as instances of species in an incipient or nascent condition. Some species are sharply marked off from others, some are much less so, and some are of questionable rank, regarded by one naturalist as distinct, by another as mere races or varieties- — a state of things perfectly intelligible if existing species are regarded as having arisen by descent, with modification, from pre-existing species. In the Protozoa the existence of distinct species is just as marked as in the higher plants and animals, and is universally recognized. As has been pointed out in the previous chapter, it is probably syngamy which is responsible for the segregation of individual 102 POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 163 into species, by blending the divergent characters that may be supposed to arise from the influence of different conditions or circumstances of life. Thus, synganiy in unicellular organisms appears to have an effect which is the opposite, to a large extent, to that which it produces in multicellular organisms, in which there are special germ-cells, sheltered to a greater or less degree from the direct influence of the environment, and in which amphimixis appears rather to be a means by which variations arise. The conception of a species is by no means incompatible with the occurrence of a number of distinct forms in its life-history. Taking well-known instances from the Metazoa, there may be, in the first place, ontogenetic or developmental differences ; not only may the individuals of the same species differ in size at different periods in the development, but they may differ so greatly in appearance and structure that only a knowledge of the life-history enables us to assert that they belong to the same species — as, for example, a caterpillar and a butterfly, or a Irydroid and a medusa. Secondly, the adult individuals may differ to an enormous extent in the two sexes. Thirdly, there may be in many cases differences between individuals of a species related to differences in the functions which they perform, not merely at successive phases in the life-history, as in some cases of ontogenetic differentiation already mentioned, but even at corresponding phases of the life-history — a phenomenon best seen in social or colony-forming organisms, as in the case of ants and termites, or in the colonies of Hydrozoa. In Protozoa, similarly, a given species may show distinct phases or forms at different or corresponding periods of its life-history to a greater or less extent. In some species the form-changes are very slight, and the individuals occur always under a similar form and aspect, at least during the active state, and are therefore recog- nizable without difficulty as regards their specific identit}' ; such forms may be termed monomorphic, and as examples the species of ciliate Infusoria can be cited. Other Protozoa, on the other hand, are extremely polymorphic — that is to say, they occur under a variety of widely-differing forms at different stages in the life-c}-cle or in response to variations in the conditions of life. Hence it is often difficult or impossible to refer a given form to its proper species without tracing out its life-history and following its develop- ment step by step. The unravelling of the complicated life-cjx-les of Protozoa is attended by far greater difficulties than in Metazoa, Miice one important criterion fails us altogether in the Protozoa, that, namely, of sexual maturity. A naturalist has no hesitation in pronouncing a trochophore to be a larval form, and a rotifer to Le an adult organism, from the fact that the former is sexually immature, while the latter produces ripe generative cells. In the 104 THE PROTOZOA Protozoa, however, there is no visible criterion of any similar state of maturity or the opposite which might be a guide in estimating the significance of a particular form. It is certain that with in- creasing knowledge man}7 species of Protozoa now regarded as distinct will prove to be developmental stages of others, as has happened so frequently in the case of Metazoa. The polymorphism of the Protozoa may be related directly or indirectly to a variety of causes, which may be grouped generally under three headings — life-conditions, growth and development of the individual, and sex. 1. Polymorphism in Relation to the Conditions of Life. — Under this heading are included all those cases where the individual is forced to adapt itself to inevitable changes in the environment, or else succumb to their effects ; hence this type of polymorphism may be termed briefly adaptive. The animal may adapt itself to tiuch changes in one or the other of two waj^s : passively, by passing into a resting state, in which vital activities are temporarily sus- pended ; or actively, by changes of form, structure, and function, adapted to the changed conditions. Methods of passive adaptation to unfavourable conditions occur probably in all Protozoa — perhaps it might be said in all Protista, so that no species can be said to be absolutely nionomorphic. The commonest form of such adaptation is the process of encystment, whereby the organism protects itself by secreting a firm, resistant envelope, or cyst, round its body. The first preliminary to encystment in Protozoa is usually a rounding off of the body-form. In the case of naked amoeboid forms such a change of form follows naturally, as pointed out above, from cessation of the locomotor activity. It is, however, also observed that a similar change takes place in corticate forms, a phenomenon which indicates that the cuticle or cortex must be absorbed or softened, and that any internal form-giving elements must be dissolved, so that the protoplasm is free to conform to the natural plrysical tendencies of a fluid body. In the great majority of cases, an individual in process of encystment becomes perfectly spherical, whatever may have been the form of its bodv in the active state, but in some cases the spherical form is not fully attained, and the body becomes ovoid or pear-shaped. During the process of rounding off, any food-particles or foreign bodies contained in the cytoplasm are rejected or absorbed, as a rule ; the contractile vacuoles, if there be any, cease to be formed and vanish ; and all locomotor organs, such as cilia, flagella, and of course pseudo- podia, are absorbed or cast off. At the same time the protoplasm of the organism becomes less fluid and more opaque, and usually diminishes appreciably in bulk, probably through loss of water ; it POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 165 thereby becomes denser in consistence, but of less specific gravity. Lastly, the cj^st-membrane itself appears round the body, if it has not already done so ; it generally stands off distinctly from the surface of the body, and may vary in nature in different cases, from a soft, slimy or gelatinous coat to a firm membrane of variable, thickness, often exceedingly tough and impervious. In the encysted state, Protozoa are able to withstand the many vicissitudes to which they are naturally subject. They can then be dried up, frozen, or sun-baked ; and since the protoplasm becomes much lighter, they can be transported great distances by winds, a fact which accounts for the appearance of Protozoa in infusions exposed to the air in any situation — a peculiarity from which the name Infusoria is derived. In general the function of enc}7strnent is to protect the organism against unfavourable conditions or violent changes in the environment — for instance, in freshwater forms, against drought and climate, the cold of winter or the heat of a tropical summer. In parasitic forms it is an adaptation commonly connected with a change from one host to another. In parasites two types of cysts can be distinguished. In the first place, full-grown forms may produce relatively large, resistant cysts (Dauerzysten) of the ordinary type, almost invariably spherical or ovoid in form. In the second place, the smallest forms in the developmental cycle, the products of multiple fission or " sporulation," may secrete round themselves tough, resistant envelopes, within which they may multiply further ; in this case the envelope is termed a sporocyst, and the entire body a spore.* * The word " spore " has come to be used in two distinct senses, as applied to Protozoa, thereby producing a regrettable confusion and ambiguity. The word itself is derived from the Greek criropos, a seed, and was applied by botanists to those cases where plants produce seed-like bodies which are not true seeds ; for instance, the seed of an ordinary flowering plant is a complete embryo, with root and shoot distinct, encapsuled in protective envelopes, but the " seed " of a fern is merely a single cell enclosed in a protective membrane. Consequently the term " spore " was used to distinguish the " seeds " of ferns, fungi, etc., from the true seeds of flowering plants. It was observed at a very early period that many parasitic Protozoa produced minute seed-like bodies, which conveyed the infection ; for those of Mysosporidia Johannes Miiller coined the term " psorosperms," but in general the term " spore " was used for these bodies, and the group in which the production of such spores is a very characteristic feature was named the Sporozoa. With the progress of further investigation, it was found that in a great many cases the essential part of the spore — namely, the encapsuled protoplasmic body — arose by a process of multiple fission, hence termed " sporulation," from a larger parent-body ; consequently the term " spore " has been used by many in a secon- dary sense to denote a minute germ formed by multiple fission, as in the merozoites of the malarial parasites. It is preferable to retain the word " spore " in its original significance as a seed-like body contained in a resistant envelope or sporo- cyst, and to use the word " germ " (equivalent to the German word Keim) for the protoplasmic body formed by sporulation, whether enclosed in a sporocyst or not. Unfortunately the word " germ " has become very much misused in popular language, and a less ambiguous term would perhaps be the word gymnospore for naked germs not enclosed in a protective envelope. There is no essential difference between a cyst and a spore, except their relation 166 THE PROTOZOA Sporocysts are often simply rounded or oval bodies, like cysts, but in some cases they exhibit special forms, and may be prolonged into spikes, tails, or processes of various kinds. In many cases the purely protective uses of the cyst may be combined with the performance of some special function within it. The contained organism may remain merely in a resting state within the cyst (hypnocyst) ; or it may utilize its leisure for the digestion of large quantities of ingested food - material, or for carrying on processes of reproduction or syngamy. As a process of similar nature to encystment, the formation of " sclerotia " in the Mycetozoa must be noted (see p. 240, infra). Active adaptation to changed conditions is seen in those forms in which the mode of life is bound up with changes of environment during different periods of the life-history — that is to say, more especially in parasitic forms, in which a change of hosts is necessary for the continuance of the species. In such forms there are in general two functions for which provision must be made : the first is that of multiplying in the host itself and keeping up a stock of the parasites in it ; the second is that of infecting a new host sooner or later (see p. 20, supra). In the most primitive types of para- sitic Protozoa there is no differentiation of form or structure corre- sponding to these two distinct functions ; but as a general rule a given parasite in a given host exhibits usually two forms or series of forms, which may be termed " multiplicative " and " propagative " respective ly (Doflein). Multiplicative forms may be wanting in some cases, as in the Eugregarines, but propagative forms are always found, being an absolute necessity for the continuance of the species. As examples of multiplicative and propagative forms, we may consider first species which are parasitic only on a single host in the course of the entire life-c}^cle. A typical example is seen in Coccidium (p. 342, Fig. 152), in which adult forms, " schizonts," multiply rapidly in the host by a process of multiple fission, " schi- zogony," a process which takes place unaccompanied by any sexual phenomena, and in which no resistant cysts are formed, since they are quite unnecessary. Sooner or later, however, generations of individuals, " sporonts," appear which do not multiply like the schizonts, but which, as gametocytes, give rise to the gametes. After a process of syngamy the zygote forms a resistant cyst within to a developmental cycle ; the " spores " of Bacteria are for the most part simply cysts, but are called spores on account of their small size. In this book the word "spore," when not qualified by any prefix, will be used to denote a resistant seed-like body protected by a tough envelope, or sporocyst, and the production or development of such bodies will be termed " spore-forma- tion." On the other hand, the production of numerous small cells or germs by multiple fission will be termed " sporulation." POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 167 which it multiplies to form a number of germs, which may or may not be enclosed in sporocysts, in different species. Cysts and spores pass out of the host, and do not develop further unless they are devoured by a second host of a species in which they are able to establish themselves ; if this event takes place, the spores germinate in the new host and produce a fresh cycle of infection, each germ when set free growing up into a schizont. In this case it is seen that the schizonts represent the multiplicative, the sporonts the propagative, phase, and that in the latter resistant cysts are pro- duced as a protection against the vicissitudes of the outer world, to which the parasite must expose itself during this phase of its life-history. An example of a parasite which infects two distinct species of hosts in the course of its life-history is furnished by the malarial parasites (p. 360, Fig. 156). In this case there are first of all schizonts which, like those of Coccidium, reproduce themselves by multiple fission, this part of the life-cycle being passed in the blood of a vertebrate host. Later, sporonts are generated which under normal circumstances are incapable of multiplication in the verte- brate host, or, indeed, of any further development, unless taken up by another host, in this case a mosquito, which takes them from the vertebrate host by sucking its blood. In the stomach of the new host the sporonts behave in a similar manner to those of Coccidium — that is to say, they give rise as gametocytes to gametes, which by syngamy produce zygotes. The zygotes grow and repro- duce themselves by multiple fission, forming an enormous number of minute germs or sporozoites, which do not develop further unless they pass from the mosquito back into the blood of a suitable vertebrate host, in which they start a fresh developmental cycle. The life-cycle of the malarial parasites shows that a given phase of a parasite is only to be regarded as multiplicative or propagative in relation to a particular host. In the vertebrate blood the schizont is the multiplicative, the sporont the propagative, phase. As soon, however, as the sporont passes into the mosquito, it becomes there the multiplicative phase which gives rise ultimately to the sporozoites, representing the propagative phase in the mosquito. The sporozoites in their turn, when they reach the blood of the vertebrate, develop there into schizonts. Thus one and the same stage in the life-cycle represents one phase in one host and another in another, according to circumstances. It should be noted further that in the life-cycle of the malarial parasites resistant cysts are unnecessary, since the parasite never comes out into the open, but passes the whole of its existence in one or the other of its two hosts ; consequently such cysts are not formed at any stage of the life- cycle in these forms. 168 THE PROTOZOA Another example of a parasite with alternation of hosts, in which the course of events is different from that of the malarial parasites, is furnished by the species of the genus Aggregata (p. 353). Here the schizonts are parasitic in crabs, and reproduce themselves by multiple fission without encystment to form naked germs, mero- zoites, which grow up into schizonts, and multiply again in the same way. If, however, the crab is devoured by a Cephalopod, the merozoites adapt themselves to their new surroundings and become sporonts, which produce gametes. The zygotes form resistant cysts in which they multiply to form spores enclosed in tough sporocysts. The resistant phases pass out of the Cephalopod in its fseces, and to develop further they must be devoured by a crab, in which they become schizonts again. In this case there is no special differentiation of propagative phases in the crab, but the same stage can serve both functions ; on the other hand, in the Cephalopod there is no multiplicative phase, but only a propagative phase with resistant cysts. 2. Polymorphism in Relation to Growth and Development of the Individual. — In Protozoa which multiply only by equal binary fission, as, for example, many Infusoria, there is practically no difference between young and old forms beyond a slight variation in size. An individual feeds, and in consequence grows slightly be37ond the size characteristic of the species to which it belongs. It then divides by equal binary fission into two individuals each slightly below the specific size, and they in their turn feed and grow and reproduce themselves by fission in due course. In other cases, however, j^oung and adult forms of a species can be clearly distinguished, and may differ in structure as well as in size. Beginning with reproduction by binary fission, the simplest case is where the adult individual divides into two unequal portions, so that parent and daughter can be distinguished, the former not appreciably smaller than ordinary full - grown, individuals, the latter, however, very much smaller ; it may be relatively minute. Examples of this type of reproduction are furnished by trypano- somes, a group in which all gradations may be found between equal and very unequal fission (Fig. 127). Still greater differences between parent and young individuals are seen in cases of gemma- tion— that is to say, where the offspring is set free in an undifferen- tiated condition, and acquires after separation from the parent the characters of the adult, as in Acinetaria. The greatest differences between young and old forms are seen, as might have been expected, in cases of reproduction by multiple fission or gemmation. In such cases the young forms produced often differ from the adult in structure and appearance, as well as in size. An example of multiple fission is furnished by the common POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 169 Trypanosoma lenisi of rats, in which two types of such fission are seen : either the multiplication of a small individual by repeated binary fission to form a " rosette " composed of several daughter- individuals (Fig. 127, J, K). or the separation of several small daughter-individuals from a large one (Fig. 127, F, G, H). In both cases the multiple fission is simply rapid and repeated binary fission. The 3Toung individuals resulting from the fission are sometimes crithidial in type (p. 294), and grow into the adult trypanosome- form. In multiple gemmation (sporulation) the parent body breaks up into a number, sometimes very large, of small or even very minute individuals, buds, or germs, usually given off from a more or less considerable mass of residual protoplasm, which degenerates and dies off. The buds when set free may become active at once, or they may pass first into a resting state to \vhich an active state succeeds at a later period. In the latter case they may form sporocysts, and become the spores already described. Within the sporocyst the minute germ may multiply further by fission. In the subclass Telosporidia of the Sporozoa, the contents of the spore may divide up in this way to form a variable number of slender sickle-shaped germs, for which Aime Schneider coined the term sporozoites, a term which has since been frequently applied in senses quite different to its original meaning. An active germ produced by sporulation is termed a swarm-spore, or zoospore, whether or not the active phase is preceded by a resting spore-stage. The swarm-spores of Protozoa may be of various types in different cases. The swarm-spore may be amoeboid and creep about by the aid of pseudopodia ; it is then termed an amozbula (or pseudopodiospore). It may be provided with one or more flagella as organs of locomotion, and is then termed a flagellula (or flagellispare). It may have a coat of cilia, as in the young stages of Acinetaria, and may then be termed a ciliospore. Lastly, the swarm-spore may be without organs of locomotion, whether perma- nent or temporary, and may progress by twisting and wriggling movements of the body as a whole, or by gliding forwards on its long axis in a manner similar to the gliding movements of gregarines ; swarm-spores of this type are specially characteristic of the Telo- sporidia amongst the Sporozoa, arising either by sporulation of a schizont (merozoites) or in the process of spore-formation after syngamy (sporozoites), and may be termed gregariniform swarm- spores or gregarinulce comprehensively. In some cases the swarm-spore may pass through more than one active phase, and exhibit different modes of locomotion in each. This is well seen in the Mycetozoa (p. 239), where the germination of the spore produces an amcebula, which may acquire a flagellum 170 THE PROTOZOA and become a flagellula ; after a time the flagellula settles down and becomes an amcebula again after loss of the flagellum. A very interesting point, in connection with the question of young and adult forms of Protozoa, is the occurrence of stages in the development which may be interpreted as recapitulative in the phylogenetic sense — that is to say, as representing past stages in the evolution of the species, in a manner comparable to the recapitu- lative larval or embryonic stages in the development of Metazoa. It is probable that such recapitulative stages are commoner in the development of Protozoa than has been generally supposed (compare Awerinzew, 47). The best-known instance is furnished by the ciliated larvse of Acinetaria (p. 459), indicating that this order is descended from a ciliate ancestor of the order Peritricha, a relation- ship fully confirmed by the similarity of their reproductive processes to those of other Infusoria. The crithidial phase that occurs so constantly in the development of trypanosomes (p. 299) is probabty to be regarded as a recapitulative form representing a type of structure antecedent in evolution to that of the tj^pical trypanosome- form. The frequent occurrence of flagellated swarm-spores in the development of Sarcodina (Foraminifera, p. 235 ; Radio laria, p. 254) probably has a phylogenetic significance, as pointed out by Jiutschli. Finally attention may be drawn to the remarkable series of forms in the ontogeny of Arcella described in the next chapter ; first the amcebula, then the Nudearia-stage, followed by the Pseudochlamys- stage, which grows finally into the adult Arcetta-iorro.. In the many cases where young forms are markedly different from the adult, it may be a difficult matter, as it often is in the case of Metazoa, to decide whether a given larval form is to be interpreted as recapitu- lative or merely adaptive ; but even in cases where the characters of a larval form have an obvious adaptive importance, as in the ciliated larvas of Acinetaria, atavism may be nevertheless a factor determining the particular form taken by the adaptive characters in question — that is to say, by the organs of locomotion in the example chosen. 3. Polymorphism in Relation to Sex. — The phenomena of sexual differentiation consist primarily of differences in size, structure, and other characteristics between the gametes, the cells which are con- cerned in the act of syngarny. Secondarily such differences may extend to other cell-individuals, both in the life-cycle of a Protozoon or in the body of a Metazoon. In the previous chapter it has been pointed out that, while in Metazoa the gametes at least are sharply differentiated in all cases, in the Protozoa every condition is found from perfect isogamy to a differentiation nearly as pronounced as that in the Metazoa. The question has been discussed in the last chapter whether or no sexual differentiation is to be regarded as POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 171 an inherent property of all living beings, as maintained by many high authorities. Whatever view be held with regard to the existence or non- existence of inherent, intrinsic sexual differences in living organisms,. it seems clear that the apparent sexual differentiation of the gametes is largely, perhaps purely, adaptive, and furnishes good examples of the principle of morphological differentiation of structure in relation to physiological division of labour. One gamete, termed " female," tends to be bulky and inert, storing up reserve- material in greater or less quantity, a provision (sit venia verbo /) for future requirements ; it is economical of substance, and but few are produced. The other gamete, termed " male," develops in the opposite direction in every respect ; it tends to be small and active, not weighted with superfluous material of any kind, but with motor mechanisms strongly developed ; it is prodigal of substance, and many are produced, but few are favoured by destiny. In extreme cases the female gamete is a relatively huge, inert cell, incapable of movement, crammed with foodstuffs ; the male is excessively minute, and is practically nothing but a nucleus which has its constituent parts packed into the smallest possible space, and with motor mechanisms attached to it. In reviewing the progressive differentiation of the gametes in Protozoa, it is convenient to treat separately those forms in which there is little or no ontogenetic differentiation from those in which there is a more or less pronounced difference between the young and adult forms. An example of the first type is seen in Copromonas (Fig. Ill), in which the gametes are ordinary individuals of the species, only differing in that their nuclei have undergone a process of reduction. Good examples of monomorphic forms are furnished also by the Infusoria, a group in which a species may be free-swim- ming, or may be more or less permanently attached and sessile in habit. In the free-swimming ciliate Infusoria, sexual differences in the conjugants are frequently not discernible ; if they exist, they can only be inferred from the fact that syngamy takes place, or from subsequent behaviour of the individuals after conjugation, as, for instance, the fact observed by Calkins, that in Paramecium one ex- conjugant multiplies much more rapidly than the other. In other cases differences of size more or less pronounced are exhibited by the conjugants (Doflein, 111). As pointed out above, differences of structure have also been noted in some cases between the stationary and migratory pronuclei produced by a conjugant. Collin (50), however, was unable to find the slightest morphological differentiation of the conjugating pronuclei of Anoplophrya. In the sedentary Infusoria, sexual differentiation may be as little 172 THE PROTOZOA apparent as in the free-swimming species, as, for instance, in Acinetaria, where conjugation can take place between two adjacent individuals each on its own stalk. But in the Vorticellids special free-swimming individuals, microconjugants, are developed which are budded off from a sedentary individual, and then acquire cilia, swim off, and conjugate with another sedentary individual (Fig. 78). It seems obvious that this state of affairs is an adaptation to the exigencies of a sedentary life to insure cross- fertilization analogous to the formation of complemental males in the Cirripedes. The free - swimming microconjugants of Vorti- cellids are commonly termed " males," but it is open to question whether, strictly speaking, they deserve that title. It is in species with marked differences between young and adult forms that the greatest differentiation of the gametes occurs, though by no means universally even in such forms. In polymorphic species of this t3rpe, three different conditions can be distinguished, to which reference has been made in the previous chapter. FIG. 78.— Vorticella \micro- \ Macrogamy — that is to say, syngainv stoma, Ehrb. On the left , , ..,? . ,. ., , /A. ' • " an ordinary, sedentary between lull-grown individuals of the species. individual (macroconju- In this type the gametes appear to be always gant) with two microcon- f ,, -aimi'lar QH far ns iq known • PX juganta (m.c.) attached Pe lar' so as 1S Known > es> to it, one of which (to amples are seen in Actinophrys (Fig. 71), the left) is in the act of th chromidiogamy of Arcella (Fig. 80), and conjugation. On the & J right is an individual possibly NoctllUCd (p. 279). with the stalk contracted £. Microgamy — syngamy between the and the body enclosed ,.,./,, , J . , in a cyst. N, Macro- youngest individuals, products of the rapid peristome multiplication of an adult. Conjugation of swarm-spores is by far the commonest type of syngamy in Protozoa, and may be re- garded as the normal type. In this case there is usually complete isogamy, as in Foraminifera (p. 235), sometimes slight anisogamy, as in Radiolaria (p. 254, Fig. 108). 3. Mixed microgamy and macrogamy— that is to say, syngamy between a full-sized adult individual on the one hand and a minute individual, a swarm-spore, on the other hand. This type may be regarded as derived from microgamy by progressive, and finally complete, inhibition of the divisions that produce the swarm-spores in one sex — possibly also with an enhanced tendency to such divisions in the other sex. Thus in Arcella, as described in the previous nucleus ; P, and adoral ciliary spiral. After Hickson. POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 173 chapter, the niacrauicebae produced are fewer than the micramcebse' showing that the tendency to division is more restricted in the former case than in the latter. Again, in the development of Centro- pyxis, as described by Schaudinn (131), formation of gametes is initiated by a process of multiple fission combined with formation of secondary nuclei from chromidia, as in Arcella, and in this way a number of amoebulse are produced. The amcebulae from one Centropyxis remain undivided, as macramcebse, while those pro- duced from another adult divide each into four micramoebae ; syngamy takes place later between a niicramceba and a niacrainceba, after each has secreted for itself a shell. When the inhibition of the gamete-forming divisions is quite complete in one sex, the result is the most pronounced type of anisogamy occurring in Protozoa ; and, conversely, it may be said that all cases of extreme anisogamy in Protozoa are of this type. In Metazoa the disproportion in the size of the gametes is mainly due to the relatively enormous growth of the gametocyte, partly also to the inequality of the four cells produced by the reducing divisions, in the female sex. In Protozoa with extreme differen- tiation of gametes, on the other hand, such as the Coccidia and Hsemosporidia, the gametocytes do not differ greatly, sometimes not at all, in size, though the female gametocyte may contain more reserve food - material, and consequently less protoplasm. The disproportion of the gametes is due almost entirely to the fact that in the female sex the garnetocyte does not divide, but becomes a single niacrogamete, while the male gametocyte sporulates to produce a larger or smaller number of microgametes. Very instructive in this respect is the comparison of the formation of the gametes in the gregarines (p. 331) and the coccidia (p. 346) respectively, two groups of Protozoa which are certainly closely allied to one another. In such a form as Coccidium (Fig. 152), the gametocytes remain separate one from the other, and the male gametocyte forms numerous minute microgametes which swarm away ; the female gametocyte, on the other hand, becomes a macro- gamete after going through a process of reduction, and is fertilized by a single niicrogamete. In gregarines, however, the gametocytes associate in couples, either before or after attaining their full size, and become surrounded by a common cyst, within which each gametocyte sporulates to produce a large number of small gametes. The gametes of gregarines can be arranged in a series, showing marked anisogamy at one end, complete isoganiy at the other. Thus in PterocepMlus (Fig. 79, A, B) the gametes are very unequal in size, and the microgametes are motile, the macrogametes not so. In Stijlorliynclms the gametes of opposite sexes are equal in size, but in one sex the gametes are motile, in the other not (Fig. 79, 174 THE PROTOZOA C, D). In Monocystis (Fig. 79, G — L) the gametes differ slightly in size in the two sexes, but have no organs of locomotion in either case. In Urospora (Fig. 79, E, F) the gametes are not appreciably different in size, but in those of one sex the nuclei are slightly smaller than in those of the other. Finally, in Gregarina, Diplodina, and many other genera, no difference whatever is perceptible between the two gametes that perform syngamy. In those gre- garines which have dimorphic gametes, syngamy is always between two dissimilar individuals of distinct parentage, and it may be inferred, therefore, that in all cases alike the gametes that unite are derived from distinct gametocytes. H I PIG. 79. — Gametes of different species of gregarines. A, Male, B, female, gamete of Pterocephalus (Nina) gracilis. G and D, Stylorliynclius longicollis : C, male gamete ; D, male gamete attaching itself to a female. E, Male, F, female, gamete of Urospora lagidis, showing differences in the size of the nuclei. G — L, Monocystis sp. : G, male gamete ; H, female ; /, union of the two gametes, the nuclei still separate ; J, the two nuclei fusing ; K, the zygote becoming elongated ; L, the zygote has taken the form of the spore, and in the synkaryon a centrosome has appeared, preparatory to division. A and B after Leger and Duboscq ; 0 and D after Leger ; E — L after Brasil. From a comparison of the life-cj^cles of the Coccidia and the Gregarines respectively (see p. 354, infra), it is highly probable that in the common ancestor of the two groups the gametocytes were separate, as in Coccidium, and each produced numerous gametes, as in Gregarines. Since the gametes had to find each other, by a process of adaptation, those of one sex became smaller and more motile (microga metes), while those of the other sex were more bulky and inert (niacrogametes). In the course of their evolution from this primitive ancestral type, the Coccidia, with some exceptions presently to be noted, retained the habit of the gametocytes, remaining separate, and the specialization of the gametes became greatly increased, as an adap- POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 175 tation to this condition, the female gametocj'te ceasing to divide and becoming a single macrogamete, while the male gametocyte produced a swarm of minute, motile microgarnetes. Only in a few Coccidia, exemplified by the genus Adelea (Fig. 154), did the gametocytes acquire the habit of association before forming gametes, a habit which led in this case to a reduction of the number of micro- gametes produced to four, of which one fertilizes the macrogamete, while the other three perish. It is clear that the formation of microga metes in close proximity to the macrogamete increases vastly the chance of the gametes finding each other, and renders unnecessary the production of a swarm of microga metes. In the gregarines, on the other hand, the ganietocytes acquired the habit of associating and forming their gametes in a common cyst. Under these circumstances it becomes a certaint}' that a gamete of either sex will find a partner if the gametes of each sex are in equal numbers. Consequently there is seen in gregarines a progressive tendency, illustrated by the examples cited above, to disappearance of those characters of the gametes which are an adaptation to the necessity of the sexes coming together, culminating in production of gametes of opposite sexes which are perfectly similar. On this view the isogamy seen in many gregarines is a secondary condition brought about by the gradual obliteration of adaptive differences between the gametes of opposite sexes, under circumstances which render such differences unnecessary. The comparison of the gamete-formation in different species of gregarines furnishes an instance of a progressive levelling-down of structural differentia- tion of gametes, under conditions in which no such differentiation is required, until an anisogamy undoubtedly primitive has been reduced secondarily to a perfect isogamy. This has led to the view expressed in many quarters, that anisogarny is in all cases a primitive, isogamy a secondary, condition. The case of the gregarines is by no means adequate, however, to support so sweeping a generalization ; the only conclusion that can be drawn from it is that adaptive differences tend to disappear when the conditions to which they are an adaptation no longer exist ; and the very fact that the obvious structural differentiation between the gametes vanishes in such a case is of itself a proof that such differentiation is not the expression of intrinsic constitutional differences between the gametes, for such differences could not be annihilated merely by changed conditions of environment. There can be no doubt that anisogamy in the form of visible structural differences between the gametes of opposite sexes must have been acquired very early by gametes as an adaptation to their functions. On the other hand, it is highly improbable, to say the least, that the earliest gametes, when the sexual process was first invented, so to speak, were structurally differentiated. It must, of course, be postulated that the gametes possess ^.K.-h intrinsic constitutional differences as would account for their behaviour— that is to say. their mutual attraction and union ; and in this sense anisogamy may be considered as a universal and primitive phenomenon. But the number of cases in which gametes are perfectly isogamous, as regards visible struc- tural or other differences, is a sufficient proof that purely constitutional anisogamy does not necessarily express itself in perceptible differentiation of the gametes. 176 THE PROTOZOA So far only primary sexual differences — that is to say, those between the actual gametes — have been discussed ; but, as has been stated above, the sexual differentiation may be thrown back, as it were, into generations preceding the gametes. Thus, it is by no means uncommon, especially in Coccidia and Hsemosporidia, for the gametocytes to be clearly distinguishable according to sex, the female gametocyte having the cytoplasm loaded with reserve food- material, and usually with a smaller nucleus, while the male gameto- cyte has the cytoplasm clear and free from inclusions, and the nucleus is relatively large. In Adelea the male gametocyte is very much smaller than the female (Fig. 154). In Cydospora caryolytica, parasitic in the mole, the sexual differentiation is carried back through generations antecedent to the gametocytes, and, according to Schaudinn (147), male and female merozoites can be distinguished. The various types of polymorphism that have been discussed in this chapter may be classified as follows : 1. Adaptive polymorphism. (1) Passive. (2) Active. 2. Ontogenetic polymorphism. (1) In size alone. (2) In structure also. (a) Recapitulative. (b) Adaptive. 3. Sexual polymorphism. (1) Primary (of gametes). (2) Secondary. (a) Of gametocytes alone. (b) Of other generations also. In the task of unravelling the complicated life-cycles of Protozoa, it is of the greatest importance to distinguish clearly the significance of the various forms that are seen, and there can be no doubt that failure to do so has often been a source of error. With some writers it is an obsession to ascribe all differences to sex, and to interpret, for instance, in the development of trypanosomes, all bulky forms as females, and all slender, active forms as males, quite regardless of the behaviour of the forms thus designated. It is far more probable that in the majority, at least, of such cases the bulky forms are related to the multiplicative, the slender, active forms to the propagative function, respectively, and that the differences between them have no relation whatever to sexual functions, either in the forms themselves or in their descendants. POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 177 B. LIFE-CYCLES. In the foregoing section the various forms have been described under which one and the same species of Protozoon may occur in the course of its life-history, and in response to the conditions of its particular mode of life. In some species it has been seen that the changes of form and structure are so slight that the species are practically monomorphic, in the sense that they can be identified without difficulty in any active phase of life ; no species is absolutely monomorphic, since, in addition to resting states, differences in size due to growth, at least, will always be found. Other species, on the other hand, are polymorphic to such an extent that their specific identity in different phases can only be determined by tracing their development in a continuous sequence ; and in extreme cases of polymorphism the life-history becomes a varied pageant of dis- similar forms succeeding each other in more or less regular order, determined largely, if not entirely, by the conditions of the environs ment. In a former chapter the distinction has been drawn between a developmental cycle, consisting of a recurrent series of different forms, and the complete life-cycle, consisting of the whole series of forms or phases which appear between one act of synganry and the next. The complete life-cycle may comprise many develop- mental cycles. As a concrete example of a life-cycle comprising a great number of different forms, and in which also the development may follow more than one course, the life-cycle of Arce.Ua vulgaris may be selected (Fig. 80). The life-history of this form has now been made known in detail by the combined labours of many investigators, amongst whom Hertwig (65), Elpatiewsky (144), Swarczewsky (101), and Khainsky (145), must be specially mentioned. The form which may be taken as the starting-point of the life- cycle is a minute, amoeba-like form, with a single nucleus (Fig. 80, A). The amcebula, when set free, feeds, grows, and becomes after a time spherical in form with radiate pseudopodia (Fig. 80, B) ; in this stage it resembles a species of the genus Nudearia. After a time the Nudearia-ioTm secretes a shell, and now resembles an example of the genus Pseudochlamys (Fig. 80, C). With further growth, chromidia are given off from the nucleus into the cytoplasm, the nucleus divides into two, and the animal thus assumes gradually the characters of the adult Arcetta (Fig. 32 ; Fig. 80, D). It has a chitinous shell, circular in outline, flattened in profile-view, and slightly concave on the under-side, in the centre of which is a large circular aperture through which the pseudopodia stream out. The body-protoplasm contains two nuclei situated approximately at 12 178 THE PROTOZOA FIG. 80. — Combined diagram to show the different methods of reproduction and synganiy in the life-cycle of Arcella. A- — D, The four stages in the ontogeny : A, the arncebula ; B, the Nudearia-ioTm ; % C, the Pseudochlamys-iorm ; D, the adult Arcella. D — G, Stages in the vegetative reproduction by fission : E, the protoplasm beginning to stream out of the shell of the parent-individual ; F, division of the nuclei of the parent, and formation of the shell of the daughter ; G, migration ui the daughter-nuclei into the daughter-individual and completion of the division. [Continued at foot of p. 179. POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 179 the opposite ends of a diameter of the circular body, and an irregular ring of chromidia forming a dense chromidial net. Under certain conditions Arcella becomes encysted, forming a spherical cyst with a tough impervious membrane within the shell, closing the mouth of it. The adult Arcella reproduces itself by a variety of methods, which, however, may be reduced to two principal types : binary fission, producing daughter-individuals (Arcellce) of approximately equal size ; and gemmation, producing small amcebulee such as have been described above as the starting-point of the ontogeny. The production of the anioebulas may or may not be in relation to syngamy, which, when it occurs, may be of one or the other of two distinct types — karyogamy between amcebulee, or chromidiogamy between adult Arcellce. Binary fission (Fig. 80, D — G) is the ordinary type of reproduction during the " vegetative "' life in the summer months, when the animal is actively feeding, growing, and reproducing itself. In the process of binary fission, the two nuclei divide by a form, of karyo kinesis (Fig. 57, p. 110). A quantity of the body-protoplasm streams out through the mouth of the shell, together with some of the chromidia, and one of the two daughter-nuclei of each pair also passes out of the shell. The daughter-^ rce^a thus formed secretes for itself a new shell, and separates from the parent-individual, which retains the old shell. Thus in binary fission both nuclei and chromidia take part, the former dividing by mitosis, while the latter are subjected to a roughly equal partition. The ordinary binucleate form of Arcella may become multi- Pic. 80 — continued: All the figures below the level of D represent reproduction by gemmation : those to the left are reproductive processes not combined with syngamy ; those on the right show the methods of syngamy. H, Formation of secondary nuclei and buds which are- liberated singly from the parent as arncebulae (a.). I, P^apid bud-formation, leading to almost the whole protoplasm of the parent being used up to form them. J, Bud-formation external to the shell ; the protoplasm has streamed out, leaving only a small residual portion, containing the primary nuclei, in the shell ; the extruded protoplasm producing buds with formation of secondary nuclei. K, L, Formation of gametes and karyogamy : K, formation of rnacrarnrebae ( ? ) ; L, formation of micramcebse ( $ ) ; the gametes ( ? and $ ) pass out of the shell and copulate (?) to produce the zygote or amcebula (a.). M — Q, Chromidiogamy : M , two Arcellce coming together ; N, the proto- plasm, with the chromidia and degenerating primary nuclei, of the one passes •over into the shell of the other ; 0, after intermingling of the chromidia, the protoplasm becomes equally distributed between the two shells ; P, the chromidia give rise to secondary nuclei ; Q, buds (amcebulse, a.) aro formed and liberated. Other letters : n., nucleus ; n.1, primary nucleus ; n.~, secondary nucleus ; chr., chromidia ; sh., shell ; o, mouth of slu-ll ; a., amcebulse. Modified from a diagram by Swarczewsky. 180 THE PROTOZOA nucleate by formation of secondary nuclei from the chromidia, as described above (Fig. 32, p. 67). The secondary nuclei are entirely distinct in their origin from the primary nuclei, which degenerate when the secondary nuclei are formed. A multinucleate Arcella may reproduce itself by binary fission after division of each secon- dary nucleus by karyokinesis ; of each pair of secondary daughter- nuclei, one goes to one d&ughter-Arcella, the other to the other, so that each daughter -Arcella has the same number of nuclei exactly (Hertwig, 65). Gemmation takes place in multinucleate forms containing a number of secondary nuclei. A portion of the body-protoplasm becomes centred round each secondary nucleus, and thus a small cell is formed, which becomes amoeboid, quits the parent-body, and cither grows directly into an adult Arcella by the successive stages described above, or before doing so performs an act of syngamy. Gemmation, as above described, takes place in three different ways, as follows : 1. The buds are formed one at a time, and the parent-individual persists and continues to reproduce itself (simple gemmation, Fig. 80, H). 2. The whole body of the Arcella breaks up into numerous buds which swarm out of the shell, leaving behind in it the two primary nuclei, with a small quantity of residual protoplasm. The parent- individual then dies off, apparently, but it is possible that it may in some cases regenerate the body again. This process of multiple gemmation differs only from the simple gemmation described in the previous paragraph in being, as it were, greatly intensified, taking place with such rapidity as to use up almost the entire protoplasm at once (Fig. 80, /). 3. The protoplasm of the Arcella, with the chromidia, streams out of the shell, leaving in it only the degenerating primary nuclei. Outside the shell the amoeboid body forms secondary nuclei, and breaks up by multiple fission into a number of amoebulse. This process differs from that described in the foregoing paragraph only in taking place outside the shell (Fig. 80, J). As already stated, the amoebulge formed by multiple gemmation may either be agametes, which develop directly into the adult form, or gametes, which first go through a process of syngamy which has been described in the previous chapter (Fig. 80, K, L). Both agametes and gametes arise in the same manner ; the gametes, however, show sexual differentiation as regards size. The zygote is an amcebula which develops into the adult form in the same way as an agamete. In addition to syngamy (karyogamy) between amcebulae, chromidiogamy between adult Arcellce also occurs, as already described ; the result in this case also is the formation of a POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 181 number of amoebulae which develop into the adult in the usual way (Fig. 80, M—Q). Arcella thus furnishes a surprising example of diversity both in the courses taken by the development and in the methods of syngamy. We may now consider some further complications of the life-cycle, which in other Protozoa takes usually a more definite and stereotyped course, less liable to the variations in one and the same species seen in Arcella. One of the commonest complications introduced into the life- cycles of Protozoa is the differentiation of sexual and non-sexual cycles. In the account given above of the life-cycle of Arcella, it has been seen that an adult may produce amoebulse which as agametes can grow up directly into the adult form without syngamy, or which as gametes copulate before developing further. The adult Arcellce, however, do not, so far as is known, exhibit any differentiation in relation to these developmental differences, the form that produces gametes being perfectly similar to that which produces agametes. But in other cases there may be two distinct forms of the adult individuals : the one, known as the sporont or gamont, which gives rise to gametes ; the other, termed the schizont or agamont, which produces agametes.* In this way an alternation of generations is brought about in which the life-cycle as a whole becomes a combination of two distinct types of developmental cycle —one known as schizogony, in which no sexual processes occur ; the other as sporogony, in which at one stage gamete-formation is followed by synganry. An example of alternation of generations in a free-living form is seen in the life-cycle of Trichosphcerium (Fig. 81), as described by Schaudinn (146). The adult phase is a relatively large amoeboid form, approximately spherical in contour, and having the body surrounded by a gelatinous envelope in which at intervals there are apertures through which the lobose pseudopodia are extruded ; the * The word " sporont " was a modification suggested by Butschli for the term " sporadin," originally coined by Aime Schneider to denote the adult spore- forming phase in the cephaline Gregarines (p. 339), and to distinguish it from the earlier phase which still bears the epimerite, known as a cephalont (" cephalin," Schneider). Since the production of resistant spores in Gregarines and allied orders, such as the Coccidia, is accompanied by sexual phenomena, the word " sporont " has undergone both an extension and a change in its original meaning, and has corne to be used to denote a gamete-producing form. In his memoir on Trichosphcerium, Schaudinn used the word " sporont " in this sense, and coined the term schizont to denote the agamete-producing form, and further coined the words "schizogony" and " sporogony " to denote the non-sexual and sexual cycles respectively. Since the word " sporont " in the secondary meaning thereby given to it has reference solely to the occurrence of syngamy and not to the forma- tion of resistant spores, and since these two processes are not always, though frequently, combined in the same series of generations, it would perhaps be better to replace the terms " schizont " and " sporont " by " agamont " and " gamont " respectively, were it not that this leads to the substitution of the extremely cacopho- nous words "agamogony " and "gamogonj^" for "schizogony" and "sporogony." 182 THE PROTOZOA FIG. 81. — General life-cycle of Trichosphcerium sieboldi, as an example of dimor- phism in the adult condition combined with alternation of generations. A, Schizont or non-sexual form, distinguished by the possession of rod-like bodies in the envelope (compare F) ; this form may multiply by simple or multiple fission (plasmotomy) in a " vegetative " manner, or'by the process of sporulation (schizogony) seen in B and G, in order to give rise to the gamete- producing form ; B, division of the body of the schizont into as many cells (" sporogonia ") as there are nuclei ; G, rupture of the envelope and escape of the sporogonia as active amoebulae, each of which forms an envelope for [Contimied at foot of p. 183. POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 183 protoplasmic body is a multinucleate plasmodium. There are two forms of the adult — the schizonts (agamonts), which are dis- tinguished by the presence of rod-like spicules in the envelope (Fig. 81, A) ; and the sporonts (gamonts), which have no spicules (Fig. 81, F). The schizonts reproduce themselves either in the free state or after encystment. In the free state the reproduction is by simple or multiple plasniotoniy — that is to say, by division of the plasmodium into two or more portions. In the encysted con- dition the schizonts divide by multiple fission into as many daughter- cells as there are nuclei in the plasmodium (Fig. 81, B), and each daughter-cell is set free as an amoebula (agamete), which may either grow up into a sporont, or into a schizont which repeats the process of multiplication by schizogony. The sporont may reproduce itself in the free state in the same manner as the schizont, byplasmotonry, or it may become encysted, and then it multiplies in a manner totally different from that seen in the corresponding phase of the schizont. The nuclei of the encysted sporont multiply rapidly by karyokinesis (Fig. 81, G) until there are a very large number of minute nuclei ; very probably the final divisions in this process of multiplication are reducing divisions. The protoplasmic body then becomes divided up into as many minute cells as there are nuclei, and each of the daughter-cells acquires two flagella, and is set free as a flagellula or gamete (Fig. 81 , H). The gametes, which are not differentiated in any way, copulate with those derived from another sporont, and lose their flagella (Fig. 81, / — -L) ; the zygote is a small amoebula which grows up into a schizont (Fig. 81, L, M, N, A). An alternation of generations similar to that of Trichosphcerium occurs also in the Fora minif era (p. 234). Here the schizont contains numerous nuclei, which multiply by fission as the animal grows, and also chromidia ; it reproduces itself by a process of multiple fission, breaking up into a number of amoebulae (agametes), each with a nucleus and chroniidia. The amcebulse creep out of the old shell, which is abandoned, and each amoebula secretes a shell for itself, FIG. 81 continue! : itself and grows, with multiplication of the nuclei (D and E) into the gamete- producing form or sporont (F), similar in general structure to the schizont (A), but without rods in the envelope ; the sporont may also multiply in a vegeta- tive manner by simple or multiple fission, or it may form gametes in the manner seen in G and H ; G, active multiplication of the nuclei of the sporont to form a great number of very small nuclei, after which the body divides up into as many minute cells as there are nuclei ; these cells are the gametes, and each gamete acquires two flagella ; H, rupture of the envelope to set free the gametes, which swarm out and conjugate ; /, conjugation of two gametes, more highly magnified ; ./, after fusion of the bodies of the gametes the flagella are thrown off ; K, fusion of the two pronuclei ; L, complete zygote, which forms an envelope and grows, with multiplication of the nuclei (M, N) into the schizont (^4), which was taken as a starting-point of the life-cycle. After Schaudinn (146). 184 THE PROTOZOA and groAvs up either into a sporont or into a schizont again. The sporont possesses only a single large nucleus, the primary nucleus originally present in the amoebula, and a great number of chromidia. When the sporont enters upon the reproductive phase, the primary nucleus degenerates, and an immense number of secondary nuclei are formed from the chromidia. Then the protoplasmic body divides up to form as many cells as there are secondary nuclei. The cells thus produced are the gametocytes, each of which divides by mitosis to form four small cells, the gametes, which acquire flagella, swim off, and copulate with gametes produced from another sporont ; there appear, however, to be no differences exhibited by the gametes of opposite sexes. The zjrgote forms a shell and grows into a sporont. Since the zygote is very much smaller than the amcebula produced by schizogony, the shell formed by it is also smaller. This shell is later the initial chamber of the polythalamous adult, and thus leads to a dimorphism in the adult shells, so-called ' ' micro- sphseric " and " megalosphaeric '" forms (p. 235) — a dimorphism related, in this case, not to the manner in which the adult individuals reproduce themselves, but to the manner in which they have been reproduced. In free-living forms the alternation of generations is related to external conditions of the environment, as, for example, seasonal changes ; the sexual generation may appear in the autumn, while the non-sexual generations are found in the spring and summer. In parasitic forms, on the other hand, alternation of generations is of common occurrence in relation to a change of hosts. Thus, in the life-cycle of the Coccidia (Fig. 152), described above, the multi- plicative phases reproduce non-sexually by schizogony, as the so- called " endogenous cycle " ; the propagative phases are preceded by gamete-formation, leading to spore-formation, the so-called " exogenous cycle." In Hsemosporidia, such as the malarial parasites, for example (Fig. 156), the alternation of generations is related to an alternation of hosts ; the non-sexual, schizogonous generations take their course in the blood of the vertebrate host, in which the gamonts are produced, but do not develop further unless taken up by the invertebrate host, in which alone gametes are formed and sporogony takes place. The phrase " alternation of generations " must not be construed into meaning that the sexual and non-sexual generations succeed each other in a regular alternation. On the contrary, such regular alternation, if it occurs at all, is rare, and as a rule a single sexual generation is followed by several, or it may be by an immense number, of non-sexual generations before the sexual cycle recurs. The malarial parasite can multiply non-sexually in the blood for many years without dying out ; and if propagated artificially from one POLYMORPHISM AND LIFE-CYCLES 185 vertebrate host to another, it is probable that it could dispense alto- gether with the sexual cycle, which occurs only in the invertebrate host, so far as is known. In the suborder Eugregarinse of the Gregarinoidea an opposite condition occurs, since these forms possess only the sexual cycle, sporogony, and there is no non-sexual schizogony. Whether this condition is to be regarded as a primitive state of things, or whether the Eugregarines are to be regarded as having dispensed with the non-sexual process of schizogony seen in the allied suborder Schizogregarinae, must remain an open question. A further caution is also necessary with regard to the alternation of generations in Protozoa. From the known facts of the malarial life-cycle, in which an alternation of sexual and non-sexual cycles is correlated with an alternation of hosts, it has often been assumed, implicitly or explicitly, that a similar alternation of sexual and non- sexual cycles must occur in other cases where there is an alternation of hosts, as in the case of trypanosomes, and in particular that the sexual cycle must occur in the invertebrate host. This assumption is by no means justified, however, and has been the cause of much unsound or unwarranted interpretation of the facts, especially as regards the significance of the various forms of trypanosomes, which are continually ascribed to sexual differentiation on no other ground than the bare fact of form-differentiation, as pointed out in the previous chapters. Up to the present there is not a single case in which sexual phenomena in trypanosomes have been described in a perfectly satisfactory manner, free from all doubt ; and, on the other hand, it has been asserted that the synganiy occurs in the vertebrate host in these parasites (Ottolenghi, 492). Bibliography. — For references see p. 480. CHAPTER X THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA THE Protozoa, as has been seen in the previous chapters, exhibit a wide range of structural differentiation, fro informs which exemplify a cell reduced to its simplest essential parts, nucleus and cytoplasm, to others in which the cytoplasmic elements give rise in different parts of the body to a great variety of structures and organs, each subservient to some special function. In the Protozoa of simplest structure, therefore, the study of the physiological activities of the organism coincides, more or less, with that of the elementary properties of the living substance, protoplasm, its peculiar powers of metabolism and transmutation of energy ; while in Protozoa of complicated organization the mechanism and mode of action of the various cell-organs must be considered in relation to their structure, so far as it can be made out. It is not possible to discuss adequately, in the limited space of a chapter, the intricate problems, for the most part still very obscure, of the vital mechanisms of elementary organisms. The matter can only be dealt with here on broad general lines, and those desirous of studying the subject further must consult the references given to special works or memoirs.* On the other hand, the special functions and mechanisms of the various cell-organs (" organelte") have been considered in describing the structure of the organs themselves. In this chapter, therefore, it is intended rather to fill the gaps left in previous chapters ; and the physiological problems presented by the Protozoa will be sketched in brief outline under the following headings : (1) Nutrition and Assimilation ; (2) Respiration ; (3) Secre- tion and Excretion ; (4) Transmutation of Energy ; (5) Reactions to Stimuli and to Changes of Medium or Environment ; (6) Degenera- tion and Regeneration. * For works dealing with the physiology of Protozoa in a general way the student should consult especially Verworn, " Allgemeine Physiologie," Jena, 1907 (a trans- lation of the second German edition, under the title " General Physiology," was published by Macmillan, 1899) ; Prowazek, " Einfiihrung in die Physiologie der Einzelligen," Leipzig (Teubner), 1910 ; the chapter on the general physiology of the Protozoa in Donein's " Lehrbuch der Protozoenkunde " ; and the excellent summary of methods and results of physiological investigations upon Protozoa given by Putter in Tigerstedt's " Handbuch der Physiologischen Methodik." 186 THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 187 ] . Nutrition and Assimilation. — Living organisms, considered generally, exhibit a great variety of methods of nutrition, which may be classified into two main groups ; bearing in mind, however, that in all classifications of living beings, or of their vital properties, any groups or classes that can be distinguished are always connected by gradual and imperceptible transitions, and that consequently forms will present themselves which, owing either to their transi- tional nature or to the imperfect state of our knowledge concerning them, can only be assigned to one or the other group in a manner as arbitrary as the statement that the 21st of June is the first day of summer — a difficulty which in no way invalidates the distinction between spring and summer. In the first place, many organisms can build up the complex protein-substances, of which the living protoplasm is composed, from simpler chemical materials. Of this type there are found among Protozoa, as already stated, two types of nutrition : first, the holophytic, or plant-like, in which the organism is able, by means of special cell-organs, to utilize the energy of the sunlight in order to synthesize its body-substance from the simplest chemical materials, such as water, carbon dioxide, and mineral salts, through a series of substances in an ascending scale of chemical complexity ; * secondly, the saprophytic type, in which the body contains no visible organs subserving the function of nutrition, but the organism is able to build up its protoplasm from food- materials consisting of organic substances in solution which are far less complex chemically than the body-proteins. In the second place, many organisms cannot build up their body- substance from materials of simpler chemical constitution, but are entirely dependent on a supply of protein-substance ready-made, which they obtain either by ingesting and digesting other living organisms in the holozoic method, or by living as parasites at the expense of other creatures. These two methods graduate into one another, since many parasites simply devour portions of the bodies of their hosts in a holozoic manner, but the majority of parasites absorb fluid nutriment from their hosts in an osmotic manner ; hence it is convenient to distinguish holozoic and osmotic parasites. Considering these various methods of nutrition, it is seen that, from the point of view of the nature of the food, those which ingest solid food-particles (holozoic forms) can be distinguished from those which absorb their food in a diffused or dissolved condition (holo- phytic and saprophytic forms and osmotic parasites). From the point of view of the structure of the organism, those which possess special organs of nutrition (holozoic and holophytic forms) can be distinguished from those which possess none (saprophytic forms and osmotic parasites). 188 THE PROTOZOA (a) Holophytic Nutrition. — The characteristic of this type of nutrition is that the organism contains special pigments by means of which it is able to decompose C02 in the sunlight, setting free the oxygen and retaining the carbon, which is built up in union Avith other elements derived from water and mineral inorganic salts. The pigments, termed comprehensively chromophyll, are contained in bodies termed " chromatophores," which occur in diverse forms and varying numbers in different species, and which multiply by division when the cell divides. The chromoplryll-pigments are of various tints — yellow, brown, green, blue-green, etc. --but the commonest tint is the green chlorophyll, similar to that character- istic of plant-cells. A blood-red pigment, termed hcematochrome, occurs in some flagellates — e.g., Hcematococcus ; it appears to be a modification of chlorophyll produced under certain conditions (see Reichenow, 97 -5). For the details of the complicated process of the sjnithesis of •chemical substances in the holophytic mode of nutrition, the student is referred to botanical textbooks dealing with plant-physiology. There appears to be no essential difference between the assimilative processes of holophytic Protozoa and of ordinary plant-cells. A characteristic product of holophytic nutrition is seen in the forma- tion of amyloid substances, the most important of which are starch (amylum), and an allied substance known as " paramylum," which differs from starch in some of its reactions, notably in that it is not coloured blue with iodine. Paramylum is of more frequent occur- rence in Protozoa than true starch. The amyloid substances occur in characteristic masses in the cytoplasm (see especially Biitschli, 153). The chromatophores of Protozoa contain usually smah1 refringent bodies termed pyrenoids, which also multiply by division. The pyrenoids are often surrounded by a coat or envelope of paramylum, and appear to be the centres of the production of amyloid substance. Many flagellates with green chromatophores combine holophytic with saprophytic nutrition. Examples of such " mixotrophic " forms are seen in the genus Euglena (Zumstein, 223), the species of which flourish best in A medium containing organic substances, and cannot maintain themselves in pure water. Euglena viridis was shown by Khawkine to be able to live for a considerable period in the dark in media containing organic substances, but did not lose its green colour and did not multiply. E. gracilis, on the other hand, in Zumstein's experiments, lost its green colour and passed into an Astasia-like phase in the dark, or even in the light when placed in solutions very rich in organic substances, nourishing itself as a saprophyte. When the Astasia-iorm. was exposed to the light, in solutions containing a small amount •of organic matter, it became green again and passed back into the Euglena- phase. The degree to which the species of Euglena can adapt themselves lo a purely saprophytic life would appear to vary in different cases. In the •colourless forms the chromatophores lose their chlorophyll, and remain as colourless leucoplasts. The combination of holozoic and holophytic nutrition has been noted above (p. 15). THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 189 (6) Holozoic Nutrition. — In this type of assimilation three series of events must be distinguished, each of which may be effected by means of special organs : the capture and ingestion of the prey ; its digestion ; and lastly the rejection from the body of the non- nutritive residue (defsecation). The methods of food-capture and ingestion have been dealt with above in a general way. As regards food - capture, methods of prehension by means of pseudopodia, or by special adhesive organs, such as the suctorial and raptorial tentacles of Acinetaria (p. 457), the tongue of Didinium (p. 442), etc., must be distinguished from methods whereby the food is wafted towards the body in currents produced by special vibratile organs such as flagella and cilia. As regards ingestion of food, a distinction is imposed by the nature of the outer surface of the body-protoplasm, whether naked or invested by a firm cortex or cuticle. In naked forms the food is ingested at any point, by methods which vary in different forms. In Amoeba proteus the hinder end of the body is most active in ingestion ; in Actinosph cerium all points on the surface are equally active. Rhumbler (204) distinguishes four methods of food-ingestion in anicebse : (1) By " import," when the food is drawn into the protoplasmic body as soon as it conies into contact with it, and with scarcely any movements on the part of the amoeba (Fig. 23) ; (2) by flowing round, " circumfluence," in which the protoplasm, as soon as it comes into contact with the food-particle, flows round it on all sides and engulfs it ; (3) by " circumvallation," when the amoeba, while still at some distance from the object, sends out pseudopodia which flow towards each side of the prey, and ultimately meet round it and surround it com- pletely, without ever having been in actual contact with it ; (4) by " invagination," in which the amoeba touches and adheres to the object, and the portion of the ectoplasm in contact with it is invaginated into the endoplasm like a tube, the walls of which become liquefied and fused together, so that the food-particle is, as it were, sucked into the endoplasm (Fig. 82). Of these various methods, the process of circumvallation is most suggestive of a conscious and purposeful act on the part, of the amoeba ; but a remarkable parallel to it is seen in the penetration of Lankesterella into a red blood-corpuscle, as described by Neresheimer (see p. 378, infra). In this case, as soon as the parasite conies within a certain distance of the corpuscle, the latter opens its arms, as it were, to the parasite, and engulfs it in a manner very similar to the ingestion of food by circumvallation on the part of an amoeba. In both cases the object that is ingested must give off some substance which exerts at a certain distance an effect on the protoplasm of the cell which ingests it. 190 THE PROTOZOA According to Rhumbler (204), with a more fluid condition of the ectoplasm, the food is ingested by import or circumfluence ; when the ectoplasm is stiffened to a membrane-like consistence, the ingestion is effected by circumvallation or invagination. Rhumbler maintains that all known methods of food-ingestion by amcebse, as well as their movements, can be explained mechanically by differ- ences of surface-tension in colloidal limiting membranes, and can be imitated artificially in substances that are not living. D FiG.j82. — Ingestion of a food-particle by " invagination " in Amoeba terricola. A — E, Five stages of the process, semi-diagrammatic ; F, diagrammatic figure to show the direction of the currents on the surface of the body of the amoeba during the process of ingestion. After Grosse-Allermann (245). In corticate forms the ingestion of food is limited to one or more special openings or organs, in which a direct communication is established between the fluid endoplasm and the surrounding medium, as in the cytostomes of Flagellata and Ciliata and the suctorial tentacles of Acinetaria. The digestion of the food is effected within the protoplasmic body, and as a rule the prey is taken bodily into the cytoplasm ; but the Acinetaria have the power, not fully explained, of sucking out THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 191 the body-substance of their prey, probably by the aid of secreted ferments. Together with the food a certain amount of water is ingested, forming a drop or food-vacuole in which the actual digestion takes place. The quantity of water ingested with the food varies considerably, and, speaking generally, is inversely pro- portional to the size of the object that is devoured ; that is to say, small food-particles, such as bacteria, lie as a rule in a very distinct vacuole, but large bodies, such as diatoms, usually appear as if imbedded in the cytoplasm, with no liquid vacuole visible around them. Amoebae not infrequently devour organisms larger than themselves, so that the cj^toplasm of the amoeba appears like a thin skin or envelope over the surface of the prey. According to Greenwood (161), Amoeba proteus takes in but little fluid when it ingests quiescent solid matter, such as starch-grains or yeast-cells, but when actively- moving prey is dealt with an area of water not inconsiderable surrounds it ; on the other hand, non-nutritious particles are not surrounded by fluid when they He in the eiidoplasm. In forms in which food is ingested through a cytostome, as in Ciliata, the food-particles, usually of small size, are wafted down the oesophagus and collect at its proximal blind end, where a depres- sion arises in the endoplasm, which gradually deepens, and finally closes over and separates from the oesophagus as a closed vacuole containing the food. According to Nirenstein (181), the food- vacuole is detached from the oesophagus by suction of the endoplasm, like a process of swallowing (" Schlingvorgang "). The vacuole is at first immured in a thin layer of less fluid protoplasm, doubtless as the effect of contact with water (see p. 44) ; consequently the vacuole is not at first circular, but often spindle-shaped in its contours ; it soon, however, assumes a spherical form, indicating that its protoplasmic envelope has become liquefied. In cases where actively- motile organisms are devoured — as, for example, flagellates by amoebae — the prey can often be seen to per- form violent movements within the vacuole ; but soon the move- ments become feebler and cease entirely. Bacteria ingested by Paramecium become immobile about thirty seconds after the vacuole has become detached from the oesophagus. In many cases, however, the prey is killed when seized by the pseudopodia, and before being ingested, as in Heliozoa and Eoraminifera. After the prey is killed it is slowly digested within the food-vacuole. During the process of digestion the food-vacuole may perform definite migrations within the body of the animal. In amoebae the vacuoles are carried about by the currents of the protoplasm, without, however, pursuing any definite course, and they tend to become aggregated in the hinder end of the body, when the animal is moving in a definite direction. In the Infusoria, on the other 192 THE PROTOZOA hand, the endoplasm shows a constant rotating movement, known as " cyclosis." In Paramecium the vacuoles are carried round by the current of the cyclosis, and each vacuole may either do a short course or a long course ; the short course is simply round the nucleus, keeping close to it, while the long course travels the whole length of the body, up one side and down the other. As a rule a vacuole goes a short course two or three times, and then does a long course (Xirenstein, 181). The path of the vacuole varies, according to the nature of the contents ; but the tendency is to keep them in the region posterior to the nucleus, where the contents are either cast out through the anal pore, or the vacuole circulates again in the cyclosis. In Carchesium the food- vacuoles, when formed at the base of the oesophagus, pass down to one end of the horseshoe-shaped nucleus, and then glide close along its concave margin, passing round and up to the opposite end of the horseshoe into the region near the upper end of the vestibule, from whence the vacuole is finally emptied through an anal pore into the vestibule itself (Greenwood, 162). The process of digestion within the food- vacuole has been studied by a number of investigators, amongst whom Le Dantec, Greenwood (162), Metschnikoff (180), Metalnikoff (179), Nirenstein (181), and Khainsky (170'5), must be specially mentioned. Their results are not always in agreement, indicating that the process of digestion is not always the same in different cases, even in the food- vacuoles. of one and the same species. According to Nirenstein (181), the food-vacuoles of Infusoria exhibit changes which can be divided nto two periods : in the first the vacuole shows an acid reaction, and the ingested organisms are killed ; in the second the vacuole has an alkaline reaction, and the albumens are digested. According to Khainsky (17O5), however, the reaction of the food-vacuoles of Paramecium is acid during the entire period of the proteolytic process, and only becomes neutral and finally alkaline when the solution of the food-substance is at an end. In the first or acid period, according to Nirenstein (181), the ingested food-particles — e.g., bacteria— after being rendered im- mobile, are clumped together, enveloped in a turbid substance which makes their outlines indistinct. The reaction of the vacuole is strongly acid, due to the presence of mineral acid in the vacuole. During this period, which lasts from four to six minutes, the vacuole diminishes in size, till it is not more than one-third of its original size. When the vacuole was first formed, its wall was surrounded by a number of granules which stain very distinctly with neutral-red ; these granules pass suddenly into the interior of the vacuole after it has become diminished considerably in size. Nirenstein regards the red -staining granules as bearers of a tryptic ferment. THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 193 In the second or alkaline period the vacuole enlarges rapidly to more than its original volume. The red colour produced by staining with neutral-red disappears. The clumped food- mass breaks up into smaller particles again. From the red-staining granules of the first period deeply-staining spheres arise, homogeneous, refractile, and apparently fluid (Nirenstein, 181). According to Khainsky (170'5), the grains or droplets which are formed gather at the surface and pass out into the endoplasm ; they represent the first products of the assimilatory process in the vacuole, and their further chemical transformation takes place in the endoplasm itself (compare the refringent bodies formed in the process of digestion in acinetans, p. 458) . According to Nirenstein, however, the spheres become smaller and smaller, being reduced to tiny grains which vanish completely, dissolved in the vacuole-contents. The vacuole now diminishes in size a second time, and passes to the anal region, where it fuses with other similar vacuoles, and is finally rejected from the anal pore. In other cases, however, no acid reaction has been demonstrated in the vacuoles at any time, as, for example, in Actinosphcerium — a peculiarity which is perhaps to be correlated with the fact that in this form the prey is killed when seized by the pseudopoclia. It may be supposed that the processes which, in Infusoria, etc., go on during the first or acid period of the food-vacuole, take place in Actino- sphcerium and some other forms before the vacuole is formed, in which case the vacuole itself shows only the second or alkaline phase of the digestion. According to Greenwood and Saunders (163), any ingested particles excite the secretion of acid, but the true digestive vacuole is only formed under the stimulus supplied by nutritive matter. Metalnikoff (179), however, found that in the same individual some of the food- vacuoles are first acid and then alkaline, while others are alkaline throughout in their reactions, and others again, but rarely, show an acid reaction throughout ; he concludes that the living cell has the capacity of adapting itself to the food supplied, and of altering the properties of its digestive juices in accordance with its require- ments. The process is perhaps comparable to the manner in which the blood- cells produce different anti-bodies when brought into contact with different pathogenic organisms or toxins. The variety of ferments that have been isolated from different Protozoa also indicates that the digestion takes a different course in different cases. In the plasmodia of Mycetozoa, a peptic ferment, which when acidulated dissolves fibrin, has been isolated ; but since the protoplasm of the plasmodium has a distinctly alkaline reaction, it was thought by some that the ferment must be without function. Metschnikoff (180) showed, however, that the food- vacuoles formed in the plasmodium had a strongly acid reaction, in contrast to the protoplasm, and thus demonstrated the function of the peptic ferment in the digestion. In other cases tryptic ferments have been isolated (" amcebodiastase," etc.). 13 194 THE PROTOZOA Some doubt has existed as to the power possessed by Protozoa of digesting fats, and, according to Staniewicz (208), no digestion of fat takes place in Infusoria. According to the recent investiga- tions of Nirenstein (182), however, Paramecia under natural con- ditions contain fat in more or less considerable quantities. By choice of suitable food, the quantity of fat in the endoplasm can be increased greatly. The fat-granules serve as reserve-nutriment, and disappear under starvation. Paramecia which have lost their fat in this way, if then fed with milk, oil-emulsion, or yolk of egg rubbed up in water, show in a few hours the endoplasm full of fat- granules ; if fed with starch or particles of egg-albumen, the same result is obtained, but not to anything like the same extent. Experiments on fatty substances ingested by the animals showed that the fat remains unaltered during the first (acid) period of the digestion in the food-vacuole, and is digested during the second (alkaline) period. Feeding with fatty acid and glycerine also leads to storage of fat in the endoplasm. If fed with oil-globules stained with Soudan III., unstained oil-globules appear in the endoplasm, Nirenstein concludes from his observations that the fat is broken up into its soluble components in the vacuole, and synthesized again to neutral fat in the endoplasm. The indigestible residues of the food are ejected from the body either at any point on the surface, in amoeboid forms, or through a definite aperture, in corticate forms. A great accumulation of fgecal matter may take place in some cases, as in the " stercome ': of Foraminifera (p. 233), of which the animal purges itself periodically. (c) Saprophytic and Parasitic Nutrition. • — • In this type the organism absorbs its nourishment by diffusion through the surface of the body without the aid of any visible organs or structural differentiations of any kind. Practically nothing is known of the mechanism by which this is effected or of the chemical processes involved, but it is probable that enzymes secreted by the organism reduce the nutritive particles to a soluble form prior to absorption. There is reason to believe that the nucleus is specially concerned in the production of enzymes, and in many species, parasitic or otherwise, the behaviour of the nucleus indicates a relationship between it and the process of absorption of food-substance. In Carchesium, as already stated, the path along which the food- vacuoles travel runs close along the inner edge of the horseshoe-shaped macronucleus (Greenwood, 162) ; in Euplotes, similarly, the large macronucleus encloses an area containing all the food-vacuoles (Fig. 182). According to Wallengren (214), the reactions of the food-vacuoles of Paramecium change as they pass the nucleus, and the function of the cyclosis in the endoplasm is to bring the food- THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 195 vacuoles near, and under the influence of, the nucleus. In the coccidian parasite Caryotropha (p. 352), the nucleus of the parasite is connected by a kind of protoplasmic canal with the nucleus of the host-cell (Siedlecki, 653). In the astomatous Ciliata (p. 451) a diffuse nucleus is very commonly found, probably in relation to absorption of nutriment by the osmotic method. The process of nutrition in Protozoa may lead in some cases, not to growth of the protoplasmic body directly, but to the produc- tion and storage of reserve food-substances, which are precipitated in the cytoplasm, and are utilized at a later period for rapid growth during reproductive phases. The reserve- materials deposited in this way vary considerably in nature in different cases. Examples are the paramylum-grains of many flagellates ; the paraglycogen- grains of gregarines and ciliates, similar in nature to glycogen, but with certain distinctive reactions ; the plastinoid granules of coccidia (p. 346) ; and other similar substances. In Radiolaria oil- globules and albumen - spheres occur. An important substance, acting apparently as reserve- material for the growth of the nucleus, is volutin (p. 68). The effects of starvation oil Protozoa have been studied by a number of investigators, most recently by Lipska (173), who gives a complete bibliog- raphy and resume of previous work on the subject. Lipska found that Paramecium died after five to seven days, a much shorter period than allowed by Wallengren (214) and others, indicating that Lipska' s methods were more •drastic and sources of food were more thoroughly excluded in her experiments. In the first period of starvation the reserves in the endoplasin are used up, .first, the food-vacuoles and their contents, then the smaller eiidoplasmic granules. After the fourth day the animal becomes deformed. Its dimensions .diminish progressively, and death supervenes when it has lost half its initial volume. The ectoplasm with its cilia and trichocysts undergo no change, -but the endoplasm loses its food-vacuoles and a part of its crystals, and becomes very transparent. The macronucleus becomes enlarged and breaks up into two halves. The micronucleus undergoes no change of any kind. Death is preceded by a progressive enfeeblenient of all functions, such as movements of the cilia and pulsation of the contractile vacuoles. According to Wallengren, the reactions of the Paramecium (geotaxis, thermotaxis, galvanotaxis) remain normal to the last. Wallengren described an excessive vacuolation. of the endoplasm as the result of starvation ; but according to Lipska this phenomenon is not due to starvation, but to the chemical action •of ammoniacal products generated by bacteria present in the infusions, and does not occur if they are excluded. Other observers noted the occurrence •of numerous conjugations during the first few days of starvation, but Lipska was unable to confirm this ; in her experiments, however, the number of Paramecia placed in each tube was small, not more than ten. Paramecia containing symbiotic algas were more resistant to starvation than those without them. 2. Respiration. — By respiration in its widest sense must be under- stood all processes in the organism whereby the potential energy stored up in chemical compounds of high complexity is set free to furnish the energy required by the organism for its vital activities. 'This object may be effected in two ways-- -b}" processes of oxidation, 196 THE PROTOZOA or by the splitting up of complex chemical substances ; the result in either case is the production of energy in various forms and of simple chemical substances, such as water and carbon dioxide (compare Barratt, 148). For the processes of oxidation the organism may either absorb free molecular oxygen from its environ- ment, or may produce it by internal molecular changes of substances contained in its own body, as in anaerobic organisms living in a medium in which free oxygen is lacking. Many free-living Protozoa require oxygen, and are visibly and rapidly affected by the lack of it, especially in their powers of movement. No special organs of respiration are found in any Protozoa, being unnecessary in animals of such small bulk, and in which, consequently, the surface of the body is considerable in proportion to the mass. The contractile vacuoles, when present, are doubtless a means of eliminating carbon dioxide, together with other waste products, from the body. It must be supposed, there- fore, that as a general rule oxygen is taken up from the surrounding water by the protoplasm, of which the limiting membranes are freely permeable, and that the carbon dioxide is given off in a similar manner. The experiments of Verworn (211) on Spirostomum show that the respiratory processes take place in the cytoplasm, independently of the nucleus, which takes no share in respiration. On the other hand, many sapropelic (p. 14) and parasitic forms inhabit media lacking in free oxygen, and are anaerobic ; in such forms the respiratory processes of the protoplasm can only take place by intramolecular changes, in which the stored-up reserve- materials- are probably split up to supply the required oxygen. The experiments of Putter (201) on a number of species of Ciliata. both, free-living and parasitic, showed that, when these animals were placed in an anaerobic environment, different individuals of the same species reacted very differently to the conditions, some dying very rapidly, others being quue unaffected for a long time. It was shown further that this difference was related to the amount of reserve-materials present in the body (proteins and glycogen), which can be observed to vary greatly in different individuals from the same culture. If Paramecia were first starved for some days and then placed in anaerobic conditions, they succumbed much more rapidly than normal individuals. Moreover, under anaerobic conditions the reserve- materials were used up much more rapidly than under normal conditions, and without resulting in increased production of energy. Opalina, when placed in a culture-medium to which albumen was added by boiling up dried white of egg in salt-solution, was able to make use of the energy of the albumen without the help of free oxygen, and so to live for a much longer time. The ciliates were found to succumb much more rapidly to the effects of anaerobic conditions in smaller than in larger quantities of water, as the result of auto- intoxication in consequence of the defective excretion of the products of anaerobic metabolism. Spirostomum was found to be more affected by anaerobic conditions in small quantities of water than Paramecium. The differences between the two forms is to be ascribed to the system of the contractile vacuoles, which is far more efficient in Paramecium than in Spirostomum ; the contractile vacuoles tend to remove from the body the THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 197 products of metabolism, a primary necessity of anaerobic life. The question of size is also a factor, since deleterious substances may diffuse from the .surface of the body, and in a small body the surface is greater in proportion than in a larger one. Consequently the conditions are more favourable for a, smaller species, such as Paramecium, than for a large form, such as JSpirostomum. Excess of oxygen was found by Putter (198) to have an injurious effect on Spirostomum, affecting, however, only the cytoplasm, and not the nucleus, in the first instance. On the current view that the symbiotic vegetable organisms present in many Protozoa aid in the respiratory processes by absorbing the carbon dioxide, breaking it up, and setting free the oxygen, the experiments of Lipska (173) on a culture of Paramecia which contained green algae (Proto- •coccacese) in their endoplasm are of considerable interest. In two glass vessels of equal size there were placed, in the one Paramecia with, in the other without, the algse in their body. Hydrogen was circulated through the vessels to drive out the air, after which they were hermetically sealed and exposed to the same conditions of light and temperature. After fifty hours the vessels were opened. The Paramecia without algae were dead, but those containing algae were still alive, though feeble in their movements, and they revived 'completely in about twenty-four hours after air had access to them. In another experiment two batches of Paramecia were kept in the dark ; after eight days those without algse were dead, while those containing algae were perfectly normal. Old cultures of Paramecia containing algae snowed no conjugation ; Lipska explains this as due to the influence of the algae, since, by setting free oxygen, they prevent the development of anaerobic bacteria which produce substances toxic to the Infusoria. According to Popoff (185), the depression-periods of Protozoa (p. 208) are partly due to derangements of the respiratory processes and to accumulation of products of metabolism in the cell. 3. Excretion and Secretion. — The waste substances excreted from the protoplasm may be either soluble or insoluble in nature. If soluble, they may either pass out of the protoplasmic body by diffusion from the surface, or may be removed by the agency of the contractile vacuoles. Contractile vacuoles are of common occurrence in free-living fresh-water Protozoa, but are usually wanting in marine forms, or, if they occur in them, they pulsate very slowly. They are generally absent also in entozoic and parasitic Protozoa, but are found, however, in some internal parasites — for example, in all Anoplophryince (p. 452 ; Cepede, 831). Some authors (e.g., Degen, 154) have described an investing membrane to the contractile vacuole, but it is practically certain that no such membrane exists, and that the vacuole is simply a drop of watery fluid lodged in, and bounded by, the more viscid protoplasm, without any special structural differentiation (compare Khainsky. 17O5). The contractile vacuoles were believed at one time to empty themselves internally, and to function simply as circulatory organs ; but in all cases in which they have been studied care- fully, it has been proved that they empty themselves to the exterior (compare Jennings, 167, Khainsky, 170'5). The effect of changes of temperature is noted below (p. 206). Increased pressure makes the pulse slower (Khainsky, 17O5). Degen (154), experi- menting with Glaucoma colpidiiim, found that oxygen produced at first an increase in the frequency of the pulse, which soon became normal again Hydrogen and carbon dioxide diminished the frequency and caused a dilata- tion of the vacuole ; both these gases were lethal in their effect, especially carbon dioxide. Isotonic solutions of neutral salts had a retarding effect. 198 THE PROTOZOA Substances that precipitate albumens have a retarding effect combined with dilatation of the vacuole. Degen, following Hartog, regards the vacuole as primarily a mode of compensation for the tendency of the protoplasm to take up water by imbibition, a tendency checked or inhibited by changes in the tonicity of the medium. Thus Zuelzer (222) found that Am&ba verrucosa, if transferred gradually from fresh water to sea- water, lost its contractile vacuoles ; at the same time its protoplasm shrank and altered in character, and the nucleus acquired a different structure and appearance. When re- stored to fresh water, the contractile vacuoles reappeared, and the nucleus and cytoplasm became of normal character. These experiments indicate that the formation of the contractile vacuoles depends 011 differences in the tonicity of the protoplasm and the surrounding medium ; they also raise the suspicion that many species of marine Protozoa may be only different forms., due to change of medium, of fresh-water species, or vice versa. For the excretory vacuole-system of Opalina, see p. 447. Insoluble excretion-masses are often formed in great quantity in the bodies of Protozoa. Such substances take the form of crystals or grains of various kinds, and often of pigment. An example of such a substance is the melanin-pigment of the hsemamoebse (p. 359), which appears to be a derivative of the haemoglobin of the infected blood-corpuscle. Pigment may arise also by degeneration of superfluous chromatin extruded from the nucleus, as in Actino- sphcerium (p. 209), or by degeneration of nuclei, as in abnormal oocysts of Cydospora caryolytica (p. 364). The cytoplasm of Paramecium contains crystals which have been studied by Schewiakoff (206), who finds that they consist of calcium phosphate, either Ca3(P04)2 or Ca2Ho(P04)2. When the Paramecia were starved, the crystals disappeared completely in one or two days ; if then the Paramecia were supplied with food again, the crystals reappeared. Schewiakoff was never able to observe that the crystals were ejected from the anus but they were seen to collect round the contractile vacuole. He is of opinion that the insoluble phosphate is dissolved in the enchylema. or is converted into the soluble form CaH4(P04)2, and then eliminated by the contractile vacuole. Insoluble excretion-masses may be simply extruded from the body, a process which commonly takes place at certain crises, as, for example, prior to encystment. Or, on the other hand, they may remain in the protoplasm, and are finally abandoned in the residual masses left over during reproductive phases, as seen com- monly in the sporulation of various types — for example, the hsemamcebae already cited and other Sporozoa. In such cases the young individuals are formed of protoplasm free from the coarse excretion-granules, and the body of the parent, so much as is left of it, dies off and disintegrates. In some cases, however, the young individuals formed contain enclosures derived from the parent-body, as, for example, the crystal-bearing swarm-spores of Radiolaria (p. 254) ; but in such cases the enclosure is probably of the nature of reserve-material. Secretion, more or less rapid, of various substances can be observed without difficulty in various Protozoa. Examples are the THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 199 spicules and various skeletal structures ; the shells, houses, etc. ; adhesive substances or stalks in sedentary forms, as, for example, the non-contractile stalks of many VorticeUids (p. 441) ; and the cysts or envelopes secreted round the body, such as the sporocysts, etc. The pseudopodia of many Amcebaea, such as Dlfflugia, are covered by a sticky slime which enables the animal to adhere to surfaces over which it creeps, and which can be drawn out by contact with a glass rod into threads, like the mucus of a snail (Rhumbler, 34). In Foraminifera and Heliozoa the pseudopodia appear to secrete a substance which holds the prey fast, and at the same time kills it, as already mentioned. Some Protozoa — for example, gregarines — leave a trail of mucilaginous substance behind them as they move forwards, and by some authors this s wlion has been regarded as the mechanism by which locomotion is effected (p. 327). Internal secretions in connection with the digestive function have been mentioned in a previous section. Arcella has the power of secreting gas-bubbles in its protoplasm for hydrostatic purposes (compare also the Radiolaria, p. 252). 4. Transformation o! Energy — (a) Movement.— The different motile organs of Protozoa have been described above. Considered from a morphological standpoint, the protoplasmic body may exhibit, in the first place, no specially differentiated organs of movement, which then takes the form of currents and displacements in the fluid protoplasm itself, manifested externally in the form of pseudopodial processes or flowing movements of the entire body, internally as streaming movements in the protoplasm. Secondly, there may be special organs of movement, either external, in the form of vibratile organs, such as cilia, flagella, or undulating membranes ; or internal, in the form of contractile fibrils or myonemes. Different as pseudopodia may appear at first sight from vibratile organs, such as cilia or flagella, there is nevertheless a very gradual transition from the one type to the other (see p. 53, supra). Of pseudopodia there are two chief types of structure — the lobopodia, in which a fluid core of endoplasm is enveloped by a superficial layer of stiffer ectoplasm ; and the axopodia, in which, on the contrary, a secreted axis of rigid or elastic nature is covered by a more fluid layer of protoplasm. The axopodia are connected by transitions both of structure and movement with organs of the vibratile type. In both flagella and cilia the structure consists of a firmer elastic axis covered over by a more fluid superficial layer (pp. 52, 54) ; many axopodia exhibit swinging, nutating, or bending movements differ- ing only in degree from those of flagella (p. 51). There are grounds for believing the one type of organ to have been derived phylo- genetically from the other. The streaming movements of protoplasm have been the subject 200 THE PROTOZOA of much investigation and discussion. The older view, which ascribed them to contractility and assumed a complicated structure in the protoplasm, has now been superseded generally by the theory connected more especially with the names of Quincke, Berthold, Biitschli (37), and Rhumbler (34, 35, 40, etc.), according to which differences of surface-tension are regarded as the efficient cause of the streaming movements of the pseudopodia and the protoplasm. The living substance is in a state of continual chemical change in every part ; such changes are sufficient to account, in one way or another, for the origin of local differences in the physical nature (adhesion) of the surface of the body in contact with the surrounding medium, or of internal protoplasmic surfaces in contact with vacuoles or cavities filled with fluid ; and the resulting differences in surface-tension cause flowing movements both in the protoplasm and in the fluid with which it is in contact. The relation of such currents to the movements of pseudopodia has been discussed above (p. 47). Similar movements have been imitated artificially by Biitschli and Rhumbler in a manner which can leave no doubt that the physical analog}?' is a reasonable interpretation of the mechanism of amoeboid movement. The close structural similarity between flagella and cilia on the one hand, and the axopodia on the other, makes it highly probable, to say the least, that the same explanation of the movement applies to both. The axis of the vibratile organ is commonly regarded as a firm, elastic, form-determining structure ; the more fluid sheath as the seat of the motile activity. Chemical differences set up in the limiting membrane, causing differences in the surface-tension of the sheath along certain lines, have been supposed to be responsible for a deformation of the sheath, bending the axis and the whole organ with it ; with equalization and disappearance of such differ- ences, the elastic axis straightens itself again. How such chemical differences are set up remains to be explained ; possibly they origi- nate in chemical changes taking place explosively in the basal apparatus of the vibratile organs ; in any case it is clear that, as com- pared with pseudopodia, they act with extreme rapidity, and, further, that they are localized on the surface of the flagellum or cilium. From the movements of these organs, the contraction appears to run a spiral course as a general rule — at least in cilia (p. 54) ; flagella, however, appear to be capable of various kinds of movements (p. 52). According to Prowazek (192), the flagellum of a trypanosome only retains its motility so long as it remains in connection with the kinetonucleus. Wer- bitzki (526), however, has succeeded in producing strains of trypanosomes without kinetonuclei, and with apparently no resulting loss of motility. It has been observed frequently that detached cilia or flagella continue to contract, for a time at least ; and Schuberg (44) denies that the basal granules of the cilia function as centres of kinetic activity. THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 201 With regard to the contractility of the myonemes, no detailed explanation can be offered at present. Biitschli (37) has shown the possibility of explaining the contractile mechanism of such structures by differences in surface-tension arising between the walls and the contents of protoplasmic alveoli which are disposed with a definite arrangement. (b) Other Forms of Energy. — Light-production or phosphorescence is a common phenomenon in marine Protozoa, a property expressed in such names as Noctiluca (p. 279) and Pyrodinium (p. 278). The magnificent phosphorescent effects often seen at night, especially in warmer seas, is to be referred chiefly to swarms of Protozoa. The source of the luminosity appears to reside in small globules of fat or oil, and is probably the result of oxidation. It is easy to observe that the production of light is stimulated by agitating or stirring the water. For a general discussion of luminosity in living organisms, see Putter (200). From the analogy of the known facts in the physiology of animal and plants, it may be inferred that in Protozoa also the vital activities are accompanied by the production of heat and by electrical changes ; but no exact determinations of such changes have been made. 5. Reactions to Stimuli and Environment. — It can easily be observed that Protozoa react in a definite manner to stimuli, and behave in a particular way under certain conditions. In most cases, however, these responses to external conditions must be regarded as fundamental properties of the living protoplasm, and not as functions of specially differentiated organs of the body. This is well seen, for example, in amceba3, some species of which are very sensitive to light, and cease feeding when exposed to the bright illumination of the stage of the microscope (Rhumbler, 34). In Arcella the nuclear division is stated to take place only at night, between 1 and 5 a.m. (Khainsky, 145). In such cases, however, there is nothing which can be identified as a special light-perceiving organ. In other cases Protozoa may possess organs which must be regarded as sensory in nature. Pseudopodia appear to possess in many cases a tactile or sensory function to a marked degree, and sometimes to be specialized for such functions, as, for example, the anterior pseudopodia of some Myxosporidia, such as Leptotheca agilis (Fig. 165). The same is true to a much greater degree of flagella and cilia ; anteriorly- directed flagella are perhaps always sensory in function, especially when they are not the sole means of locomotion, as in such forms as Rhizomastigina (p. 268) or Bodonidce. (p. 270) ; and in many Ciliata stiff tactile bristles occur (p. 446). In many flagellates organs are found which appear to be specialty sensitive to light, in the form of pigment-spots or stigmata, which are described further below. 202 THE PROTOZOA The occurrence of a conducting nervous apparatus is more doubtful ; it has been affirmed for Stentor by Neresheimer (p. 446), but is not confirmed by other observers. It can at least be asserted that in the more highly organized Ciliata a stimulus may lead to- sudden movements in which different sets of contractile structures take a concerted part. The reactions of Protozoa to stimuli have been the subject of a great deal of experimental research by many investigators, amongst whom Verworn, Loeb, Jennings (165), and Putter (199), deserve special mention. The results of these investigations can only be summarized briefly here. The various reactions are classified in the first instance, according to the nature of the stimulus, by the use of a terminology in which each principal category is denoted by a word terminating in taxis, or in adjectival form — tactic. Thus we can distinguish — (a) Chemotaxis, or reactions to chemical stimuli ; (5) Phototaxis, or reactions to light ; (c) Thermotaxis, or reactions to heat or cold ; (d) Barotaxis, or reactions to mechanical stimuli ; and (e) Galvanotaxis, or reactions to electrical stimuli. A given Protozoon may be quite unaffected by a particular stimulus ; or, on the other hand, it may be affected by it in such a way that it tends to move towards the source of the stimulus (positive taxis) or away from it (negative taxis). The result depends, in many cases, on the intensity of the stimulus applied ; thus, a Euglena will move towards a moderate light (positive phototaxis), but away from a too intense illumination (negative phototaxis). In each case an optimum condition exists, in which the positive taxis reaches its maximum. In such experiments the Ciliata are the objects of choice, on account of the definite polarity of their movements as compared with forms less highly organized, such as amoeba. In the Ciliata a negative taxis results in an " avoiding reaction " (Schreck- bewegung), in which the animal shrinks back with reversal of the ciliary movements, " turning towards a structurally-defined side, followed by a movement forward " (Jennings). Repeated experi- ments have shown that the forms taken by the avoiding movements do not depend on the nature of the stimulus, but on the organization of the animal itself, and are always the same for a given species. An Oxytricha, for example, turns always to the right, whatever the direction from which the stimulus comes. The movement is deter- mined automatically by the structure of the body. " The same symptom can be called forth by the most diverse stimuli " (Piitter, 199). The various taxes may now be considered briefly : (a) Chemotaxis and Effects of Environment. — This category in- cludes reactions to liquids or gases diffused in the water ; reactions THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 203 to gases may be considered as equivalent to a sense of smell in higher organisms (osmotaxis). It has been shown by many experiments that a given species is attracted towards certain chemical substances, repelled by others. Thus, Paramecium is attracted towards weak acids, but repelled by them in greater concentration. If a drop of acid of suitable strength is placed in the midst of a number of Paramecia distributed evenly in the water under a cover-slip on a slide, they tend to gather round the drop. As the drop diffuses in the surrounding water, the Paramecia arrange themselves in a ring in the region of optimum concentration. If, however, the drop of fluid employed is of a strength which represents the optimum of chemotaxis for the species,. FIG. 83. — Diagram showing the course taken by a Paramecium which has entered a drop of "fluid to which it is positively che mo tactic. The forward movements of the Paramecium are indicated by arrows ; its backward movements by dotted lines ; the outline of the drop of fluid by a circle. Each time the Paramecium, in its forward movement, reaches the confines of the drop, it conies into contact with fluid which is less positively chemotactic than the drop into which it has entered ; it then shrinks backward (avoiding reaction), after which it moves forward again with the same result every time it reaches the edge of the drop. After Lang (10). the Paramecia gather within it, and in such a case the position taken up by each Paramecium depends on the avoiding reaction made by it when it conies in contact with a less attractive medium. Thus, if a Paramecium, swimming in a straight line, enters a drop of fluid which is positively chemotactic to it, when it has crossed the drop to its opposite boundary it conies to the region where it meets with fluid which is less chemotactic to it ; it then shrinks back with an avoiding movement ; after a time it again moves forward, and comes again into the negatively chemotactic region, with the same result as before. Thus its movements are as if caught in a trap (Fig. 83), in which it is held by the automatic movements called forth by ih& difference between the more and the less chemotactic fluids, until 204 THE PROTOZOA the differences slowly disappear by the diffusion of the one liquid into the other. Chemotaxis is a phenomenon which is obviously of the greatest importance in the natural life of the organism. It comes into play in the search for food and in sexual attraction, for example. It has long been known that certain Protozoa are attracted towards food- substances, especially those species which feed more or less exclusively upon certain particular foods. Plasmodia of Mycetozoa, for example, "scent" their food from a considerable distance, and move towards it. Rhumbler (34, 204) has studied the ingestion of food by amoebae, and lias made a number of experiments on the manner in which drops of fluid take up or cast out solid particles. Thus, a drop of chloroform suspended in water draws into its interior a glass splinter coated with shellac when brought into contact with it ; after a time the coating of shellac is dissolved in the chloro- form, and the glass splinter is then ejected from the drop. This experiment furnishes data for a mechanical explanation of the ingestion of food and ejection of faecal matter ; and it might be expected that amoebae in Nature would ingest mechanically, and as it were helplessly, many substances of a useless kind with which they are brought into contact. This may occur experimentally when amcebse are brought into contact with substances of no nutritive value ; Rhumbler observed an amoeba which ingested carmine- particles until it died. In Nature, however, there can be no doubt that amoebae exercise a certain choice or selection in the food they ingest, doubtless as the effect of rhemotactic reactions (compare Jennings, 168). In the Ciliata, however, tnere appears to be no selection of the food-particles wafted down the oesophagus except as regards their size (compare Greenwood, 162). Purely mechanical reactions, on the other hand, may possibly explain the apparent selection which many Protozoa exhibit in building up houses of cer- tain special materials (p. 34). Chemotactic reactions to particular substances must play a large part in determining the migrations of certain parasitic Protozoa towards particular organs of the body in which they are parasitic, in so far as such migrations are not purely passive on the part of the parasite, or determined to some extent by rheotaxis (see below). The attraction of gametes to one another can hardly be effected by any- thing but chemotaxis. It is well known that the antherozoids of the fern- prothallus are positively chemotactic to malic acid, which is secreted by the oogonium. In Coccidium schubergi, Schauclinn (99) observed that the macro- gamete, as soon as it had expelled its karyosome, but not before, became attractive to the microgamete. The effects of drugs and reagents on the activities of the Protozoa is a field of investigation which cannot be dealt with in detail here. Some reagents have a quickening effect on the movements, others the contrary. Narcotics, on the other hand, such as alcohol, ether, etc., may at first have a stimulating, later a deleterious, action on the vital activity. Minute doses of alcohol, according to Woodruff (216), diminish the rate of division at one period, augment it at another, of the life-cycle, but in the latter case the rate is not continuous, but decreases again ; increase in the amount of alcohol will, however, again cause a more rapid cell-division for a limited period. Thyroid extract is stated to have an attractive effect on Paramecium, and also increases its capacity for reproduction (Nowikoff, 183). For the effects of other drugs and poisons, see Giemsa and Prowazek (159), and Prowazek (191, 192, and 195). In the same culture different individuals often exhibit •different powers of resistance to the effects of reagents. THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 205 (6) Phototaxis and Effects of Light and Other Rays. — Many Pro- tozoa appear quite indifferent to light — at least of ordinary intensity ; others show a very decided reaction, as already mentioned, either negative or positive. Thus many amoebae, Pdomyxa, etc., are negatively phototactic, and pass at once into a condition of rest and inactivity when exposed to light. According to Mast (176), a sudden increase in the intensity of the illumination inhibits move- ment in Amoeba proteits ; but if the illumination remains constant,, movement begins again in a few moments. If the illumination is very gradually in- creased, it produces no response. In strong light Amoeba proteus orientates itself, producing pseudopodia only on the less illuminated side. Many flagellates, on the other hand, especially the holophytic forms such as Dinoflagellates, Phytornastigina, Eugle- noids, etc., show the opposite reaction, moving towards the light or becoming active when exposed to it, and passing into a resting state in the dark. The positive phototaxis of the holophytic FIG. 84. Protozoa has an obvious bionomical sig- nificance, since the holophytic nutrition can only proceed in the presence of light. A, Anterior end of Euglena viridis. ft., Flagel- lum ; ces., oesophagus ; bl., thickening (blepharoplast ?) on one of the two roots of the flagellum ; st., stigma ; rh, the two roots of the flagellum passing through the reservoir (R) of the contractile vacuoles, two to be attached to its opposite side. B, Stigma in surface view, highly magni- fied, showing the pigment- grains imbedded in a proto- plasmic basis. After Wager (213). In the majority of holophytic flagellates the phototactic reaction is associated with the possession of a special organ, the stigma or "eye-spot." The stigma of Euglena consists of a protoplasmic ground-substance forming a fine network, in which is embedded pigment in the form of drop-like bodies. The pigment granules are brightly refractile, with a distinct outline, and form a single layer. In some cases the granules are spherical and all of the same size ; in others they are more irregular in form and of different sizes. The pigment appears to be a derivative of chlorophyll. The stigma is in close contact with a well-marked thickening on one of the two branches into which the flagellum bifurcates at its base. Wager (213) suggests that this thickening (blepharoplast ?) is a specialized sensitive organ which is stimulated by the light-absorbing pigment-spot, the stigma, and that in this way the reaction of Euglena to light is determined. Euglena swims towards a moderate light, but away from strong sunlight. If kept in bright sunlight it comes to rest, rounds itself off, and ultimately becomes encysted. The blue and violet parts of the spectrum exert the strongest stimulus on flagellates. In the case of Amoeba profess. Mast (176) found the blue rays nearly as efficient as white light in causing reactions, but violet, green, yellow, and red, to be but slightly active. Paramecium and some other Protozoa are stated to react only to the ultra-violet rays. The effect of radium-rays upon various Protozoa has been investigated by Zuelzer (221). Some species are more affected by them than others; 206 THE PROTOZOA Amoeba Umax, for example, was very resistant to the rays, while other Protozoa were very soon injured by them. In all cases long exposure to the rays was fatal. The first effect of the rays was generally to quicken the movements ; the next was an injurious action. The rays appear to act more particularly upon the nucleus in the first instance, with subsequent gradual deleterious •effects upon the cytoplasm. In experiments on the effect of Rontgen-rays on Paramecium and Volvoy; .{Joseph and Prowazek, 169), these forms were found to exhibit a negative taxis, collecting in ten to fifteen minutes in a part not exposed to the rays. Exposure of Paramecium to the rays caused the pulse of the contractile vacuoles to become slower to a marked degree as a rule, but individual variations were observed in this reaction, the effect being inconsiderable in some cases ; and the animals gradually regain the normal pulse. Infra vitam staining of the nucleus of Paramecium exposed to the rays gave a result similar to that obtained by staining Paramecia fatigued by being shaken evenly and continuously for two hours. Long-continued action of the rays killed the organisms. (c) Thermotaxis and Effects of Temperature. — For a given species •of the Protozoa there is an optimum temperature at which its vital activity is at its highest pitch, and above which the activity is diminished until it reaches a point at which the vitality is impaired and the animal is finally killed. A temperature, however, at which the animal succumbs sooner or later may at first have a quickening effect upon the vital functions. Thus, many experiments have shown that a rise of temperature increases greatly the rapidity and frequency of the pulsations of the contractile vacuoles ; and in the case of Glaucoma colpidium Degen (154) found that, although the animal was killed by a temperature above 30° C., the maximum frequency of the pulsations was produced temporarily by a tempera- ture of 34° C., above which the frequency was rapidly diminished (compare also Khainsky, 170 "5). The optimum temperature may, however, be different at different stages in the life-cycle, as in parasitic Protozoa which infest a warm- blooded and a cold-blooded host alternately ; in such cases a change of temperature may perhaps be a factor in bringing about develop- mental changes. In free-living Protozoa the phases of the life-cj^cle are often related to seasonal changes, and are probably induced largely by conditions of temperature. Experimentally it has been shown that Protozoa tend to move towards regions of more favourable temperature, and away from those less favourable. Khainsky (170'5) found that rise of temperature produced a quickening of the digestive processes in Paramecium, very marked at 24° C. or above. At 30° C. and above Paramecium takes up scarcely any more food ; the contents of the food-vacuoles, which continue to be formed, then consist almost entirely of water. The effects of temperature on the development in cultures are very marked. Popoff studied the growth of Frontonia leucas in cultures kept at 14° C. and 25° C. respectively ; at the lower temperature the animals divide once in about eighty or ninety hours, in the warmer culture once in about seventeen hours ; in the cold both the nucleus and the body grow to a size absolutely larger than in the warmth, but in the former case the nucleus is about Jj, in the latter about J4, the bulk of the whole body (Hertwig, 92). In the case THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 207 of Actinosphcerium, the experiments of Smith (207), Mackinnon (174), and Boissevain (151), show that increased temperature hastens on encystment, and causes fewer and larger cysts to be formed in which the nuclei are larger but poorer in chromatin ; while at lower temperatures the encystment is retarded, and finally inhibited altogether, and the cysts produced are smaller and more numerous, with nuclei smaller than the normal but rich in chromatin. (d) Barotaxis and Effects of Mechanical Stimuli. — This category includes Geotaxis, or reactions to gravity ; Thigrnotaxis, or reactions to the mechanical contacts of hard surfaces ; and Rheotaxis, or reactions to the pressure of currents in the surrounding medium. The influence of gravity is seen in the manner in which many Protozoa, when placed in a vessel, seek of their own accord the bottom in some cases, the surface-film in others. The plasmodia of Mycetozoa exhibit often a well-marked rheotaxis, and move in the opposite direction to currents of water. It has been suggested that a similar rheotaxis may explain the passage of blood-parasites from the invertebrate to the vertebrate host during the act of blood- sucking ; but it is probable that such migrations are purely passive, so far as the parasites are concerned. Contact-stimuli acting from one side often have a marked effect on the movements of Protozoa. An amoeba tends to adhere to, and spread itself over, a firm surface with which it comes in contact. The movements of Ciliata often cease when they come in contact with a firm substance, and the animal remains still ; Piitter (197) has shown that the contact-stimulus may be sufficient to prevent o, Paramecium from reacting to thermal or electric stimuli, which would otherwise produce a marked effect upon its movements. Under effects of mechanical stimuli must be included those brought about by changes in the tonicity of the surrounding medium. Such effects have already been discussed above as regards their action on the contractile vacuoles. For the remarkable experiments of Verworn on- the change in body-form and in the nature of the pseudopodia exhibited by amcebse under the action of different media, see p. 217, infra. Free-living Protozoa are probably seldom if ever subject to such changes, though they might well occur in the environment of marine forms living near the upper limit of the tide-marks, in rock-pools, or other places where the tonicity of the medium might be lowered temporarily by influx of fresh water, as the result of rain or other natural causes. On the other hand, parasitic forms, and especially those which pass from one host to the other, may be subject to rapid changes of tonicity in their environment. In this connection special interest attaches to the experiments of Robertson (503) on fish-trypanosomes ; it was found that in undiluted blood or in blood diluted with isotonic solutions the trypanosomes underwent no change in vitro, but that when the blood was diluted with water the trypanosomes multiplied by division, and went through changes similar to the first stages of the natural development in the leech. It was concluded, therefore, that the principal stimulus which initiates the developmental changes in the organism was a lowering of the osmotic tension, with consequent absorption of water by the protoplasm. Neumann (677) also found that the " exflagellation " of the Proteosoma- parasite of birds was greatly furthered by addition to the blood of not more than one-fifth of its volume of water. 208 THE PROTOZOA (e) Galvanotaxis and Effects of Electrical Stimuli. — Protozoa placed in an electric field — that is to say, in a drop of water between the two poles of a battery under a cover-glass on a slide — -are affected to a marked degree, but with opposite results in different species. Opalina places itself parallel to the direction of the current, with its anterior end towards the anode. With a current of moderate intensity it swims towards the anode ; but with a stronger current the speed at which the animal moves is diminished, and with still more increased strength of current it is carried passively towards the kathode, with its hinder end forward, as the result of kataphoric action (Wallengren, 215). Chilomonas behaves in a similar manner. Paramecium and Colpidium, on the other hand, move towards the kathode. Spirostomum with a moderate current also moves towards the kathode, but with stronger currents it first contracts its myonemes spasmodically, and then takes up a position transverse to the direction of the current, and remains still. According to Wallengren (215), the apparently different galvano- tactic phenomena exhibited by different ciliates admits of a uniform explanation, by a combination of two effects. In the first place, in the half of the body turned towards the kathode the expansion- phase of the ciliary movement is stimulated ; in the anodic half of the body, the contraction-phase is stimulated. In the second place, the turning movements of the ciliates are determined mechanically (compare the " avoiding reactions " mentioned above), and may be effected either by the expansion or by the contraction of certain cilia. Consequently, if the turning movements are effected by beats of expansion, the animal places itself automatically in a posi- tion in which it moves towards the anode ; if beats of contraction are effective in the turning movement, it moves towards the kathode. According to Statkewitsch (209), the galvanotactic re- action is one which overcomes chemo tactic stimuli, and leads the animals irresistibly into toxic media in which they are killed. 6. Degeneration and Regeneration. — The fact that under certain conditions Protozoa undergo a process of physiological degenera- tion, which may end in death, has been observed frequently by all those who have kept cultures of Protozoa under observation for a long time. It has been pointed out in a previous chapter (p. 135) that the life-cycles of Protozoa exhibit depression-periods (Calkins) which are characterized chiefly by cessation of feeding, metabolism, growth, and reproduction, together with increase in the size of the nucleus, and tendency to deposition of grains of fat or other sub- stances in the protoplasm, giving the body a characteristic dark- grey appearance. Such periods recur regularly and apparently normally in the life-cycles both of Protozoan and Metazoan cells THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 209 (Popoff, 184) ; they may also be induced artificially in various ways by unfavourable conditions, such as overfeeding or starvation, changes of temperature, or treatment with reagents (compare Smith, 207; Popoff, 186 ; Boissevain, 151). A state of depression may be regulated naturally by conjuga- tion, or by restoration of the nucleo-cytoplasmic balance through •a process of self-regulation on the part of the organism. The regulative processes consist of absorption of a large part of the superfluous chromatin, so as to restore the normal quantitative relation of the nucleus and cytoplasm. On the other hand, the depression may lead to complete degeneration of the organism without possibility of recovery, and death ensues by a process of disruption of the protoplasm into granules — so-called "granular disruption " (korniger Zerfall). Some examples are given below : Actinosphcerium can be brought into a condition of depression either by starvation or overfeeding (Hertwig, 164). In the depressed state a great quantity of chromatin is extruded from the nuclei in the form of chromidia which degenerate into pigment, so that the animal during a depression-period has a characteristic brownish tint, more or less pronounced in proportion to the degree of depression. In extreme cases the protoplasm is bereft of its nuclei, and becomes incapable of continuing to live. The nuclei may become entirely resolved into chromidia ; or some of the nuclei grow to a relatively gigantic size and are cast out, while other nuclei break up ; or the entire medullary layer surrounding the enlarged nuclei may be thrown off. The pseudopodia may disappear altogether or become deformed in various ways, the difference between cortical and medullary substance may be annulled or abnormally increased, and the metabolism may be modified, all these changes being in relation to nuclear alterations. In Opalina, according to Dobell (155), physiological degeneration can be induced by starvation of its host, the frog. The degenerating Opalines lose their cilia and become irregular in form ; peculiar refringent eosinophile globules appear in the cytoplasm ; the nuclei undergo increase in size and modification in structure, give off chromatin, and undergo irregular fusions ; and the body divides irregularly, sometimes producing buds which contain no nucleus. Ultimately the Opalince disintegrate. Prandtl (187) has described the degeneration of Amoeba proteus. The nucleus increases in size and becomes hyperchromatinic. Chromidia are extruded into the cytoplasm, and may there degenerate, with formation of numerous small crystals. The chromatin in the nucleus also degenerates to form a mass of brown pigment, which is extruded en bloc into the cyto- plasm, or forms a ring of fine granules round the nucleus. The pigment may also spread through the whole cytoplasm, giving it a brownish tinge. Finally the nucleus breaks up and disappears altogether. Degenerating amoebae are .subject to the attacks of parasites. A noteworthy feature is the tendency of the degenerating amoebae to associate in clumps, and plastogamic fusion of two amcebce was observed by Prandtl. The tendency to fusion may bo compared with the agglomeration of trypanosomes, etc. (p. 128), which is common also in degenerating forms or under unfavourable conditions.* It is not improbable that many of the plastogamic unions of Sarcodina of^en * The "conjugations" observed by Putter (201, p. 582) in Opalince kept without oxygen must have been also phenomena of the nature of agglomeration, since in Opalina syngamy takes places between special gametes, and not in the ionn of conjugation of adult forms as in other Ciliata (p. 4f>3). 14 210 THE PROTOZOA described may be phenomena of agglomeration associated with a similar condition. In Radiolaria, Borgert (152) describes fatty degeneration affecting the nucleus as well as the protoplasm, both endoplasm and ectoplasm. The nucleus becomes converted entirely into a vesicle filled with a mass of fat- globules, or into a number of such vesicles. In Tocophrya quadripartita subjected to starvation, after the refringent bodies (p. 458) have been absorbed, the nucleus becomes modified in structure, the tentacles are retracted, active budding takes place, and with the last bud formed the nucleus disappears and the remaining protoplasm dies away. From a consideration of the various examples of degeneration from different causes, it appears that the first part to be affected is always the nucleus, and that the other derangements of the structure and functions of the body are secondary consequences of an abnormal condition of the nucleus. The regeneration of lost parts of the cell-body of Protozoa has been the subject of experiment by a great number of investigators. The methods employed have consisted mainly in mutilating the body or cutting it up into a number of pieces, in order to find out to what extent the fragments possess the power of regenerating the lost parts. The experiments have led to one very definite result, which can be expressed briefly : no separate part of the body is capable of continuing its vital activities indefinitely, or of regenera- ting any of the deficiencies in the structure of the body, if it does not contain the nucleus or a portion of the nucleus. Non-nucleated fragments may continue to live for a certain time ; in the case of amoeba such fragments may emit pseudopodia, the contractile vacuole continues to pulsate, and acts of ingestion or digestion of food that have begun may continue ; but the power of initiating the capture and digestion of food ceases, consequently, all growth is at an end, and sooner or later all non-nucleate fragments or enucleated bodies die off. A Polystomella which possesses a nucleus can repair breakages to the shell ; an individual deprived of its nucleus cannot do so (Verworii). On the other hand, an isolated nucleus, deprived of all protoplasm, dies off ; but a small quantity of protoplasm containing the nucleus or a part of it is able in some eases to regenerate the whole body, and to produce a complete individual of small size. la experiments on regeneration the Ciliata are the objects of choice ; their complicated structure permits the regeneration that has taken place to be estimated accurately ; their size renders the mutilation more easy to perform ; and the large size and frequently extended form of the nucleus makes it possible to divide up this body also. In recent experiments Lewin (171) has succeeded in dividing Paramecium into a number of fragments (" mero- zoa"), containing each a portion of the macronucleus. Only one of the merozoa obtained in this manner contains the micronucleus, which is too- minute tobe divided by a mechanical operation. Except when the Paramecium was in process of division, only one merozoon recovered the normal body- form and proceeded to divide ; and the interesting result was obtained that THE GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PROTOZOA 211 the merozoon which survived was not necessarily the one which contained the micronucleus. Regenerated individuals multiplied for a number of genera- tions, producing a culture of " amicronucleate " Paramecia. If, on the other hand, a Paramecium in process of division was halved, each half regenerated the entire body and was capable of division. These experiments indicate that Paramecium contains a division- centre independent of the nuclei, and that its presence is necessary for regeneration of the body. Prowazek (189) observed occasionally a certain power of regeneration in non-nucleated fragments of Stentor, but considered it possible that extra- nuclear chromatin might have been present. The same author (190) ob- served abnormal regeneration, leading to monstrosities with three hinder ends, in a culture of Stylonychia mytilus during a depression- period which led finally to the extinction of the culture. The recent experiments of Lewin (172) on Stylonychia mytilus show that, in the regeneration which follows artificial mutilation, multiplication of micronuclei may occur, with the result that the regenerated individual may have more micronuclei than the number typical of the species or race. Bibliography. — For references see p. 481. CHAPTER XI SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE PROTOZOA : THE SARCODINA As stated in Chapter I., the Protozoa are commonly divided into four principal classes. Of these, two — namely, the Sarcodina and Mastigophora— may be regarded as the more primitive groups, comprising the main stock of less specialized and typical forms from which the other two classes have been evolved. The Sporozoa are an assemblage of exclusively endoparasitic forms exhibiting clearly the modifications and adaptations induced by, or necessary for, their particular mode of life ; and it is practically certain that the Sporozoa are not a homogeneous class showing mutual affinities based upon a common ancestry, but that one section of the group is a specialized offshoot of the Mastigophora, the other of the Sarcodina, and that the two sections are united only by characters of convergence due to the influence of a similar mode of life. The Infusoria, on the other hand, are a specialized group in which great complexity of organization has been attained ; they are the highest class of the Protozoa, and furnish examples of the most extreme degree of structural differentiation of which a unicellular organism is capable. While there is but little difficulty, as a rule, in defining the classes Sporozoa and Infusoria, or in assigning members of these groups to their proper systematic position, the case is different, very often, when we have to deal with the other two classes. The verbal distinction between them is based chiefly on the use of the word " adult ": Sarcodina are Protozoa which have no permanent organs of locomotion in the adult condition, but move by means of pseudo- podia extruded from the naked protoplasmic body ; Mastigophora, on the other hand, bear organs of locomotion in the form of flagella in the adult condition, whether the protoplasmic body is naked and amoeboid or corticate and of definite form. In both classes the youngest stages may be flagellate ; if, in an amoeboid form, the flagella are retained in the adult, the organism is classed in the Mastigophora ; if lost; in the Sarcodina. The word " adult " when applied to the Metazoa has a meaning which can be defined clearly, as a rule, by the criterion of sexual 212 THE SARCODINA 213 maturity. In the Protozoa no such criterion is available, and the distinction between young and adult is based on differences in size and growth, or on phases of the life-cycle selected in an arbitrary manner. In many cases the distinction presents no difficulty ; it is perfectly easy to distinguish young from adult stages in such forms as the Foraminifera and Radiolaria among Sarcodina, or the genus Noctiluca among Mastigophora. But in other cases it is purely a matter of opinion which phase in the life-cycle is to be regarded as adult. Such a form as Pseudospora has a flagellated and an amoeboid phase (Robertson), and can be placed in either the Sarcodina or the Mastigophora with perfect propriety. The amoeba-like genus Mastigamc&ba is placed in the Mastigophora because the flagellum is retained ; but if any species of this genus were to lose its flagellum when adult, rigid adherence to verbal definitions would necessitate its being classed in the Sarcodina. The difficulty of separating and defining the stems of the Sarco- dina and Mastigophora at their root is only to be expected on the theory of evolution. The two classes are undoubtedly descended from a common ancestral type, which has become modified in two divergent directions, giving rise to two vast groups of organisms which may differ from one another very slightly or very greatly in selected examples. The systematist may meet with many obstacles when it is required to lay down verbal distinctions between the two classes, but it is easy to recognize, in a general way, two principal morphological types, round which each class is centred, and which may be realized to a greater or less extent in given cases. 1. Sarcodine Type. — Protozoa which grow to a relatively large size ; in the so-called " adult phase " permanent organs of loco- motion are wanting, and the naked protoplasmic body moves or captures food by means of pseudopodia ; the young stages may be flagellate or amoeboid. 2. Mastigophoran Type. — Protozoa usually of minute size, seldom with a large adult phase (as, for example, Noctiluca) ; flagella retained throughout active life, only lost in resting phases ; body amoeboid or corticate. THE SARCODINA. The name Rhizopoda is sometimes used for this class but this name is only applicable, strictly speaking, to the first four orders recognized below, in which the pseudopodia are more or less root- like, and not to the orders Heliozoa and Radiolaria, characterized by stiff radiating pseudopodia. General Characteristics. — As stated above, the Sarcodina are Pro- tozoa for the most part of relatively large size. Many Sarcodina 214 THE PROTOZOA are visible to the naked eye, and some of the Radiolaria, Foramin- ifera, and Mycetozoa, attain to a size that must be considered gigantic for Protozoa. The more primitive forms, on the other hand, are often very minute. The body-form is of two principal types, related to distinct habits of life — namely, the amoeboid type, characteristic of forms that creep on a firm substratum ; and the radiate type, seen in floating forms. Amoeboid forms are found aquatic, semiterrestrial, and parasitic ; radiate forms are for the most part pelagic, living floating or suspended in large masses of water, marine or fresh-water. The protoplasmic body is in many cases distinctly differentiated into clear motile ectoplasm and granular trophic endoplasm. The surface of the protoplasm is naked, or may be covered in rare in- stances (Amceba verrucosa, A. terricola, etc.) by a very thin pellicle which modifies, but does not restrain, the amoeboid movements. A resistant cuticle or cell-membrane investing the body is not formed, but an. external shell or internal supporting skeleton is frequently present. The loconiotor organs in the adult are always pseudopodia, which may be of various types — lobose, filose, or reticulose (Chapter V., p. 46) ; they may lie in one plane, as in creeping forms, or may be given off on all sides, as in pelagic forms. The youngest forms (swarm-spores) may be flagellate or amoeboid. In some cases the pseudopodia of the young forms may differ markedly in character from those of the adult ; for example, the adult Amceba proteus has fluid protoplasm with thick lobose pseudopodia, but the young amoebula produced from the cyst of this species has viscid proto- plasm with sharp, spiky pseudopodia (Scheel). The free-living Sarcodina are almost without exception holozoic, capturing other organisms by means of their pseudopodia, and devouring them ; but the remarkable genus Ghlamydomyxa (p. 243) has chromatophores, and can live in either a holozoic or holophytic manner, like some flagellates ; and the genus Paulinella, allied to Euglypha, also possesses chromatophores. and is capable of holo- phytic nutrition (Lauterborn). The nuclear apparatus consists of one or more nuclei, in addition to which chromidia may be present. A single nucleus is charac- teristic of the majority of species, even of many which grow to very large size, such as many Radiolaria, in which the nucleus also attains to proportions relatively gigantic. In other cases increase in the size of the body is accompanied by multiplication of the nuclei ; there may be two nuclei constantly, as in Amceba binucleata (Schauclinn), or several, as in Difflugia urceolata, or many hundreds, as in Actinospkcerium and Pelomyxa, or even thousands, as in the Mycetozoa. In such forms the adult is a plasmodium, but the THE SARCODINA 215 numerous nuclei show 110 differentiation amongst themselves, and appear to be perfectly equivalent both in structure and function. Chromidia may be present as a permanent cell-constituent in many Anioebsea, such as Arcella, Difflugia, and the Foraniinifera ; in other cases they are formed temporarily, as extrusions from the nucleus, during certain phases of the life-cycle, either as a preliminary to reproduction or as a regulative process under certain physiological conditions. The reproduction of the Sarcodma is effected either by binary or multiple fission. Binary fission may be absent in some of the larger, more specialized forms, as in many Foraniinifera and Raclio- laria, but in most cases it is the ordinary " vegetative " method of reproduction during the active trophic life of the organism. In plasmodial forms it takes the form of plasrnotomy (p. 100). Mul- tiple fission or gemmation (sporulation) is in some cases the sole method of reproduction ; in other case it is combined with binary fission, and occurs only at certain crises in the life-cycle, in relation to seasonal changes, or as a preliminary to syngamy. In this type of reproduction the organism, breaking up rapidly into a large— often an immense — number of minute individuals, is necessarily put hors de combat as soon as the reproduction begins ; hence it is not uncommon for the sporulation to take place within a cyst, when a shell or protective envelope is not present, as in Amceba proteus (Scheel). The minute germs produced by sporulation may be set free at once as swarm-spores ; or they may form a pro- tective envelope or sporocyst, and be liberated as resistant spores which are disseminated passively, and germinate when conditions are favourable, as in parasitic forms and in the semi-terrestrial Mycetozoa. The swarm-spores, whether produced directly by sporulation of an adult or indirectly by germination of a spore, may be either flagellulse or amoebulse. In many forms two types of sporulation occur — schizogoiiy producing agarnetes, and sporogony producing gametes. The againetes may be structurally or morphologically distinguishable from the gametes. Thus, in Foraniinifera the agametes are amoebulee, the gametes are flagellulse. In Racliolaria both alike are flagellulas, but the agametes produced in schizogoiiy —the " isospores " —are distinguishable from the gametes produced in sporogony— " aiiisospores." In this class syngarny takes place rarely between adult indi- viduals ; but examples of this are seen in Actinophrys, where it takes the form of karyogamy within a cyst (Fig. 71), and in Arcella (p. 148) and Difflugia, where it takes the form of chromidiogamy between free individuals, followed in Diffliigia by encystrnent. In the great majority of Sarcodina the syngamy is microgamous, and takes place 216 THE PROTOZOA between swarm-spores, either amoebulec or flagellulse. The microg- amy is isogamous or slightly anisogamous ; macrogamy, as in other cases, is perfectly isogamous. Microgamy occurs, as has been seen (p. 148), in Arcella in addition to chromidiogamy ; and, according to a recent note of Zuelzer (86, p. 191, footnote), syngamy between free swarm-spores occurs in Diffluyia also. As regards the life-cycle of the Sarcodina, there remains still so much to be discovered that to generalize is both difficult and dangerous. Even in the commonest forms, such as Amoeba proteus, the complete life-cycle has not been yet worked out. In some FIG. 85. — Changes in the form of an amoeba under the influence of differences in the surrounding medium. A — C, In its natural medium (water) : A, contracted ; B, beginning to throw out pseudopodia ; G, Umax-form. D — F ', Forms assumed after addition of potash-solution : D, contracted, beginning; to throw out pseudopodia ; E, F, radiosa-ioruas. After Verworn. cases the life-cycle appears to be of comparatively simple type, and the species is monomorphic or nearly so, as in ActinospJt cerium ; in other cases there is a well-marked alternation of generations, with dimorphism in the adult condition, as in Trichosphcerium (p. 182), the Foraminifera, etc. Classification. — The Sarcodina are subdivided into a number of orders, the distinctions between which are based principally on the characters of the pseudopodia and of the skeleton, when present ; in more highly differentiated forms, such as Radiolaria, the internal structure of the body is also taken into account. In the primitive THE SARCODINA 217 forms of simple structure, however, in which no skeleton is present, the subdivisions are defined entirely by the characters of the proto- plasmic body and the pseudopodia, which furnish distinctions of very doubtful validity. Not only may the characters of the pseudopodia vary in different phases of the life cycle, as already stated in the case of Amoeba proteus, but even in the same phase under the influence of different media. Thus, no two forms of amoeba could appear more distinct at first sight than the Umax and radiosa forms, originally regarded as distinct species. In the limax-iorm. the whole body flows forward as a single pseudopodium, gliding along like a slug ; in the rad^'osa-form the spherical body becomes star-like, sending out sharp-pointed pseudopodia on all sides. Nevertheless, Verworn showed that the one form could be changed into the other by differences in the medium (Fig. 85). Doflein (238) obtained similar form-changes in Amceba vespertilio. and showed that the body-form and character of the pseudopodia were quite inadequate features for distinguishing the species of amoeba, depending as they do upon the conditions of the environ- ment and the nature of the medium. Compare also Gruber (246) on form- varieties of Amceba proteus. In view of the protean nature of these organisms, it is not sur- prising that much diversity of opinion prevails as to the arrangement of the groups and the exact position of some of their members. It is usual to put a number of primitive organisms together in a group termed Proteomyxa, the members of which probably have more affinities with various members of other groups than with one another. On the other hand, the more highly organized Sarcodiiia are classified without difficulty into well-characterized orders ; such are the Foraminifera, Mycetozoa, Radiolaria, and Heliozoa, though even in these groups there are forms near the border-line and of doubtful position. The classification adopted here is mainly that of Biitschli (2), with the addition of some forms not included in his great work, as follows : A. SUBCLASS RHIZOPODA. - - Typically creeping forms with branched, root-like pseudopodia. I. Order Amcebcea. — Amoeboid forms of simple structure ; skeleton lacking or in the form of a simple shell. 1. Suborder Eeticulosa (Proteomyxa). — With filose or reticulose pseudopodia, without shell. 2. Suborder Lobosa. — With lobose pseudopodia. (a) Section Nuda, without shell or skeleton, (b) Section Testacea, with shells. II. Order Foraminifera. — With reticulose pseudopodia and shells. 218 THE PROTOZOA III. Order Xenophyophora. — With skeleton of foreign bodies and a peculiar internal structure. IV. Order Mycdozoa. — Semi-terrestrial forms with repro- duction by resistant spores and formation of plas- modia. B. SUBCLASS ACTINOPODA (Calkins). — Typically floating forms with radiating, unbranched pseudopodia. V. Order Heliozoa. — Principally fresh-water, without a ;' central capsule." VI. Order Radiolaria. — Exclusively marine, with a central capsule. I. AMCEB/EA. 1. Reticulosa. — In this suborder are comprised a number of forms of doubtful affinities, sometimes ranked as a distinct order, Proteomyxa. The only positive character which they have in common is the possession of filose or reticulose pseudopodia, with which is combined the absence of a shell and skeleton. Hence it is not surprising that the position of many forms referred to this suborder is extremely dubious, and some of them are referred to distinct orders by many authorities. In general two types of organisms are referred to this suborder : (a) Large marine plasmodial forms ; an example is Pontomyxa flava, described by Topsent from the Mediterranean and British Channel. Pontomyxa is a multimicleate plasmodium of yellow colour. It sends out branching root-like pseudopodia, which may spread out and form a network extending over two or three inches in length. Nothing is known of its development or life-cycle. (6) Small forms with a single nucleus, marine or fresh-water, which reproduce by process of multiple fission forming swarm- spores. These forms have been subdivided into two families, according to the type of swarra-spore found — Zoosporidce, pro- ducing flagellulse ; and Azoosporidce, producing amoebulse. An example of the Zoosporidce is furnished by the genus Pseudospora. which preys upon algse, diatoms, Volvociriese, etc. The adult phase is amoeboid, flagellate, or even Heliozooii-like. It feeds on the cell- substance and chlorophyll of the prey, and multiplies by binary fission. It can also break up by multiple fission into flagellate swarm-spores, with or without previous encystrnent. Robertson has observed syngamy between flagellulse thus formed, which are therefore gametes ; in other cases the flagellulse are perhaps agametes. As already pointed out above, the position of this form amongst the Sarcodina is doubtful ; by many authorities it is classified in the Mastigophora. An example of the Azoosporidce is furnished by Vampyrclla, a THE SARCODINA 219 small amoeboid form which, like Pseudospora, preys upon algae (Fig. 86), devouring the contents of the cell, and multiplying in the free state by binary fission. It also encysts and breaks up within the cyst by multiple fission to form a number of anioebulae, which creep out and grow up into the adult form. A large number of other genera are referred to the Reticulosa, for the most part so little investigated as regards their develop- ment and life-history that it is impossible to deal with them com- prehensively in a brief space. For an account of them, see Delage and Herouard (6, p. 66), Hickson (248), and Rhumbler (288). 2. Lobosa. — This suborder comprises a great number of organisms, which it is convenient to subdivide into — (a) Nuda FIG. 86. — Vampyrella lateritia: various forms. A, Free Heliozoon-like phase ; B, creeping amoeboid phase ; C, amoeboid form attached to a Conferva-fila- ment ; D, a similar form ; it has broken the algal filament at a joint, and has emptied one cell of its contents. A and -B after Hoogenraad ; 0 and D after Cash and Hopkinson. with no shell; and (6) Testacea (Thecamoebae, Thalamophora), with a shell or house. General Characters. — Familiar examples of the Lobosa Nuda are furnished by the species of the genus Amoeba and allied forms. A very large number of free-living amoebae have been described and named, but it is very doubtful how far they are true species ; some of them, with pronounced and constant characteristics, such as Amceba proteus (Fig. 2) and A. verrucosa (Fig. 23), are probably " good " species ; others, such as A. Umax and A. radiosa, are probably forms that may occur as phases in the development of other species of amoebae or of other organisms, such as Mycetozoa. 220 THE PROTOZOA At the present time the life-history has been worked out satisfac- torily in but f ew free-living amoebae, but in such protean organisms it is quite unsafe to attempt to characterize or define a species without a knowledge of the whole life-cycle. As regards the familiar Amoeba proteus, for example, practically all that is known of its life-cycle is that it encysts and multiplies within the cyst to form a great number of small amcebulae, very different in appear- ance from the parent-organism ; the amoebulse creep out of the cyst, and probably grow up into the adult form (Scheel). Calkins adduces arguments in favour of the occurrence of a sexual cycle, which remains at present, however, purely conjectural. The majority of free-living amoebae are aquatic in habitat. A certain number, however, are semi-terrestrial, inhabiting damp earth, moss, etc. Such is Amoeba terricola (vide Grosse-Allermann). The " earth-amoebae," like other terricolous Protozoa, probably play a great part in keeping down the numbers of the bacteria and other organisms in the soil, and thereby lessening its fertility from an agricultural standpoint (compare Russell and Hutchmsoii, 24 ; Goodey, 16). A great many species of amoebae are found living within the bodies of animals of all kinds, for the most part in the digestive tract. The entozoic amoabae are commonly placed in a distinct genus, Entamoeba, distinguished from the free-living forms by little, however, except their habitat and the general (but not invariable) absence of a contractile vacuole. A common example is Entamoeba blattce, from the intestine of the common cockroach ; others are E. ranarum of the frog (Dobell, 236, 237) ; E. muris of the mouse (Wenyon) ; the species parasitic in the human intestine, presently to be mentioned ; E. buccalis (Prowazek), from the human mouth ; and many others. Chatton has described a species, Amoeba mu- cicola, ectoparasitic on the gills of Labridce, and extremely patho- genic to its host. Life-History. — So far as it is possible to generalize from the scanty data available at present, the development of many free-living species of amoebae appears to be of a type very similar to that of Arcella, described in a previous chapter (p. 179). In the free state the organisms reproduce themselves in two ways : first, " vegeta- tively,5' by simple binary fission, preceded by a division of the nucleus, which varies in different cases from a pro mitosis (p. 109) of the simplest type to very perfect mitosis ; secondly, by forma- tion of chromidia and subsequently of secondary nuclei, round which the cytoplasm becomes concentrated to form, a number of internal buds, destined to be set free as amcebulae, agametes, which grow up into the adult form. In addition to these two methods of reproduction in the free state, the animal may become encysted, THE SARCODINA 221 and produce within the cyst a number of gametes in the same manner as the agametes already described, but with the following differ- ences of detail : the principal nucleus degenerates as soon as the chromidia are formed ; the number of secondary nuclei produced is much larger, and the gametes are much smaller than the agametes ; and the cytoplasm of the parent is entirely used up in their forma- tion. The gametes are ultimately set free from the cyst as amoe- bulae, and pair ; the zygote grows into the adult form of the amoeba. Such a cycle has recently been described by Popoff (264) for a species named by him Amoeba minuta ; the gametes in this species are iso gametes, without any sexual differentiation as in Arcella. This type of life-cycle is probably very common in many amoebae, FIG. 87. — Amosba albida : autogamy in the encysted condition ; drawn in outline, with nuclear details only. A, Encysted amoeba ; B, the nucleus of the amoeba divides unequally into a larger vegetative and a smaller generative nucleus ; the vegetative nucleus, as seen in the subsequent figures, travels to the surface of the cyst, degenerates, and disappears ; the generative nucleus gives rise to the gamete-nuclei ; G, incomplete division of the generative nucleus ; D, one half of the generative nucleus is budding off two reduction-nuclei (on the right) ; E, four reduction-nuclei have been budded off, two from each pole of the incompletely divided generative nucleus ; F, the reduced generative nucleus completes its division ; the four reduction-nuclei are degenerating ; G, the two pronuclei far apart yH, the two pronuclei coming together ; I, the pronuclei fusing. After Nagler (95). with specific differences of detail in different cases, of which the most important are, that in some cases, probably, the nucleus divides to form the gamete-nuclei, instead of becoming resolved into chromidia, and that autogamy within the cyst may occur, instead of free gametes being formed, as A. albida (Fig. 87). According to Nagler (95), autogamy of this type is characteristic of all amoebae of the Umax-group ; in such cases only two gamete- nuclei are formed in the cyst, which after going through reducing divisions fuse to form a synkaryon. The zygote then leaves the cyst and begins a fresh vegetative cycle. A different type of life-cycle is exemplified by that which Schepo- tieff has described in the case of a marine amoeba identified by him as A. flava. In this case also the ordinary vegetative form is a 222 THE PROTOZOA uninucleate amoeba, which reproduces itself by binary fission of the- ordinary type ; but large multinucleate forms occur which become encysted. Within the cyst the nuclei break up into chromidia, from which a great number of secondary nuclei are formed. The protoplasm becomes concentrated round the secondary nuclei to form a number of small cells, which acquire flagella and are set free from the cyst as flagellulse, believed to be gametes and to copulate ; the zygote is at first encysted, but becomes free from the cyst, and develops into the uninucleate amoeba. The life-cycle of A. proteus is possibly of this type, since in this species also multinucleate amoebse are commonly observed (see especially Stole ; compare also Paramceba (Fig. 49). FIG. 88. — Amoeba diploidea. A, The amoeba in the vegetative condition, with its two nuclei ; B — F, the sexual processes within the cyst, drawn in outline on a reduced scale ; B, two amoebse, each with its two nuclei, encysted together, the nuclei beginning to give off chromidia ; C, the two nuclei of each amoeba fused, numerous vegetative chromidia in the cytoplasm ; D, the bodies of the amoebse fused, each synkaryon beginning its reduction-process ; E, the synkarya giving off reduction -nuclei which are degenerating ; F, the reduction- process complete ; the cyst contains a single amoeba with two nuclei (syn- karya), ready to emerge and begin its vegetative free life. After Nagler (95)- Metcalf (257) describes " gernmules " budded from small free arnoabse of the proteus-type, each gemmule becoming detached and developing into a. flagellated gamete of a cercomonad type. The flagellulse were observed frequently to lose their flagella and become amoeboid. Copulation of two flagellulse took place to form an amoeboid zygote. Metcalf' s observations upon the syngamy in this case recall strongly the observations of Jalm (294) on the sexual processes of Mycetozoa (p. 242). It is possible that the syngamy observed by him did not form a part of the life-cycle of the amceba, but of some other organism. The sexual process described by Nagler (95) in Amceba diploidea is of a, remarkable kind (Fig. 88). In the ordinary vegetative condition the amoeba possesses normally two nuclei, which divide simultaneously each time the THE SARCODINA 223 animal reproduces itself by fission. The sexual process begins by two such amcebse coming together and surrounding themselves with a cyst in common. Within the cyst their nuclei first give off vegetative chromidia, which are absorbed, after which the two nuclei in each separate amoeba fuse together to form a single nucleus, a synkaryon. The protoplasmic bodies of the two amcebse now fuse completely into one, after which each synkaryon goes through two reducing divisions, producing each two reduction-nuclei, of which the first may divide again, so that there may be in the cyst six reduction- nuclei altogether, which are gradually absorbed. The two persistent synkarya, after undergoing this process of reduction, approach each other, but remai:i separate, and the amoeba is hatched out of the cyst to begin its vegetative life with two nuclei representing gamete-nuclei that have undergone reduction - — that is to say, pronuclei — which remain separate and multiply by fission throughout the vegetative life, and do not undergo syngamic fusion until the end of it. In Amoeba binucleata, described by Schaudinn, the vegetative phase also contains two similar nuclei which multiply simultaneously by division each time the animal divides ; but in this case the complete life-cycle is not known. Cwing to the practical importance of the entozoic amoebae, and the attention that has been directed to them in consequence, their life-cycles have been more studied and are better known than those of the free-living species. According to Mercier, Entamceba blattce multiplies by binary fission in the gut of its host, and later becomes encysted, passing out of the body of its host in this condition. Within the protective cyst it breaks up by multiple fission, follow- ing repeated division of the nucleus, into a number of amoebulae, which are set free from the cyst when it is devoured accidentally by a new host. The amcebulse are gametes which copulate after being set free, and the zygote grows into the ordinary vegetative form of the amoeba. E. blattce thus furnishes a very characteristic and primitive type of the life-cycle of an entozoic amoeba, and one which differs only in points of specific difference from that of Amoeba minuta, described above. The question of the human entozoic amoebae is at present in a somewhat confused state. The occurrence of amoebae in the hinder region of the human digestive tract, especially the colon, has long been known, and the name Amoeba coli was given by Losch to such organisms (sjTionym, Entamceba hominis, Casagrandi and Barba- gallo). It is, however, certain that more than one species of amoeba occurs in the human bowel, and Losch's name must therefore be restricted to one of these. An epoch in the study of human entozoic amoebae was marked by the researches of Schaudinn (131), who distinguished two species. The first, to which he restricted the name Entamceba coli, occurs commonly in Europe and elsewhere as a harmless inhabitant of the intestine — that is to say, like E. blattce and many others, it is not, under normal circumstances at least, a parasite in any sense of the word, but a simple scavenger, feeding on bacterial and other organisms, detritus, etc., in the colon and rectum. The second species, to which Schaudinn gave the name E. histolytica, * is, on the contrary, c Liihe has proposed to place E. histolytica in a separate genus, Poneramceba n. g. (Schr. PJiyzik. Ges. Koniysberg, vol. xlix., p. 421). THE PROTOZOA a parasite of a dangerous kind, which occurs in tropical and subtropical regions, and is the pathogenic agent of amoebic dysentery and liver-abscess ; it attacks and devours the tissues of the host, destroying the wall of the intestine, whence it penetrates into the blood-vessels and is carried to the liver, where it establishes itself and gives rise to liver-abscesses. These two species of amcebse are distinguishable by structural characters. E. coli has .a relatively fluid body, with ectoplasm feebly developed and with a fairly large spherical nucleus (or nuclei) lodged in the endoplasm. E. histolytica, -TL •FiG. 89. — Entamaba coli. A and B, Living amoebae showing changes of form and vacuolation in the endoplasm ; C, D, E, amoebae showing different conditions of the nucleus (n.) ; F, a specimen with two nuclei preparing for fission ; G, a specimen with eight nuclei preparing for multiple fission ; H, an encysted amoeba containing eight nuclei ; I, a cyst from which young amoebae (al) are escaping ; J , K, young amoebae free. After Gasagrandi and Barbagallo. '•on the contrary, has a relatively viscid body with greatly-developed ecto- plasm, as is seen clearly in the formation of pseudopodia, which may consist entirely of ectoplasm ; it is smaller than E. coli, and its nucleus has a com- pressed form, stains feebly, and is lodged in, or immediately below, the superficial ectoplasmic layer. The life -cycles of these two species are also very different, as described by Schaudinn. E. coli, in the amoeboid multiplicative phase, reproduces itself by binary THE SARCODINA 225 fission of the ordinary type, and also by a process of multiple fission is which the nucleus divides until there are eight nuclei in the body ; the characteristic 8-nucleate plasmodiuni then divides up into eight small amcebas, each of which grows into an ordinary adult form. Hence it in characteristic of E. coli to occur in various sizes, from very small to full-grown amcebag. The propagative phase of E. coli is initiated by the formation of a gelatinous envelope round a full-sized amoeba possessing a single nucleus. The nucleus then divides into two, and the process of maturation and autogamy takes place that has been described on p. 139, supra (Fig. 73). When it is complete, a tough resistant cyst is formed within the soft gelatinous envelope, and each of the two synkarya divides twice to produce four nuclei. Thus is formed the 8-nucleate resistant cyst which is characteristic, perhaps diagnostic, of this species. Within the cyst no further changes take place until it is swallowed by a new host ; then it is believed that the contents of the cyst divide up into eight uninucleate amoebulee. which are set free in the colon and are the starting-point of a new infection. Schaudinn was able to infect himself by swallowing the 8-nucleate cysts of the amoeba. Prowazek (A.P.K., xxii.. p. 345) has described a variety of E. coli under the name E. ivilliamsi. E. Tiistolytica reproduces itself in the amoeboid phase by binary fission and by a process of gemmation iu which the nucleus multiplies by division, and then small amcebuloe, each with a single nucleus, are budded off from the surface of the body. In the process of gemma- tion, however, the number of nuclei in the body is irregular, and not definitely eight, as in E. coli. In its propagative phase E. liistolytica does not form a cyst round the whole body, but its nucleus becomes resolved into chromidia, which collect in patches near the surface of the body. Little buds are then formed as outgrowths of the body, each bud containing a clump of chromidia. Bo'und each bud a sporocyst is formed of so tough and impervious a character that no further cytological study of the bud is possible. The resistant spores formed in this way separate from the. body, of which the greater part remains as residual protoplasm and dies off. The minute spores are the means of infecting a new host, as shown by Schaudinn in experiments on cats, which are particularly susceptible to the attacks of this amoeba. Schaudinn's investigations, of which a brief summary has been given in the foregoing paragraphs, first introduced clear ideas into the problem of the human entozoic aruoebas. Many of the works of subsequent investigators have tended, however, rather to confuse and perplex the question, for various reasons. In the first place, in cultures made from human faeces, free-living, non- parasitic species of amoebae make their appearance, which have passed through the digestive tract in an encysted condition, and emerge from their 15 FIG. 90. — Entamceba liistolytica. A, Young specimen; B, an older specimen crammed with ingested blood-corpuscles ; C, D, E, three figures of a living arnceba which contains a nucleus and three blood - corpuscles, to show the changes of form and the ectoplasrnic pseudopodia : «., nucleus ; 6.c., blood-corpuscles. After Jiirgens. 226 THE PROTOZOA cysts in the cultures ;* such amoeboe, for the most part of the limax-iypc, have been confused with the true entozoic amoeba, and have given rise to erroneous ideas. Secondly, it is certain now that the two species of amoebae recognized by Schaudinn does not exhaust the list of human entozoic amoebae. Thirdly, it is possible that Schaudinn did not see the entire life-cycle of the forms studied by him, or that in some cases he confused stages of different species in the same life-cycle (compare Hartmann, 247). It is still doubtful how many species of entozoic amcebse occur in man. Hartmann recognizes two dysenteric amcebse, in addition to the harmless E. coli : E. histolytica, Schaudinn, and E. tetragena, Viereck (synonym, E. africana, Hartmann). E. tetragena has been described from various parts of the tropics ; it differs from E. histolytica in its characters, and more nearly resembles E. coli, but is distinguished by the formation of resistant cysts containing four nuclei. In addition to these species, many others have been described by various investigators— for example, E. minuta. Elrnassian, which, according to Hartmann, is merely a variety of E. coli. A summary of the various amcebse described from the human intestine is given by Doflein (7) and Fantham (241). In Cochin China, Noc obtained from liver- abscesses and dysenteric stools a small amoeba (not named) which in the multiplicative phase reproduces in two ways : by binary fission of the ordinary type ; and by budding off small amcebulae containing secondary nuclei formed from chromidia. In the propagative phase Noc's amoeba encysts and breaks up into amcebulse. Greig and Wells, in Bombay, obtained results very similar to those of Noc. In cultures from liver-abscesses from Bombay, Listen found two distinct forms of amoebae — a larger form containing a single nucleus and numerous chromidia, and a smaller form containing a nucleus only. The larger amoeba multiplies either by binary fission, with karyo- kinesis of the nucleus and partition of the chromidia ; or by the formation of endogenous buds containing chromidia from which a secondary nucleus is formed, the bud being finally set free as a small amoeba with a nucleus and a number of chromidia. The small amoeba multiples only by binary fission, preceded by amitotic division of the nucleus. Both large and small amoebae form resting cysts, in which, however, they remain unchanged, and from which they emerge when circumstances are favourable. It is evident that much of the life-cycle of these liver-abscess amoeba? remains to be worked out. From the foregoing it is clear that, with regard to the human pathogenic amcebse, many Important problems remain to be investigated, especially as regards their specific distinctions, distribution, and life-history. Much recent work has been carried on by culture-methods, with valuable results, which, however, should be interpreted with caution, since it remains to be ascertained whether the forms and phases assumed by these organisms in cultures are identical in character with those which they exhibit under natural conditions ; and until this point has been cleared up it is not safe to describe the characters of a species of an amoeba, any more than of a trypanosome, from cultural forms alone. With regard to the life-cycle of the pathogenic amcebse, it is most important to discover what are the phases of development or conditions of life under which they occur outside the human body ; whether they exist only in an encysted, resting condition, or in an active state also ; and, in the latter case, whether as free-living organisms or within some other host. On general grounds it is un- likely that an organism adapted to an entozoic life should be capable also of living free in Nature, and it is more probable that the pathogenic amcebse out- side the human body occur only in the condition of resting cysts or spores, which produce infection through being accidentally swallowed with food or water (compare Walker, 276'5). In that case unfiltered water, uncooked vegetables * Whether this also applies to cultures made from the pus of liver-abscesses, as asserted by Whitmore (279) and Hartmann (247), may well be doubted ; it is rot easy to understand how an encysted amoeba, could be transported passively from the intestine into a liver-abscoss. THE SARCODIXA •2-21 and herbs, or fruit that grows near the ground, are likely sources of infection by becoming contaminated with the resting stage of the amoebae scattered on the ground or in manure. In this connection the further question arises whether the human entozoic amoebae are specific parasites of man or not, and conse- quently whether their infective stages would be derived only from human faeces, or from the excreta of other animals also. From general considerations of parasitism in Protozoa, it seems probable that the harmless E. coli is a specific parasite of man, but that the pathogenic forms are parasites of other animals also, and perhaps only occasionally find their way into the .Iranian body ; in which case garden-manure might be a fruitful source of contamination, through the medium of vegetables habitually eaten uncooked, such as lettuce, celery, etc. 'Xone of these questions can be answered decisively at present, however, and there is a wide field of in- vestigation open. Greig and Wells found that in Bombay amoebic infection shows a marked seasonal variation, closely associated with variations in humidity, but not corresponding with those of temperature, and reaching its maximum in August. In addition to the various species of Am^'ni and of allied genera and subgenera, a number of o:her genera are included in the section under consideration, for an account of which the reader must be referred to the larger treatises ; but two deserve special mention — namely, the genera Pelomyxa and Paramceba. The species of Pdomyxa (Fig. 91) are fresh- water amcebte of large size and " sapropelic " habit of life (p. 14). The body, which may be several millimetres in diameter, is a plasmodium in the adult condition, containing some hundreds of nuclei ; it is general^ very opaque, owing to the animal having the habit of loading its ytoplasm with sand and debris of all kinds, in addition to food in the form chiefly of diatoms. The pseudopoclia are of the lobose type, blunt and rounded, but the animal may also form slender reticulose pseudopodia under certain conditions (Veley). The cytoplasm is very vacuolated, and contains a number of peculiar refringent bodies (" Glanzkorper ") of spherical form, with an envelope in which bacterial organisms (Cladothrix pdomyxce. Veley) occur constantly. The bacteria multiply by fission in a linear series in the form of jointed rods, which may branch ; as a rule they have five or six joints, or less, but at least two. The refringent bodies are of albu- minous nature (Veley). According to Gold- schmidt (57), the refringent bodies arise from the nuclei when they give off chromidia ; in this process the chroinatin is given off into the cytoplasm, and the plas- m-basis of the karyosorne is left as a spherical mass which becomes the refringent body. At first the plastin-sphere is surrounded by the remains of the nuclear membrane, which disappears, and the refringeiit body grows in size. Re- fringent bodies, with their bacteria, are seen frequently to be ejected by the animal during life. Bott (103), on the other hand, states that the refringent bodies are reserve food-stuff, their contents of the nature of glycogen. and FIG. 91. — Pelomyxa pcdus- tris : a specimen in which the body is transparent owing to the absence of food-particles and foreign bodies, showing the vacuolated cytoplasm and the numerous nuclei and refringenfc bodies (the refi'ingent bodies are for the most part larger thari the nuclei) in the living condition. After Greeff, magnified 60. 228 THE PROTOZOA that they arise in the cytoplasm independently of the nuclei ; but their rejection by the animal is more in favour of the view that they are waste- products of the metabolism (Veley). It is not clear what is the role of the bacteria, whether they are parasites or symbionts. Pelomyxa reproduces itself by simple fission or by formation of gametes. The sexual process, according to Bott, begins with extrusion of chrouiatin from the nuclei into the cytoplasm to form chromidia, which may take place so actively that sometimes the nuclei break up altogether. A similar extrusion of chromidia may take place as a purely regulative process under certain conditions, such as starvation ; but the vegetative chromidia formed in this- way, and absorbed ultimately in the cytoplasm, must be distinguished from generative chromidia produced as a preliminary to gamete- formation. From the genera- tive chromidia secondary nuclei of vesicular structure arise, which, after elimination of chrouiatin followed by reduc- tion (see p. 150, supra), become the gamete-nuclei. The gametes arise as spherical in- ternal buds, each with a single nucleus, to the number of 100 or more, and are extruded when full}' formed, causing" the parent-individual to break up completely. Each free gamete is Heliozoon-like, with slender, radiating pseudopodia ; they copulate in pairs, and the zygote grows into a young Pelomyxa, either directly or after a resting period in an encysted condition. The genus Paramceba (Fig. 49) was founded by Schaudinn (81) for the species P. eilhardi discovered by him in a marine aquarium in Berlin.* In the adult stage the animal occurs as an amoeba, from 10 to 90 p. in diameter, of rather flattened form and with lobose pseudo- N ^R FIG. 92. — Portion of a section through the body of Pelomyxa. N., Nucleus ; r.b., refringent bodies ; b., bacteria on the refringent bodies ; s., sand and debris in the protoplasm. After Gould. podia. It contains a single nucleus, and near it a peculiar body, the " Nebenkern " of Schaudinn (see p. 95). In this phase the amceba multiplies by binary fission accompanied by division both of nucleus and Nebenkern. It also becomes encysted and goes through a process of multiple fission, which shows three stages ; in the lirst the Nebenkern multiplies by repeated division, the nucleus remaining unchanged ; in the second the nucleus divides repeatedly to form as many- small nuclei as there are Nebenkerne present, and each nucleus attaches itself to a Nebenkern ; in the third the protoplasmic body undergoes radial super- ficial cleavage into a number of cells, each containing a nucleus and a Neben- kern, Each of the cells thus formed becomes a swarm-spore with two flagella. * The amceba from the human intestine described by Craig under the name Param&ba hominis certainly does not belong to this genus. See Dofiein (7), pp. 602, 603. THE SARCODINA 229 The swarm-spores are liberated from the cyst and live freely, feeding and multiplying by binary fission, in which the nucleus divides by mitosis and the Nebenkern acts like a centrosome. After a time, however, the swarm-spores lose their flagella, and become amcebulae which develop into the adult phase. Syngamy was not observed, but probably takes place between the flagellulse. Two new parasitic species of Paramceba have been described recently by Janicki (71-5) ; see p. 95. To the order Amoebeea should be referred, probably, the parasite of the Malpighian tubules of the rat-flea (Ceratophyllus fasciatus), described by Minchin under the name MalpigJiiella refringens, and the parasite of Ptychodera •ninuta, described by Sun under the name Protoentospora ptychoderce. The section Lobosa Testacea or Thecamcebae contains a number of free-living forms familiar to every microscopist, such as the genera Difflugia (Fig. 16), C entropy xis, Arcella (Fig. 32), etc. The majority of these forms inhabit fresh water, but Trichosphcerium (Fig. 81) is marine. Their common distinctive feature, in addition to the possession of lobose pseudopodia, is the formation of a shell or house into which they can be withdrawn entirely. The shell may te secreted by the animal, and then is chitinous (Arcella) or gelat- inous (Trichosphcerium), or may be made up of various foreign bodies cemented together (Difflugia). Typically the house has the form of a chamber with a single large opening, through which the pseudopodia are extruded at one pole. When the animal multiplies by fission, the protoplasm streams out through the aperture, and forms a daughter-shell external to the old one, after which division of the nucleus takes place and the two sister-individuals separate. In Trichosphcerium, however, the house has the form of a gelatinous investment to the body, with several apertures through which pseudopodia protrude, and when the animal divides the investing envelope divides with it. The protoplasmic body contains typically one nucleus — some- times more than one — surrounded by a ring of chromidia. In Arcella vulgaris there are constantly two primary nuclei ; in Difflugia urceolata, from ten to thirty. Trichosphcerium possesses many nuclei, but no chromidia. The life-cycle, so far as is known, is of various types ; those of Arcella and Trichosphcerium are described above (p. 177, Fig. 80, and p. 181, Fig. 81). The latter, with an alternation of generations combined with dimorphism in the adult condition, approaches that of the Foraminifera in character. In the testaceous amoebae the method of division varies in accordance with the nature of the shell. In those in which the shell is soft and yielding, as, for example, Cocliliopodium and Cryptodifflugia, the division is longitudinal —i.e., in a plane which includes the axis passing through the mouth and apex of the shell (Doflein, 239) ; in Cryptodifflugia rapid division of this kind may lead to colony-formation. In forms with a rigid shell, on the other hand, such as Difflugia, Arcella, Centropyxis, etc., the shell sets a limit to the growth of the animal, which, when it has filled the shell, ceases to grow for a while 230 THE PROTOZOA and stores up reserve-material. Prior to division a sudden and rapid growth takes place at the expense of the reserve-material and by absorption of water ; as a result the protoplasm grows out of the shell-mouth, a daughter-shell is formed, and the animal divides transversely (Fig. 50). In Difflugia urceolata, Zuelzer (85) has described a process of chroniidiogamy. Two animals come together with the mouths of the shells in contact, and the entire contents of one shell flow over into the other, the empty shell being cast off. The chromidia of the two animals fuse into a single mass ; the nuclei, however, remain separate. Copulation of this kind is a preliminary to encystment, which takes place in Nature at the end of October or the beginning of November. Prior to encystment the pseudopodia are retracted. alf foreign bodies, food-remains, excreta, etc., are cast out, and the proto- plasmic "body rounds itself off in the shell, and diminishes to about a quarter of its former volume, becoming denser and more refractile. The cyst- membrane is then secreted at the surface of the body. The old nuclei are gradually absorbed, and new nuclei are formed from the chroniidial rn; The recbnstitution of the nuclear apparatus takes place from January to April ; in the spring the cyst is dissolved, and the rejuvenated Difflugia begins to feed and to enter upon a summer course of vegetative growth and repro- duction. In a recent note (86, p. 191, footnote) Zuelzer states that conjuga- tion between free gametes also occurs in this species. ' In Centropyxis aculeata, according to Schaudinn (131 ), the ordinary vegeta- tive reproduction is by fission, the new shell that is formed being larger than the old one, until the maximum size is reached. Sexual processes are initiated by degeneration of the .primary nucleus, which is single in this species. Then the protoplasm with tlie chromidia creeps out of the shell and divides into a number of amcebulse, each containing chromidia which condense into a single nucleus. Some amcebula? form a shell at once ; others before doing so divide into four smaller arncebulse, and then form a shell. The larger are macrogametes, the smaller the microgametes : they copulate and abandon their shells. The zygote forms a new shell, chromidia appear, and a fresh vegetative cycle is started. In a species of the genus Cryptodifflugia (" Allogromia") a remarkable type of life-cycle has been described by Prandtl (265); see also Doflein (7), p. 310, Fig. 283. In this form also the organism, at the time of garnet e- t'ormat'ion, quits its shell and penetrates into some other Protozoan organism, such as Amceba proteus, in the body of which it becomes parasitic and goes through the process of gamete-formation. The nucleus breaks up into chromidia, from which secondary nuclei are formed, producing a multinucleate plasmodium which multiplies by plasmotoniy until the host is full of them. Ultimately the plasmodia break up into uninucleate cells, the gametes, which are set free and copulate. The zygote becomes a flagellated Bodo-Uke organism, with two flagella, one directed forward, the other backward as a trailing flagellum (p. 270, infra) ; it feeds and multiplies in this form for several generations in the free state, but ultimately it loses its flagella, becomes amoeboid, forms a shell, and develops into an adult Cryptodifflugia. Note- worthy in this development are the alternation of generations between the flagellated and the amceboid phase, as in Pseudospora (p. 218), and the para- sitism in the gamete-forming phases; if, however, the Cryptodifflugia does not succeed in finding a suitable host, the gamete-formation may take place in the free state. From the life-cycles and sexual processes of Arcella, Difflugia, Centropyxis, etc., it is seen that the primary nuclei of all these forms are vegetative in nature, while the chromidia give rise to the gamete -nuclei, and consist of, or at least contain, the generative chromatin. The marine Tricliosplicerium, however, stands apart from the fresh-water genera in regard to its structure, sexual processes, and life-cycle, in all of which it shows more similarity to the Foraminifera. THE SARCODINA 231 II. FORAMINIFERA. General Characters — Shell -Structure. — The characteristic features of this group are the possession of reticulose pseudopodia and of a shell or test. The Forarniriifera are typically creeping forms, moving slowly, and using their net-like pseudopodia chiefly for food- capture. Certain genera, however, such as Globigerina, have taken secondarily to a pelagic existence, and float on the surface of the ocean, spreading their nets in all directions around them. On the other hand, some forms have adopted a sedentary life, attaching themselves firmly to some object. An example is seen in the genus Haliphysema (Fig. 17). once believed to be a sponge, and in the remarkable genus Polytrema and allied forms, recently monographed by Hickson (282) — organisms which in many cases have a striking and deceptive resemblance to corals. The test may be secreted by the animal itself, and then is usually either chitinous or calcareous, rarely siliceous or gelatinous (Myxo- theca] ; or it may be made up of foreign bodies cemented together, as in Haliphysema (Fig. 17), and is termed generally " arenaceous," but the materials used may be of various kinds, and the organism sometimes exhibits a remarkable power of selection (see p. 34, supra}. The typical form of the shell, as in the Amoebaea Testacea, is a chamber with a wide aperture — sometimes more than one- through which the pseudopodia are extruded, as in Gromia (Fig. 21). In addition to the principal aperture, the wall of the shell may be perforated by numerous fine pores, through which also the protoplasm can stream out to the exterior. Hence the shells of Foraminifera are distinguished primarily as perforate and imperforate, the former with, the latter Avitliout, fine pores in addition to the principal opening. Whether perforate or imperforate, the shell remains a single chamber in the simple forms, as in the Arnoebasa Testacea. In. some cases, when the animal reproduces itself by binary fission, the proto- plasm streams out through the principal aperture to give rise to the body of the daughter-individual, which forms a shell for itself, and, when the division is complete, separates completely from the mother, which retains the old shell. Division of this type is seen in Euglypha (Fig. 59). But in many species, when the animal out- grows its original single-chambered shell, the protoplasm flows out and forms another chamber, which, however, is not separated off as a distinct individual, but remains continuous with the old shell, so that the animal, instead of reproducing itself by fission, remains a single individual with a two-chambered shell. By further growth, third, fourth, . . .nth chambers are formed successively, each newly- formed chamber being, as a rule, slightly larger than that formed 232 THE PROTOZOA just before. Hence a distinction must be drawn between mono- thalamous or single-chambered shells and polythalamous shells, made up of many chambers formed successively. In the latter type the new chambers may be joined in various ways to the old, I.Saccammina 2.Lagena 3-Nodosaria 4.Frondicu!aria 6.Clobigerina 7. Discorbina O.PIanorbulina 10 ll.Nummulires FIG. 93. — Shells of various genera of Foraminifera. In 3, 4, and 5, a shows the surface-view, and b a section ; 8a is a diagram of a coiled shell without supple- mental skeleton ; 86, of a similar form with supplemental skeleton (s.sk.) ; 10, of a form with overlapping whorls ; in 11 a half the shell is shown in hori- zontal section ; b is a vertical section. In all the figures a marks the aperture of the shell ; 1 to 15, the successive chambers, 1 being always the oldest or initial chamber. From Parker and Haswell. producing usually either a linear or a spiral series, and the utmost variety of shape and pattern results in different species (Fig. 93). Some polythalamous species exhibit a peculiar dimorphism (Fig. 94) ; THE SARCODINA 233 in some individuals, hence termed microspheric, the initial chamber of the shell is smaller than in others, which are known as megalospheric. This point will be discussed further under the reproduction. It may be noted that if, in this order, a species were to form no shell, whether from having secondarily lost the habit or as a primi- tive form which had never acquired it, then such a species would be classed in the order Amcebaea Reticulosa. It is very probable that many of the large marine " Proteomyxa " are allied to the true a FIG. 94. — Biloculina depressa: transverse sections of (a) the megalospheric form, magnified 50 diameters, and (6) the microspheric form, magnified 90 diameters. After Schlurnberger, from Lister. Foraminifera, as forms either primitively or secondarily without a test ; and Rhumbler unites the Foraminif era proper with the naked forms in the section Reticulosa. The body-protoplasm exhibits no marked distinction of ecto- plasm and endoplasm. Contractile vacuoles are present in some of the fresh- water genera, but are not found in marine forms. The protoplasm contains metaplastic bodies of various kinds, and may become loaded with faecal matter in the form of masses of brown granules, termed by Schaudinn the " stercome " (compare also Awerinzew, 281). Periodically a process of defaecation takes place, whereby the protoplasm is cleared of these accumulations, often as a prelude to the formation of a new chamber (Winter, 28). The 234 THE PROTOZOA nuclear apparatus varies in different forms, even in the same species, as will be seen in the description of the reproductive processes. The marine Foraminifera, so far as they have been investigated, show a well-marked alternation of generations in their life-history, St. ^ST-^r^~7-v» •$. ;^>'A iA^AsB; .' ••:•; ^..lu^g. FIG. 95. — Polystomella crispa: decalcified specimens to show the structure of the two forms. A, The megalospheric type ; B, the microspheric type : 6, the central chambers of the latter more highly magnified; r., retral processes; st, communications between the chambers. From Lister. combined with dimorphism in the adult condition. An example is Polystomella, which has been investigated by Lister (285) and THE SARCODINA 235 Schaudiim (131) ; their results have been confirmed in the case of Peneroplis by Winter, who gives a useful combined diagram of the life -history (28, p. 16, text -fig. A). The raicrospheric form (Fig. 95, B.) has many nuclei, which multiply by fission as the animal grows, and which also give off chromidia into the body- protoplasm. When reproduction begins, the nuclei become resolved entirely into chromidia, and the protoplasm streams out of the shell, which is abandoned altogether. Secondary nuclei are formed from the chromidia, and the protoplasmic mass divides up into a swarm of about 200 amcebulse (Fig. 96). Each amoebula contains a nucleus and chromidia, and secretes a single-chambered shell, which is the initial chamber of a megalospheric individual. The amcebulse separate, and each one feeds, grows, forms new chambers successively, and becomes a megalospheric adult. Thus the micro- spheric form is seen to be an agamont or schizont, which gives rise by a process of schizogony or multiple fission to agametes (amce- bulse). The megalospheric form, when full grown, has a single large nucleus and numerous chromidia (Fig. 95, A}. The nucleus is that of the amoebula which was the initial stage in the develop- ment of this form. ; as it grows the nucleus passes from chamber to chamber, and at the same time gives off chromidia into the cyto- plasm. Finally the primary nucleus is resolved entirely into chromidia, from which a great number of secondary nuclei are formed. Round each such nucleus the protoplasm becomes con- centrated to form a small cell, which may be termed a gameto- i.-yte. By two divisions of the nucleus and cell - body of the gametocyte four gametes are formed, each of which acquires two flagella, and is set free as a biflagellate swarm-spore. In Peneroplis, however, the gametes have a single flagellum, and in Allogromia ovoidea the gametes are amcebulse (Swarczewsky). Gametes pro- duced by different individuals copulate, losing their flagella in the process, and the zygote secretes a minute single-chambered shell, and thus becomes the starting-point of the growth of a micro- spheric individual. From the foregoing it is seen that the megalospheric form is the gamont. which by multiple fission produces the gauietocytes, and ultimately the gametes. Thus, if m. represents the microspheric form and M. the megalo- spheric, am. the" amcebulse (agametes). and ft. the flagellulas (gametes), the life-cycle may be represented thus : m. — am. — M. — (fl. + fl.) — m. — am. . . . In some cases, however, the life-cycle does not present a regular alternation of sexual and non-sexual generations, but a number of non-sexual generations may take place before a sexual generation intervenes ; that is to say, the megalospheric forms may produce agametes and other megalospheric forms again for several generations, before gametes are produced and the sexual processes occur. Then the life-cycle may be represented thus :| m. — am. — M. — am. — M. — am. . . , M. — (fl. + fl.) — m. — am. — M. . . . r / ! ipf? * ^ r;u,as ._. V'^V \' ''T^^A**-^'^ ^^e><^W;>< ^^pSBBaSa^ ..- . , ^ vi/ja^-i.-^-S-tS^' "-. •«•- ir*,x;T*-X/ii . ,.;-& 3 A FIG. 96. — Stages in the reproduction of the microspheric form of Poly- stomella crispa. In a the protoplasm is streaming out of the shell ; in b and c it is becoming divided up into amoebulffl ; in d the amcebulse, having each formed a single- chambered shell, are dispersing in all directions, abandoning the empty shell of the parent. From Lister, drawn from photographs of one specimen attached to the walls of a glass vessel. w n / £ i ' r V, © O 0 &P- 0«^ ^ Vt^ «. / »*-vx r-Jsif* ••' •?-•- ^^ '• ^p , f f £jv'' A f>ff \ ^/^\jffwr- t,s^.^4^tJS^ s*— J j p-y--^%^*^C^ =e>— ©— feO-Cs-^^S^^;^ •€^;r«f^ ^ ^ 1^ !^$\ jT 1 -/If V ^ ' • 1 ^e x THE SARCODINA 23T Hence the dimorphism of the adults is due to their parentage, and is not necessarily related to the manner in which they reproduce. A microspheric form is produced sexually, and is always an agamont ; a megalospheric form is produced non-sexually, and may be either a gamont or an agamont. Very little is known of the life-cycle of the non-marine genera. The only form of which the cycle is known with any approach to completeness is Chlamydophrys stercorea, the only entozoic member of the order, which is- found in the faeces of various vertebrates ; a second species, C. schaudinni, is distinguished by Schiissler (A.P.K., xxii., p. 366). The adult form has a chitinous single-chambered shell, and its protoplasm contains a single nucleus and a ring of chrornidia. It reproduces itself vegetatively by binary fission, and also by multiple fission producing gametes. In the gamete-formation, according to Schaudinn (131), the nucleus is ejected from the shell together with all foreign bodies, food-particles, etc. In the shell is left a small quantity of protoplasm containing the chromidia, from which about eight secondary nuclei are formed, and then the protoplasm concentrates round each nucleus and divides up into as many cells, the gametes, each of which becomes a. biflagellate swarm-spore, and is set free. The gametes copulate and the zygote encysts. In order to develop further, the cyst must be swallowed by a suitable host and pass through its digestive tract. If this happens, the cyst germinates in the hind-gut, setting free an amcebula which forms a shell and becomes a young Chlamydoplirys, living as a harmless inhabitant of the hind- gut, and feeding on various organisms or waste products occurring there ; but according to Schaudinn it may, under circumstances not yet defined or explained, pass from the digestive tract into the peritoneal cavity, and multiply there as an amoeboid form without a shell, thus giving rise to the organism described by Leyden and Schaudinn, from ascites-fluicl, under the name Leydenia gemmipara. The Foraininifera as a group comprise a vast number of genera and species, both recent and fossil, for an account of which the reader must be referred to the larger works. They are classified by Lister (286) into ten orders (suborders ?), containing in all thirty- two families ; Rhumbler (288) recognizes ten families in all. The vast majority are marine, but some of the simpler forms, such as Euglypha, are found in fresh water, and can scarcely be separated from the Lobosa except by the characters of their pseudopodia, a feature upon which great weight cannot be laid as an indication of affinity. Until the life-histories of these simpler forms have been studied, their true systematic position must be considered as some- what uncertain. But the affinities of such genera as Euglypha and Chlamydophrys would seem to be with the Lobosa Testacea, rather than with the Forarninifera. III. XEXOPHYOPHORA. This group was founded by F. E. Schulze (290) for a number of curious organisms of deep-sea habitat, the zoological position of which was a matter of dispute. By Haeckel they were believed to be sponges allied to Keratosa, such as Spongettiidce, horny sponges which load the spongiii-fibres of the skeleton with foreign bodies of various kinds. Schulze established definitely their relationship to- 238 THE PROTOZOA the Rhizopoda by showing that the soft body was a plasmodium containing numerous nuclei and chromidia, and forming a pseudopodial network, but with 110 cell-differentiation or tissue- formation. The body consists principally of a network of hollow tubes in which the plasmodium is contained. The Avail of the tubes con- sists of a hyaline organic substance resembling spongin. In the interspaces between the tubes great numbers of foreign bodies (" xenophya," Haecke]) are deposited, such as sand-grains, spoiige- spicules, Radiolarian skeletons, and so forth. In one family (Stannomidce) the xenophya are held together by a system of threads. " linellee," in the form of smooth, refringent filaments, approxi- mately cylindrical, which pass from one foreign body to another, and are attached to them by trumpet-like expansions of their ends. The substance of the linellse is doubly refractile, and allied to spongin in its chemical nature. Schulze compares them to the capillitium of the Mycetozoa (see p. 241, infra). The protoplasmic body within the tubes contains, in addition to nuclei and chromidia, enclosures of various kinds. Many tubes, distinguished by the darker colour of their walls, contain quantities of brown masses, apparently of fsecal nature, and comparable to the stercome of the Foraminifera (p. 233). In other tubes, lighter in colour, there are found small, oval, strongly-refractile granules, or " granellse," which consist chiefly of barium sulphate. Schulze terms the system of stercome-containing tubes the " stercomarium," and those that contain granellse the " granellarium." The tubes of each system are distinguishable by their mode of branching, as well as by their colour and contents. In the tubes of the granel- larium the protoplasmic bodies are often found to contain isolated cells or groups of cells, each with a single nucleus, which are prob- ably stages in the formation of swarm-spores. Hence the sterco- marium probably represents the purely vegetative part of the body, in which the waste products of metabolism are deposited, while the granellarium is a differentiated region oj: the plasmodium in which the reproductive elements are produced. Nothing is known of the actual life-cycle of these organisms, but from the appearances already described, seen in preserved speci- mens, Schulze conjectures that they reproduce by formation of swarm-spores, much as is known, to take place in the Foram- inifera. The affinities of the Xenophyophora are seen to be with the Foraminifera. In their habit of forming a skeleton of foreign bodies they resemble the arenaceous Foraminifera, in which, how- ever, the foreign bodies build up the house which directly encloses the soft body, while in the Xenophyophora the soft body is en- THE SARCODINA 239 ctf closed actually within the system of tubes. Nothing similar to the linellse is known in any Foraminifera. For the classification of the Xenophyophora and their genera see Schulze (290). IV. MYCETOZOA. The Mycetozoa are a group of semi-terrestrial Rhizopods occur- ring in various situations, especially on dead wood or decaying vegetable matter of various kinds. Their most characteristic features are the formation of plasmodia, which represent the adult, vegetative phase of the life-history, and their method of repro- duction, consisting in the formation of resistant spores very similar to those of fungi. The Mycetozoa were originally classified amongst the Fungi as a group under the name Myxomycetes, but the in- vestigations of de Bary first made clear their Rhizopod affinities. The life-history of a typical member of this group exhibits a succession of phases, the description of which may conveniently begin with the spore. Each spore is a spherical cell with a single nucleus, enclosed in a tough protective envelope which enables it to resist desiccation. It may be dormant for a considerable «/ period, and germinates when placed in water. The envelope bursts, and the contained cell creeps out as an amcebula with a single nucleus (Fig. 97), the so-called " myxamoeba." After a time the amcebula develops a flagellum, and becomes a flagellula or zoospore (" myxo flagellate"), which feeds and multiplies by fission. The flagellula (Fig. 98) retains its amceboid form, and sometimes also the amoeboid method of locomotion, the flagellum appearing to act as a tactile organ. It captures bacteria and other organisms by means of its pseudopodia, nourishing itself in a holozoic, perhaps also in a saprophytic, manner. It also may become temporarily encysted. The flagellate phase is succeeded by a second amoeboid stage, the flagellum being lost. The anicebulse of this stage tend to con- gregate together in certain spots, and the groups thus formed fuse together (their nuclei, however, remaining separate) to form the plasmodium, the dominant vegetative stage, which feeds and grows, its nuclei multiplying as it does so, until from the small mass of protoplasm formed originally by the ainoebulee, with relatively few nuclei, it becomes a sheet or network of protoplasm, which may FIQ. 97. — The hatching of a spore of Fuligo septica. a, Spore ; b, c, contents emerging and under- going am oaboid movements prior to the assumption of the nagel- lula-stage ; d, flagellula. c.v., Contractile vacuole. After Lister, magnified 1,100. 240 THE PROTOZOA be several inches across and contain many thousands of nuclei. The plasmodium moves about in various directions, showing exquisite streaming movements of the proto- plasmic body (Fig. 99). The nature of the food varies in different species ; the majority feed on dead vegetable matter, but some attack and devour living fungi. The mode of nutrition is generally holozoic, but in some cases perhaps saprophytic. Contractile vacuoles are present in large numbers in the protoplasm, in addition to the innumer- able nuclei, which are all similar and not FIG. 98. _ Flagellula of differentiated in any way. The plasmodia Stemonitis fusca, show- are often brightly coloured. ins successive stages in ^ ,, . , ,. ,.r ,, , ,. the capture of a bacillus. From tlieir mocle of llfe> tlie plasmodia In a it is captured by are naturally liable to desiccation, and when a?ethef htSTin1: *is occurs the plasmodium passes into the it is enclosed in a diges- sclerotial condition, in which the proto- a an anterior vacuole. containing ten to twenty nuclei. When From Lister, magnified moistened, the cysts germinate, the con- tained masses of protoplasm fuse together, and so reconstitute the active plasmodium again. The plasmodium represents the trophic, vegetative phase, which is succeeded by the reproductive phase, apparently in response to external conditions, such as drought, but more es- pecially scarcity of food. The reproduction begins by the plasmodium be- coming concentrated at one or more spots, where the protoplasm aggre- gates and grows up into a lobe or eminence, the beginning of the sporangium (Fig. 100), the capsule in which the spores are found. The sporangium is modelled, as it were on the soft protoplasmic body, and takes the form of a rounded capsule, attached to the substratum by a disc-like attachment known as the hypothallus. Between the sporangium : ? a plasmodium of Badhamia utricularis expanded over a slide. From Lister, magnified 8 diameters. THE SARCODINA 241 proper and the hypothallus the body may be drawn out into a stalk. The first events in the reproductive process are the formation of the protective and supporting elements of the sporangium. Over the surface •of the lobe a membrane or envelope is secreted, the " peridium," and in the interior of the protoplasmic mass a network, orratherfeltwork, of filaments, the " capillitium," is produced, of similar nature to the peridium, and in continuity with it ; peridium and •capillitium contain cellulose or allied substances, and the former may contain carbonate of lime in some species. During the formation of the pro- tective peridium and the supporting capillitium the protoplasmic mass remains in the plasmodial condition, but when the accessory structures are FIG. 100. — Badhamiautricularis. •completely formed the actual spore- formation begins. According to recent investigations, spore-formation is initi- ated by the degeneration of a certain number of the nuclei ; the nuclei that persist then divide by karj^okinesis simultaneously throughout the •whole plasmodium. The protoplasm then becomes divided up, directly or indirectly, into as many masses as there are nuclei. The cells thus produced, lying in the interstices of the capillitium, become surrounded each with a tough membrane, and are the spores (Fig. 101). They are liberated by bursting of the peridium, and the hygroscopic properties of the capillitium are the cause of movements in it which assist in scattering the spores. With the formation of the a, Group of sporangia, magni- fied 12 ; b, a cluster of spores ; c, a single spore ; d, part of the capillitium containing lime- granules : b and d magnified 170. From Lister. spores the life-cycle has been brought .Fiu. 101.- — Tricliia varia : part of a section through a sporan- gium after the spores are formed ; threads cf the capil- round to the startlllg-poillt that was litium are seen in longitudinal selected. The spores are scattered in all directions by the wind, and and transverse section. From Lister, magnified G50 dia- meters. germinate in favourable localities. The account given above may be taken as describing the typical series of •*\rents in the life-history, which is liable to considerable variations in particular 1(5 242 THE PROTOZOA types. In the subdivision termed the Sorophora or Acrasise there is no fiagellula-stage in the life-history, and the amcebulse which are produced from the spores aggregate together, but form only a pseudo-plasmodium, in which the constituent amcebulse remain distinct, without fusion of their protoplasmic bodies, each amosbula multiplying independently. The details of the reproductive process also vary greatly. In the division known as the Exosporese, represented by the genus Ceratiomyxa, no sporangium is formed, but the plasmodium grows up into antler-like processes, sporophores, over the surface of which the plasmodium divides up into a mosaic of cells, each containing a single nucleus of the plasmodium. Each cell becomes- a spore, which is produced on the free surface of the sporophore, and drops off when ripe. In the Sorophora the amoebae associated in the pseudo- plasmodium are not all destined to become reproductive individuals ; some of them join together to secrete a stalk, and develop no further ; others form clusters (" sori ") of naked spores on the stalk. The cytological details of the life-history of the Mycetozoa have been the subject of a series of studies by Jahn, who, however, in his latest investigations, has come to conclusions different from those at which he arrived in his earlier works. According to the earlier accounts given by Jahn and Kranzlin, the spore -formation was preceded by a fusion of nuclei in pairs throughout the- sporangium, a process which was regarded as the true sexual karyogamy, and was followed by reducing divisions. According to Jahn's latest investiga- tions (294), however, the nuclear fusions observed in the sporangium take place only between degenerating nuclei, and are to be interpreted as purely vegetative phenomena which have nothing to do with the true sexual process,, which is stated to be as follows : The nuclear division which immediately precedes spore-formation is a reducing division, whereby the number of chromosomes is reduced from sixteen to eight. Consequently the nuclei of the spores, and also the swarm-spores produced from them, both flagellulse- and amcebulse, have half the full number of chromosomes. In Physarum didermoides the amcebulae multiply by fission, with mitoses showing eight chromosomes. After a certain number of such divisions, the amcebulsa copulate in pairs as gametes. .The zygotes thus formed are the foundation of the plasmodia ; when one zygote meets another it fuses with it, the nuclei remaining separate, and by repeated fusions of this kind the plasmodia are formed. When, on the other hand, a young plasmodium or a zygote meets an amcebula (gamete), it devours and digests it. The nuclei of the plasmodia multiply by mitoses which show sixteen chromosomes. In Ceratiomyxa the reduction-division preceding spore-formation is followed by degeneration of one of the two daughter-nuclei ; the other becomes the nucleus of the spore. Within the spore the nucleus divides twice, forming four nuclei, and as soon as the spore germinates the contents divide into four amcebulse, which adhere in the form of a tetrahedron. Each amcebula has eight chromosomes in its nucleus, and divides into two amcebulte, also with eight chromosomes. Each of the amcebulse develops a flagellum and swims off. Possibly in this genus the syngamy takes place between flagellulse. From the investigations of Jahn, it is clear that the swarm-spores of Mycetozoa, like those of other Sarcodina, are the gametes ; their nuclei have undergone a process of reduction, and represent pronuclei, which after a certain number of divisions give rise by syngamy to synkarya, from which the nuclei of the vegetative phase, the plasmodium, takes origin. The Mycetozoa are classified by Lister (297) as follows : SUBORDER I. : ETJPLASMODIDA (Myxogastres, Myxomycetes sens, strict.). — Mycetozoa with a flagellula- stage and a true plasmodium formed by plasto- gamic fusion of amcebulse. This suborder comprises forms with the full life- cycle described above. Section 1. Endosporece. — Spore-formation within a sporangium. Examples: Badhamia, Fuligo (JEtlialiwni), etc. Section 2. Ectosporece. — Spores formed on the exposed surface of sporo- phores. Example : Ceratiomyxa. THE SARCODINA 243 SUBORDER II. : SOROPHORA (Acrasise, Pseudoplasmodida). - - With no flagellate stage in the life-history ; the amcebulse do not fuse completely to form a true plasmodium ; the spores are formed in clusters (" sori "). Here belong various genera, for the most part found in dung, such as Dictyostelium and Copromyxct. Acrasis occurs in beer-yeast. In addition to the typical Mycetozoa belonging to these two suborders, there are a number of forms on the border-line, referred by some authorities to the Mycetozoa, by others to other orders, such as the Proteomyxa. It is only possible to refer very briefly to these genera here. In the first place, there are a number of parasitic forms, placed together by Doflein in the suborder Phytomyxince, Schroter. In this suborder no sporangium is formed, the process of spore-formation being simplified, probably, in correlation with the parasitic mode of life. The typical members of this group are parasites of plants, but some recently-described parasites of insects have been assigned to Phytomyxince. The best known example of the group is the common Plasmodiophora brassicce, which attacks the roots of cabbages and other Cruciferae, producing a disease known as " Fingers and Toes " (" Kohlhernie "), characterized by knotty swellings on the roots. Other genera parasitic on plants are Tetramyxa and Sorosphcera. In Plasmodiophora the spores germinate to produce flagellulse, which are liberated in water or damp earth, and which in some way penetrate into the cells of the plant, and there appear as the nayxamcebse after loss of the flagel- lum. The youngest inyxamcebaj seen have two nuclei. They grow in the cell-contents with multiplication of their nuclei, and fuse with one another to form, plasmodial masses which fill the cell after absorption of its contents. In a diseased plant a number of cells are attacked by the parasite, and it is not certain whether the rnyxanioebse can pass from one cell to another, and so spread the infection, or whether all the infected cells are derived from the multiplication of the first cell infected. The second view, maintained by Nawaschin, is supported by Prowazek, and also by Blomfield and Schwartz, with regard to the allied genus Sorosphcera. When the host-cell is exhausted, the reproductive phase begins, according to Prowazek (127), by the nuclei of the plasmodium throwing out numerous chromidia, and becoming in consequence very indistinct. In Sorosphcera at this stage (Blomiield and Schwartz) the nuclei disappear altogether, being entirely resolved into chromidia from which secondary nuclei are formed. Spore-formation, preceded by sexual processes, takes place in the manner described above (p. 149, Fig. 76). In Sorosphcera, Blomfield and Schwartz found that, after reconstitution of the generative nuclei, the plasmodium divides up into uninucleate cells, each of which divides twice by karyokinesis ; after these divisions the cells become arranged as a hollow sphere, the " soro- sphere," and each cell becomes a spore. No cell-fusions or syngamic processes were observed. As stated above, certain parasites of insects are referred to this order by Leger. Such are the genera Sporomyxa, Leger (295), Mycetosporidium, Leger and Hesse, and Peltomyces, Leger (C.R.A.8., cxiix., p. 239). Zoomyxa leyeri, Elrnassian (637), parasite of the tench, is perhaps also to be referred to the Mycetozoa. The position of these forms must, however, be considered somewhat doubtful at present. Chatton has thrown out the suggestion that the affinities of Peltomyces are rather with the Cnidosporidia (p. 409), through the genus Paramyxa recently found by him (761). Lastly, mention must be made of the remarkable genera Chlamydomyxa, Archer, and Labyrinthula, Cienkowski, the affinities of which are still obscure. By Lankester (11) they were ranked as an independent order of the Sarcodina under the name Labyrinthulidea ; by Delage and Herouard (6) and others they are placed as a suborder, Filoplasmodida, of the Mycetozoa. Chlamydomyxa is a fresh-water genus occurring either free or encysted. Its most remarkable feature is the possession of chrornatophores which enable it to live in a holophytic manner, and consequently to assimilate and grow when encysted. On the other hand, when free it forms a network of long, 244 THE PROTOZOA filamentous pseudopodia, by means of which it is able to digest food in the ordinary holozoic manner. The body is a plasmodium containing, in addition to numerous nuclei, chromatophores, and peculiar ''oat-shaped bodies," "spindles," or "physodes," stated to consist of phloroglucin. The cyst- envelope consists of cellulose, and has a stratified structure. In addition to reproduction by fission (plasmotomy), Chlamydomyxa appears to form flagel- late swarm-spores, possibly gametes. Labyrinthula occurs in marine and fresh water. In the active state it has the form of a network of filaments, 1 millimetre or so in extent, over which travel a great number of " units," each a nucleate cell or amcebula, sometimes brightly coloured. When dried, each unit encysts and hatches out again separately. The units multiply by fission. They were formally compared erroneously with the " spindles " of Chlamydomyxa. Lister (298) regards Labyrinthula as a colonial organism of which the units remain in connection by their pseudopodia. He considers these two genera as related in one direction to certain members of the Foraminifera (Gromiidce), in other drections to the Heliozoa and the Proteornyxa. V. HELIOZOA. The Heliozoa are characterized, as a group, by their spherical form and stiff, radiating pseudopodia, whence their popular name of " sun-animalcules." As in the case of the 'E/adiolaria, these peculiarities of form are generally correlated with a floating habit of life, though in a few cases the animal is sedentary and attached to a firm support. In contrast with the Radiolaria, a "central capsule" (p. 250) is absent from the body-structure. A skeleton may be present or absent. The majority of species inhabit fresh water, but a few are marine. General Characters. — As in other orders of Sarcodina, a concise statement of the characteristic features of the group is rendered difficult by the occurrence of border-line forms, of which the exact position is doubtful. It is best, therefore, to consider first typical forms of which the position is incontrovertible, and then those which link the Heliozoa to other groups of Protozoa. The body-protoplasm exhibits commonly a vacuolated, frothy structure, with distinct cortical and medullary regions. The cor- tical zone, distinguished by vacuoles of larger size, disposed in a radiating manner, is regarded as ectoplasm ; the medullary region, with smaller vacuoles irregular in arrangement, as endoplasm ; but it is open to doubt if these two regions correspond truly to the ectoplasm and endoplasm of an amoeba. The cortex contains the contractile vacuoles, and gives off the pseudopodia, which are typically stiff, straight, and filamentous, ending in a sharp point and supported by an axial organic rod (p. 48) ; but in some genera the supporting axis is wanting. In the medulla are lodged the nuclear apparatus, the food- vacuoles, and frequently also symbiotic organisms, which are probably in most cases vegetative, non- flagellate phases of holophytic flagellates (Chlamy do monads). As regards the nuclear apparatus, there are two types of arrange- THE SARCODINA 245 merit (compare p. 90). In the first or Actinophrys-type (Fig. 46) the nucleus is central, and the pseudopodia are centred on it. Actinosphcerium (Fig. 3) can be derived from this type by multi- plication of the nucleus, originally single, until there may be some hundreds present in large specimens. The marine form Campto- nema nutans, Schaudinn, is perhaps also to be referred to this type of structure ; it has as many pseudopodia as there are nuclei present, each pseudopodium arising directly from a nucleus (p. 91, Fig. 47). In the second or Acanthocystis-type (Figs. 18, 64) the centre of the spherical body is occupied by a " central grain " (p. 91), on which the axial rays of the pseudopodia are centred. The nucleus, on the other hand, occupies an excentric position in the body. In this type there is a tendency to a sessile habit of life, the animal being attached by the surface of the body, which may grow out into a stalk, as in Clathrulina (Fig. 19). In the interesting marine genus Wagner ella (Fig. 48), the surface of attachment has become drawn out in such a way that the body is divided into three parts — basal plate, stalk, and head. The nucleus is situated in the basal plate. The head contains the central grain, from which the pseudo- podia radiate. Thus, in this genus the excentric position of the nucleus is carried to an extreme ; it may be regarded as having grown out from the body in a lobe or prolongation which forms the basal plate and stalk, while the original body remains as the head with the central grain and pseudopodia. The skeleton, when present, may take various forms. It may be a simple gelatinous investment, or may contain mineral (sili- ceous) substance either in the form of loose, radiating spicules, as in Acanthocystis, or of a continuous lattice-like investment, as in Clathrulina. In Wagner ella the basal plate and stalk are protected by a tough yellowish organic membrane, replaced in the head by a colourless gelatinous layer, and both head and stalk are further protected by siliceous spicules, which are formed in the protoplasm and transported by protoplasmic currents (Zuelzer, 86). Life - History. — Reproduction in the free vegetative phase is effected by binary fission or gemmation. Imperfect binary fission may lead to colony-formation, as in Ehaphidiophrys. The sexual phases are only known accurately in a few cases. In Actinophrys, Schaudinn described copulation within a cyst (p. 132, Fig. 71), with subse- coient division of the zygote and liberation of two individuals from the cyst. In Actinosphcerium (Hertwig), encystment of a large multinucleate individual is followed by degeneration of about 95 per cent, of the nuclei ; the remainder appear to fuse in pairs, and the body then divides into as many cells as there are nuclei. Round each cell a separate " primary " cyst is secreted within the gelatinous " mother-cyst " originally formed round the whole mass. 246 THE PROTOZOA Each primary cyst then divides into two secondary cysts, which after nuclear reduction become the gametes and copulate. The zygote develops into a young Actinospkcerium with several nuclei, which emerges from the cyst and begins a vegetative life, but appears to divide frequently at the start into uiiinucleate, Actinophrys-'ike forms. In other genera, on the other hand, and especially in those of the Acanthocystis-type (Acanthocystis. Clatlirulina, and Wagnerella), flagellate swarm - spores are formed, which probably represent gametes, as in many other Sarcodina. The life-history of Wagnerella has recently been studied in detail by Zuelzer (86) ; her investigations reveal a diversity in its modes of reproduction almost as great as that seen in Arcella, and indicate that there is much yet to be discovered with regard to the life-cycles of other forms. Wagnerella exhibits, according to Zuelzer, dimorphism correlated with alternation of generations. In June and July stout forms are observed, which are believed to arise from the conjugation of gametes ; they reproduce by binarj1- fission, and by a process of schizogony giving rise to anicebulse (agametes). The more usual form, on the other hand, is smaller and more slender, and multiplies by binary fission, gemmation, and formation of flagellate swarm-spores. Hence this peculiar form reproduces in a variety of ways. In the process of binary fission the nucleus migrates from the base up the stalk into the head, and places itself beside the central grain, which divides, its two halves passing to opposite sides of the nucleus ; then the nucleus follows suit and divides also. Divisions of the central grains, and subsequently of the corresponding nuclei, may be repeated until eight to ten nuclei and as many central grains are present. Each nuclear division is followed by division of the head, at first incomplete, so that a condition results resembling the colonial form Ehaphidiophri/s, a number of daughter- individuals united together, and each sending out pseudopodia (Fig. 102, D). After a time the colony breaks up, the daughter-individuals separate, and each one fixes itself and grows into the adult Wagnerella-form. Bud-formation in Wagnerella (Fig. 102, A — C) is initiated by division of the karyosome within the nucleus, which retains its position in the base. The process is repeated until the nucleus contains a number of karyosomes, each with a centriole. The nucleus then buds off one or more small daughter- nuclei, each containing a single karyosome. Sometimes the nucleiis breaks up entirely into as many daughter-nuclei as there are karyosomes, in which case the parent-individual dies off, in a manner similar to Arcella (p. ISO), after liberation of the buds. Each daughter-nucleus migrates up the slalk into the head, where it becomes surrounded by a layer of protoplasm to form the bud, which is set free at first as an amoeboid body. Before or after being set free, the bud may multiply by binary fission with mitosis, in which the centriole in the karyosome acts as a centrosome. Finally each amoeboid body develops into a Wagnerella, and in the process the centriole passes out of the nucleus and becomes the central grain, while the nucleus becomes displaced from the centre. In the process of gemmation the central grain of the parent-individual takes no share whatever. In the formation of the swarm-spores, minute secondary nuclei arise from chromidia near the principal nucleus in the base. Each secondary nucleus forms a centriole and divides by mitosis ; the division is repeated until the whole body, stalk and head as well as base, is filled with small nuclei, while the primary nucleus degenerates. The body then divides up into as many cells as there are secondary nuclei, each cell becoming a biflagellate swarm- spore which is set free, while the parent-individual degenerates. The destiny of the swarm-spores is uncertain, but they are believed to be gametes. THE SARCODINA 247 In the " schizogony " of the stout forms the nucleus breaks up into a number of daughter-nuclei, as in gemmation ; each daughter-nucleus grows, its karyo- sonie multiplies by fission, and it breaks up in its turn into granddaughter- nuclei. Continued multiplication of the nuclei in this manner proceeds until the body is filled with vesicular nuclei ; it then breaks up into as many amcebulse, which are set free, leaving a residual body with the central gr.iin, which degenerates. ^i-x^J u- FIG. 102. — Wagnerella borealis, showing budding and fission. A, Specimen with a single bud (6) : e.g., central grain ; B, specimen with four buds (b) ; C, en- larged view of the head of a specimen containing two buds (6) in process of extrusion ; D, specimen in which the head has multiplied by fission to produce a Ehaphidiophrys-li^e colony ; six individuals are seen, five of them each with nucleus and central grain, the sixth in process of fission, with two nuclei and two central grains. After Zuelzer (86). The Heliozoa are classified into four suborders : SUBORDER I. : APKROTHORACA. — Body naked in the active state; envelopes, sometimes with siliceous spicules, only formed during 248 THE PROTOZOA encystment. Examples : Actinophrys (Fig. 46), Actinosphcerium (Fig. 3), Camptonema (Fig. 47), etc. SUBORDER II. : CHLAMYDOPHORA. — Body protected by a soft gela- tinous envelope, but without solid skeletal elements. Example : Astrodisculus. SUBORDER III. : CHALAROTHORACA. — Body invested by a soft envelope containing isolated spicules, usually siliceous, sometimes chitinous. Examples : Acanthocystis (Figs. 18, 64, 68), Wagner ella (Figs. 48, 102), Heterophrys (Fig. 103). SUBORDER IV. : DESMOTHORACA. — Body invested by a continuous, lattice-like skeleton. Example : Clathrulina (Fig. 19). c. Fio. 103. — Hderophrys fockei, Archer, c., c., Contractile vacuoles ; s., radial chiti- nous spines surrounding the envelope. A nucleus is present in the body, but is not shown ; the bodies in the protoplasm represent zooxanthell*. From Weldon and Hickson, after Hertwig and Lesser. A certain number of genera must be mentioned which are of doubtful position, referred by some authorities to the Heliozoa, by others to other orders. Some of these genera perhaps do not represent independent, " adult ' forms, but may be only developmental phases of other genera. Nudearia, classed by some in the Aphrothoraca, by others in the Proteomyxa, has an amo?boid body and pseudopodia without axes. As described above (p. 177 and Fig. 80), a Nuclearia-stage occurs in the development of Arcella. Especially remarkable are certain genera which indicate a close relation- ship between Heliozoa and Flagellata. An account of several such forms is given by Penard (302), in addition to which the following may be noted : Ciliophrys, Cienkowski, has two phases ; in the one it appears as a typical Heliozoon with stiff radiating pseudopodia ; in the other it is a typical flagellate. In the process of transformation the Heliozoon-form retracts its pseudopodia, its body becomes amo?boid, and a flagellum grows out ; finally THE SARCODINA the animal becomes a pear-shaped flagellate swimming by means of its flagellum (Schewiakoff, 863 ; CauLlery, 300). Ciliophrys thus recalls Pseudo- spora in its two phases (p. 218), and there can be little doubt that the two forms are closely allied. Dimorplia nutans, Gruber (Fig. 104), has radiating pseudopodia strengthened by axial rods, and in addition a pair of flagella arising close together at one pole of the body. Both flagella and pseudopodia arise from a centrosome situated near the flagellated pole ; the single nucleus is also excentric and placed close beside the centrosome. The animal uses one of its flagella for attach- ment, while the other remains free (Schouteden). These facts appear to indicate an origin for the Heliozoa from Flagellates such as those of the genus Multicilia (p. 270, Fig. 113), in which the body bears radiating' flagella planted evenly over the surface; transformation of the flagella into stiff pseudopodia would produce the Heliozoon - type of organism. On such a view two peculiarities of the Heliozoan pseudopodia receive explanation : the power of nutation and bending which they fre- FIG. 104. — Dimorpha nutans. After Schouteden. quently possess ; and their insertion on a " central grain," which would then represent the blepharoplast, pure and simple, of a flagellate. On this view the pseudopodia of the Heliozoa would appear to be structures quite different in nature from the similarly-named organs of Lobosa. On the other hand the Heliozoa also show affinities towards forms classed among the Reticulosa or " Proteomyxa, " as already noted in the case of Ciliophrys and Pseudospora. Przesmycki has described a species, Endoplirys rotatorium, parasitic in Rotifers, which he considers as a connecting-link between Nuclearia and Vampyrella. The exact systematic position of such genera must be considered at present an open question. VI. RADIOLARIA. General Characters. — The Radiolaria are characterized, speaking generally, by the same type of form and symmetry that is sa marked a feature of the Heliozoa, though in many cases the internal 250 THE PROTOZOA structure of the body, and especially the skeleton, may depart more or less widely from the radiate symmetry which is to be regarded, probably, as primitive for the group. Hence three principal types of symmetry can be distinguished in these organisms : (1) Homaxon (Figs. 13, 105, 107), in which all axes passing through the centre are morphologically equivalent, the symmetry of the sphere ; {2) monaxon (Fig. 109), in which the body has a principal or vertical axis round which it is radially symmetrical, the type of symmetry of the cone ; (3) bilaterally symmetrical (Fig. 106), in which the body fi FIG. 105. — Acanthometra dastica, Haeckel. sp., Radiating spines of the skeleton (twenty in number, but only twelve are seen in the figure) ; ps., pseudo podia ; c., calymma ; ex., central capsule ; N., N., nuclei ; x, yellow cells ; my., myo- phrisks. After Butschli, Leuckart and Nitsche's " Zoologische Wandtafeln." can be divided along a principal plane into equivalent right and left halves. With further modification the body may become asymmetrical. Sedentary forms are not known in this group, the species of which are exclusively marine, and occur on the open surfaces of seas and oceans, reaching in many instances a re'atively large size and a very high degree of structural differentiation. In the internal structure, the most salient feature is the division of the body by means of a membranous structure, termed the central capsule (Fig. 13, CK), into a central medullary region and a peripheral cortical zone — hence distinguished as the intracapsular THE SARCODINA 251 .and extracapsular regions of the body. The intracapsular medulla contains the nucleus or nuclei, and is the seat of reproductive processes. The extracapsular cortex is the seat of assimilation, excretion, food-capture, and of such locomotor processes as these organisms are able to perform, consisting chiefly of rising or sinking in the water by means of changes in a hydrostatic apparatus presently to be described. The Radiolaria are an exceedingly abundant group represented by a great number of species both at the present time and in past ages ; over vast tracts of the ocean-floor their skeletons are the principal, almost the sole constituents of the ooze ; and the same must have been true in past times, since in many geological deposits the rocks are composed of the same materials. Every microscopist is familiar with their skeletons, which on account of their beauty and variety of form are favourite objects for microscopic study and demonstration. Corresponding with the variety of forms and species, the internal structure shows a range of variation and differentiation which it is impossible to deal with adequately in a short space ; it must suffice, therefore, to describe here the main structural peculiarities of this group in a general manner, and to indicate briefly the principal variations of structure which are of importance for the classification of the group. For further information the reader must be referred to the larger treatises and special monographs. Structure. — The central capsule, absent in rare cases, may be a thin, delicate structure, visible only after treatment with reagents, or may be fairly thick. In homaxon forms it is generally spherical, but may assume various shapes correlated with the general body- form, and even may be lobed or branched. It is perforated by openings which place the intracapsular protoplasm in communica- tion with the extracapsular ; the openings may take the form of fine pores scattered evenly over the whole surface (Peripylaria) ; of similar pores aggregated into localized patches, pore-areas or pore- plates (Acaiitharia) ; of a single pore-plate at one pole of an asym- metrical capsule (Monopylaria, Fig. 106) ; or of one principal and two lateral apertures (Tripylaria). The intracapsular protoplasm contains the nuclear apparatus, either one nucleus of very large size or a number of smaller nuclei (Fig. 105). In addition, various bodies of metaplastic nature, serving as reserve-material for the reproductive processes, are found in this region, in the form of fat-globules, oil-drops, concre- tions, crystals, etc. The extracapsular region consists of three zones, from within outwards : (1) an assimilative layer or matrix immediately sur- rounding the capsule ; (2) a vacuolated layer, known as the " cal- yrnma," hydrostatic in function ; (3) a protoplasmic layer from which the pseudopodia arise. 1. The assimilative layer contains pigment, representing ex- cretory substances and ingested food-material in the shape of small 252 THE PROTOZOA organisms captured by the pseudopodia and passed into the body, to be digested in this region. In the Tripylaria an aggregation of food-material and excretory substances produces a characteristic greenish or brownish mass concentrated round the main aperture of the central capsule, and known as the phceodium, whence this suborder is sometimes known as the Pheeodaria. 2. The calymma is composed for the most part of a great number of vacuoles containing fluid, the function of which is hydrostatic ; the contents of the vacuoles are stated to be water saturated with carbon dioxide, causing the animal to float at the surface, and enabling it to regulate its position in relation to conditions of environ- ment. In rough weather the vacuoles burst or are expelled from the body, and the animal sinks into deeper and quieter layers of water ; there fresh vacuoles are formed, enabling it to return again to the surface if the conditions are favourable. Contractile vacuoles of the ordinary type are not present. In addition to the vacuoles, the calymma contains numerous " yellow cells," generally regarded as sym- biotic organisms of vegetable nature, jfc— ! CC 5 FIG. 106. — Lithocircus productus, Hertwig, showing a bilaterally symmetrical skeleton consisting of a simple siliceous ring pro- longed into spicular processes. sk., Skeleton ; ex., central cap- sule; pf., pore-area, surmounted by a conical structure (c.), the so-called " pseudopodial cone " ; N., nucleus ; o., oil-globule. After Biitschli, Leuckart and Nitsche's " Zoologische Wand- tefeln." and named " zooxanthellse " or " zoochlorellse," according to their colour. Absent in the Tripylaria, these yellow cells are found, as a rule, in the calymma, but in Acantharia they occur in the intra- capsular protoplasm (Fig. 105, x). The nature of the yellow cells of Acantharia has been much disputed, and many observers have regarded them as an integral part of the organism itself ; this view has recently been revived by Moroff and Stiasny, who bring forward evidence to prove that the yellow cells of Acantharia are a developmental phase of the organism. Still more recently this view has been extended by Stiasny to the colony-forming Sphserozoa in the first place, and then to Radiolaria generally. The difficulty in the way of such an interpretation which arises from the co-existence, in Thalassicolla and other genera, of yellow cells in the calymma, with an undivided nucleus in the host- organism, is met by supposing that in such cases developmental THE SARCODINA 253 stages of other Radiolarians have penetrated into the calymma, and live there symbiotically — a supposition which is certainly in need of further proof before it can be accepted. 3. The most external layer of the body is a protoplasmic envelope from which the pseudopodia radiate. In Radiolaria, speaking generally, the pseudopodia are straight, slender, and filamentous, composed of motile protoplasm entirely (" myxopodia ") ; but in Acantharia some of the pseudopodia are, like those of Heliozoa, axopodia supported by stiff axial rods of organic substance, which originate deep within the central capsule and pass through the calymma along the axis of the pseudopodium, but without reaching as far as its distal extremity. In some Acantharia (Acanthometrida) are found also peculiar modifications of the bases of certain of the pseudopodia in the form of groups of rod-like bodies, " myonemes " or " myophrisks " (Fig. 105, my.), clustered round each of the spicules of the skeleton. As their name implies, the myonemes are contractile elements which, by their contraction or expansion, alter the hydrostatic balance of the organism, and enable it to rise or sink in the water. According to Moroff and Stiasny, the myonemes are formed in the interior of the central capsule, and are derived from nuclei. In a certain number of Radiolaria a skeleton is absent altogether. The Acantharia have a skeleton composed of a substance which was formerly supposed to be of organic nature, and was termed acanthin by Haeckel, but which consists of strontium sulphate -according to Butschli (310). In other Radiolaria the skeleton, when present, is siliceous. In Acantharia the skeleton invades the intracapsular region, and consists typically of a system of twenty spines or spicules radiating from the centre of the body (Fig. 105). It is a simple and enticing view to regard such a skeleton as origin- ating phylogenetically from a modification of the axis of pseudo- podia. Union of outgrowths from radially-directed spicules gives rise to a lattice-work forming a spherical perforated shell, and as the animal grows in size several such concentric spheres may be formed, one within the other, supported by radial bars which represent the original radiating spicules (Fig. 107). In Radiolaria other than Acantharia the skeleton is usually entirely extracapsular, and exhibits a variety of form and structure which cannot be dis- cussed further here. In some of the Tripylara foreign bodies are utilized for building up the skeleton, either to form the basis of spines secreted by the animal or to construct a coat of armour on the exterior of the body (Borgert). Life-History. — Reproduction of the Radiolaria is effected in some instances by binary fission — namely, in those forms in which