322 Howe: Observations on the 



1877, when Munier-Chalmas * placed it among the Algae next to 

 Acetabulum. This idea Count Solms considers to be confirmed 

 in a brilliant fashion by the discovery of a living species the 

 spores of which are surrounded with lime and are coherent in 

 masses strongly resembling the fossil "spiculae" on which alone 

 the genus Acicularia was established. The description and figures 

 given by d'Archiac of his " poly pier aciculaire" deal only with its 

 external characters, and if the more detailed account of Acicularia 

 Pavantina given by Reuss f in 186 1 can be depended upon, the 

 affinities of this organism would seem to be still open to question, 

 for the cavities supposed by Munier-Chalmas and Solms-Laubach 

 to have been occupied by the aplanospores w r ould appear from 

 Reuss's figures to be somewhat narrowly and irregularly conical 

 with the point directed inward. And in writing of the mouths or 

 openings which are seen on the surface of the spicula, Reuss 

 states, "Sie fuhren in nicht sehr tiefe Zellen, die in ihrer ganzen 

 Weite ausmiinden. Jede derselben ist, wie bei den Eschariden 

 und Celleporiden, mit jeder der nebenliegenden durch einen feinen 

 kurzen Canal verbunden." Count Solms % remarks that he saw 

 only one complete spicula of Acicularia Pavantina and is not able 

 to express an opinion as to the internal form of the cavities. We 

 have made several efforts to locate the type material of Acicularia 

 Pavantina, with the hope of being able to see it and of being thus 

 in a better position to hold an opinion as to whether the original 

 Acicularia Pavantina and the Acicularia Schenckii are really con- 

 generic, but our attempts thus far have been unsuccessful. § That 

 the more recently described fossils, Acicularia viiocacnica Reuss 

 and Acicularia Andrussowii Solms, are closely allied to the living 

 A. Schenckii would seem from published descriptions and figures 

 to be very clear. The calcareous coating of the spore-walls and 



* Observations sur les Algues calcaires appartenant au groupe des Siphonees verti- 

 cillees (Dasycladees Harv. ) et confondues avec les Foraminiferes. Comptes-rendus de 

 V Acad. 85 : 814-817. 28 O. 1877. 



f Reuss, A. E. Ueber die fossile Gattung Acicularia d'Arch. Sitzungsberichte 

 der k. Akad. Wiss. 43' : 7-10. //. 1 861. 

 . J Trans. Linn. Soc. Bot. II. 5 : 35. 1895. 



\ An intimation as to the whereabouts of the d'Archiac collection comes to hand 

 when the publication of this paper is so far advanced as to render further delay inad- 

 visable. 



