TUNICATA 



IH'.I 



tion. 



. 9. Diagram of circulation in Ascidia. Lettering as "he- 

 fore ; be, branchio-cardiac or ventral vessel ; cv, cardio- 

 visceral vessels; vb, viscero-branchial or dorsal vessel; 

 vt > vessels to test. (Original.) 



ventral edge of the branchial sac externally to the endostyle, 

 ami communicates laterally with the ventral ends of all the 

 transverse vessels <>!' the branchial sae. The sinus leaving 

 tlio dorsal end of the heart is called the carilio-visceral 

 vessel, and this, after giving off to tho test the branch 

 above mentioned, breaks up into a number of sinuses, 

 which ramify over the alimentary canal and tho other 

 viscera. These visceral lacun;r finally communicate with 

 a third great sinus, the viscero-branchial vessel, which runs 

 forward along tho dorsal edge of tho branchial sac exter- 

 nally to the dorsal lamina and joins the dorsal ends of all 

 tho transverse vessels of the branchial sac. Besides these 

 three chief systems there are numerous lacuna) in all parts 

 of the body, by means of which anastomoses are established 

 between the different currents of blood. All these blood 

 spaces and lacunas are to be regarded as derived from the 

 blastoccele of tho embryo, and not, as has been usually 

 Course of supposed, from the ccelom (jo). When the heart contracts 

 circula- ventro-dorsally, the course of the circulation is as follows : 

 the blood which is flowing through the vessels of the 

 branchial sac is collected in an oxygenated condition in 

 the branchio-cardiac vessel, and, after receiving a stream 

 of blood from 

 the test, en- 

 ters the 



heart. It is 

 then pro- 

 pelled from 

 the dorsal 



end of the 

 i , , 



JiearC into 



the cardio- 



visceral vessels, and so reaches the test and digestive and 

 other organs ; then, after circulating in the visceral lacunae, 

 it passes into the viscero-branchial vessel in an impure 

 condition, and is distributed to the branchial vessels to be 

 purified again. When the heart on the other hand contracts 

 dorso-ventrally, this course of circulation is reversed. As 

 the test receives a branch from each end of the heart, it 

 follows that it has afferent and efferent vessels which- 

 ever way the blood is flowing. In some Ascidians the 

 vessels in the test become very numerous and their end 

 branches terminate in swollen bulbs close under the outer 

 surface of the test. In this way an accessory respiratory 

 organ l is probably formed in the superficial layer of the 

 test. The blood corpuscles are chiefly colourless and 

 amoeboid ; but in most if not all Ascidians there are also 

 some pigmented corpuscles in the blood. These are gener- 

 ally of an orange or reddish brown tint, but may be opaque 

 white, dark indigo-blue, or of intermediate colours. Pre- 

 cisely similarly pigmented cells are found throughout the 

 connective tissue of the mantle and other parts of the body. 

 A. mentula is hermaphrodite, and the reproductive organs 

 lie, with the alimentary canal, on the left side of the body. 

 The ovary is a ramified gland which occupies the greater 

 part of the intestinal loop (see fig. 4). It contains a cavity 

 which, along with the cavities of the testis, is derived from 

 a part of the original ccelom, and the ova are formed from 

 its walls and fall when mature into the cavity. The 

 oviduct is continuous with the cavity of the ovary and 

 leads forwards alongside the rectum, finally opening near 

 the anus into the peribranchial cavity. The testis is com- 

 posed of a great number of delicate branched tubules, 

 which ramify over the ovary and the adjacent parts of the 

 intestinal wall. Those tubules terminate in ovate swell- 

 ings. Near the commencement of the rectum the larger 

 tubules unite to form the vas deferens, a tube of consider- 

 able size, which runs forwards alongside the rectum, and, 

 like the oviduct, terminates by opening into the peri- 

 1 See Herdman, Nature, vol. xxxi. p. 247. 



Repro- 

 ductive 

 organs. 



branchial cavity close to the anus. Tho lumen of the 

 tubiilcs of the testis, like the cavity of the ovary, is a part 

 of the original ccelom, and the spermatozoa arc formed 

 from the cells lining tho wall. In some Ascidian.s repro- 

 ductive organs are present on both sides of the body, and 

 in others (Pdyca/rpa) there are many complete sets of both 

 male and female systems, attached to the inner surface of 

 the mantle on both sides of tho body and projecting into 

 tho peribranchial cavity. 2 



EMBRTOLOOY 3 AND LIFE HISTORY. 



In most Ascidians the eggs are fertilized in the peribranchial Embryc- 



cavity, and undergo most of their development before leaving the logy, 

 parent ; in some cases, however, the eggs are laid, and fertilization 

 takes place in the surrounding water. The segmentation is com- 

 plete and regular (fig. 10, A) and results in the formation of a 

 spherical blastula, which then undergoes invagination (fig. 10, B). 

 The embryo elongates, and the blastopore or invagination opening 

 comes to be placed on the dorsal edge near the posterior end (fig. 

 10, C). The hypoblast cells lining the archenteron are columnar 

 in form, while the epiblast cells are more cubical (fig. 10, B, C, D). 

 The dorsal surface of tho embryo now becomes flattened and then 

 depressed to form a longitudinal groove, extending forwards from 

 the blastopore to near the front of the body. This "medullary 

 groove" now becomes converted into a closed canal by its side 

 walls growing up, arching over, and coalescing in the median dorsal 



Fio. 10. Stages in the embryology of a Simple Ascidian (after Kowalevsky). 

 A to F. Longitudinal vertical sections of embryos, all placed with the dorsal 

 surface uppermost and the anterior end at the right. A. Early blastula 

 stage, during segmentation. B. Early gastrula stage. C. stage after gas- 

 trula, showing commencement of notochord. D. Later stage, showing forma- 

 tion of notochord and of neural canal. E. Embryo showing body and tail 

 and completely formed neural canal. F. Larva just hatched; end of tail 

 cut off. G. Transverse section of tail of larva. 



adf, adhering papilte of larva ; at, epiblastic (atrial) involution; au, auditory 

 organ of larva ; ar, archenteron ; be, blastoccele ; bp, blastopore ; cTi, nnto- 

 chord ; cp, epiblast ; liy, hypoblast ; nc, neural canal ; -HPC, ncnrenti-ric 

 canal; oc, ocular organ of larva; g, gelatinous investment of embryo; >u, 

 muscle fells of tail; ntcs, mesenteron ; me, mesoderm cells; ni; cerebral 

 vesicle at anterior end of neural canal. 



line (fig. 10, D). This union of the lamiuse dorsalcs to form the 

 neural canal commences at the posterior end behind the blastopore 

 and gradually extends forwards. Consequently the blastopore 

 comes to open into the posterior end of the neural canal (fig. 10, 

 D), while the anterior end of that cavity remains open to the 

 extrvior. In this way tho archenteron communicates indirectly 

 with the exterior. The short canal leading from the neural canal 

 to the archenteron is known as the neurenteric canal (fig. 10, 



2 For structure of other forms, see p. 614 sq. below. 



3 For reproduction by gemmation, see under "Classification," p. 

 614 sy. below. 



