113 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



kingdom. Such organisms are the Diatomacece, Desmidea, Protococci, Volvo- 

 cince, Vibriones, Astasias, Thalassicolce and Sponr/ice, all of which retain the 

 character of the organized fundamental cell, with comparatively little change 

 or superaddition." (Hunterian Lectures, p. 8, London, 1855.) 



It is, in our opinion, quite expedient and reasonable to inquire whether 

 either of the groups here mentioned, or any other, can possibly belong to the 

 Animal or Vegetable Kingdom, without possessing " the distinctive superad- 

 ditions of either." The indication in our opinion, is quite clear that these 

 groups really do not belong to either, but t a third kingdom, not possessing, 

 and definable without, those superadditions, and which we have above desig- 

 nated. In his "Palaeontology," a work of later date than that just quoted, 

 Professor Owen seems to have finally conclnded that the forms mentioned 

 in the above citation do not belong to either of the kingdoms Animalia or 

 Vegetabilia, and consequently he groups them into a kingdom for which he 

 adopts the name Protozoa, (from Professor Goldfuss, Handbuch der Zool- 

 ogie I. p xi. Nurnberg, 1820,) and says, "But the two divisions of organisms 

 called ' plants,' and ' animals,' are specialized members of the great natural 

 group of living things, and there are numerous beings, mostly of minute size, 

 and retaining the forms of nucleated cells, which manifest the common or- 

 ganic character, but without the distinctive superadditions of true plants or 

 auimals. Such organisms are called ' Protozoa,' and include the Sponges 

 or Amorphozoa, the Foraminifera or Rhizopods, Polycystineae, the Diatomace \ 

 Desmidiee, GregarincB, and most of the so-called Poh/gastria, of Ehrenberg, or 

 infusorial animalcules of older authors." (Palaeontology, p. 4, and Index, p. v.) 



The very appropriate term Protozoa is admissible for the group designated 

 by Professor Owen, though the group or kingdom is very much restricted by 

 him, and different from the group defined by Professor Goldfuss, and of en- 

 tirely different grade or value. The latter learned naturalist divides all or- 

 ganized beings into two sections, which he does not name, but which are the 

 same as the divisions now well known as the Vertebrata and Invertebrata of 

 Cuvier. He arranges the whole into eleven classes, of which Protozoa is the 

 first, and Mammalia the eleventh class. The division of the class Protozoa 

 is into four orders, Infusoria, Pkytozoa, Lithozoa and Medusince, which embrace 

 sixteen families, or four families each, and include in the aggregate what 

 must now be regarded as a very heterogeneous group, properly to be dis- 

 tributed into all three of the organized kingdoms. The Protozoa are regarded 

 by Professor Goldfuss as true animals. Professor Owen adopts the name for 

 his group as restricted, quite properly, acccording to the usages of naturalists, 

 the whole of it having been previously included in his class Protozoa by Pro- 

 fessor Goldfuss. 



We have been thus particular in alluding to the term Protozoa, admitting 

 its excellence, and willing to express freely our regret that we do not consider 

 it proper to adopt it as the name of our first kingdom, on account of its having 

 been applied originally to a group very different in all particulars. The king- 

 dom now proposed by us, and which, in our opinion, is a natural and primary 

 division, is composed of the following inferior groups : 

 1. Kingdom Primalia. 



1. Sub Kingdom Algae. 



2. ' ' Lichenes. 



3. " Fungi. 



4. " Spongiae. 



5. " Conjugata. 



All of these groups are composed of organisms which are non-vascular and 

 without organs of Respiration or Circulation ; and the kingdom Primalia con- 

 tains all such organisms known to exist in Nature. But a comparatively small 

 number of those belonging to our group Primalia are arranged by Professor 

 Goldfuss in his Class Protozoa, but we regard it as containing the whole of the 



[May, 



