GENUS KAPHIDIOPHRYS— RAPHIDIOPHRYS ELEGANS. 251 



like an entangled mass of Actinophrys-like animals. The groups vary in 

 form, but are more or less irregular. The individuals composing them have 

 the shape and general appearance of an Actinophrys, and in the groups are 

 associated by means of bands or bridges of protoplasm passing between 

 those which are contiguous. The distance separating the individuals in 

 different groups is variable, but mostly is less than the diameter of the body 

 of the individuals. In active movement, they are commonly farthest apart, 

 and when at rest they become more closely aggregated. 



The individuals are usually spherical and of uniform size; but they 

 are capable of changing their shape, so that they may be oval or of some 

 other form. The body is composed of a basis of soft, colorless, granular 

 protoplasm, with fine oil molecules disseminated It contains variable pro- 

 portions of bright green and colorless corpuscles, which exhibit some uni- 

 formity of size. Sometimes the green chlorophyl corpuscles are numerous, 

 sometimes comparatively few, and at times altogether absent. The color- 

 less corpuscles mingled with the green ones are clear and homogeneous, 

 and at times exist to the exclusion of the latter. 



The bridge-like bands passing between contiguous individuals of the 

 groups vary in length and thickness, and are more or less temporary con- 

 junctions composed of the protoplasmic basis of the bodies. At times they 

 may be seen to shorten or elongate, to contract and to part, and the 

 divisions withdraw ; and at other times projected processes may be 

 observed, which unite with contiguous ones to form new bridges Fre- 

 quently green and other corpuscles may be seen traversing the bridges 

 from one individual to another. 



The individuals contain a central nucleus, which, though usually ob- 

 scured from view by the colored corpuscles and other constituents, some- 

 times is distinctly visible, as seen in fig. 3. 



Though a distinct contractile vesicle, with rhythmical action like that 

 of Actinophrys sol, appears not to exist in Raphidiophrys elegans, frequently 

 a large vacuole is observed near the periphery of the body, which enlarges 

 and collapses, to be replaced by a similar one in some other position. 



Hertwig and Lesser remark that they observed no contractile vesicle 

 in this species, and Mr. Archer likewise detected none in Raphidiophrys 

 viridis. 



The pseudopodal rays of Raphidiophrys elegans are numerous and often 



