210 Royal Society : — 



printed in the Transactions of that Society ; but it was withdrawn 

 by me before publication, in consequence of my being dissatisfied 

 with D'Orbigny's theory (which I had erroneously adopted), that 

 the animals belonged to the Cephalopoda ; and my subsequent ob- 

 servations were confirmed by the theory of Dujardin. I have since 

 placed all my drawings and specimens at the disposal of Mr. Wil- 

 liamson of Manchester, who has given such a good earnest of what 

 he can do in elucidating the natural history of this group, by his 

 papers on Lagena and the Foraminiferous mud of the Levant. 



The observations which I have made on many hundred recent and 

 living specimens of various species, fully confirm Dr. Carpenter's 

 view as to the simple and homogeneous nature of the animal. His 

 idea of their reproduction by gemmation is also probably correct ; 

 although I cannot agree with him in considering the granules which 

 are occasionally found in the cells as ova. These bodies I have fre- 

 quently noticed, and especially in the Lagena ; but they appeared 

 to constitute the entire mass, and not merely a part of the animal. 

 I am inclined to think they are only desiccated portions of the ani- 

 mal, separated from each other in consequence of the absence of any 

 muscular or nervous structure. It may also be questionable if the 

 term "ova" is rightly applicable to an animal which has no distinct 

 organs of any kind. Possibly the fry may pass through a metamor- 

 phosis, as in the case of the Medusa. 



Most of the Foraminifera are free, or only adhere by their pseudo- 

 podia to foreign substances. Such are the Lagena of Walker, NodO" 

 saria, Vorticialis and Textularia, and the Miliola of Lamarck. The 

 latter has some, although a very limited, power of locomotion ; which 

 is- effected by exserting its pseudopodia to their full length, attach- 

 ing itself by them to a piece of seaweed, and then contracting them 

 like india-rubber, so as to draw the shell along with them. Some 

 of the acephalous mollusks do the same by means of their byssus. 

 This mode of progression is, however, exceedingly slow ; and I have 

 never seen, in the course of twenty-four hours, a longer journey than 

 a quarter of an inch accomplished by a Miliola, so that, in compari- 

 son with it, a snail travels at a railroad pace. 



Some are fixed or sessile, but not cemented at their base like the 

 testaceous annelids. The only mode of attachment appears to be a 

 thin film of sarcose. The Lobatula of Fleming, and the Rosalia and 

 Planorbulina of D'Orbigny belong to this division. 



Dr. Carpenter considers the Foraminifera to be phytophagous, in 

 consequence of his having detected in some specimens, by the aid 

 of the microscope, fragments of Diatomacece and other simple forms 

 of vegetable life. But as I have dredged them alive at a depth of 

 108 fathoms (which is far below the Laminarian zone), and they are 

 extremely abundant at from 40 to 70 fathoms, ten miles from land 

 and beyond the range of any seaweed, it may be assumed without 

 much difliculty, that many, if not most of them, are zoophagous, and 

 prey on microscopic animals, perhaps even of a simpler form and 

 structure than themselves. They are in their turn the food of mol- 

 lusca, and appear to be especially relished by Dentalium Entale. 



