52 ] The Classification of Lower Organisms 



Dasyea Kiitzirxg, Delesseriea Kutzing, and Polysiphoniea Kiitzing [Rhodomelaceae 

 Hauck). The Ceramiea are mostly filaments, uniseriate or becoming pluriseriate by 

 lengthwise divisions. In many members of the other families the bodies are thallose, 

 though consisting essentially of filaments produced in definite patterns. In many 

 Delesseriea the branches of the thalli simulate leaves of higher plants. 



Gonimophyllum is parasitic on Botryoglossum; both are Delesseriea. Various 

 species of Janczewskia, a genus of Polysiphoniea, attack Laurencia, Chondria, and 

 other members of the same family. This was the first genus of parasitic red algae to 

 be recognized as such, by Solms-Laubach (1877). 



Such are the red algae. The Bangialea appear to represent the transition between 

 the organisms which lack nuclei and the generality of nucleate organisms. The 

 Heterocarpea appear to be a specialized offshoot, leading to no other group. 



