ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 



397 



sr;riptioii of Reckertia sagittifera g. etsp. n., a colourless Chloromonad, 

 belongiag to the series Vacuolaria, Trentonia^ Gonyostomnm, and 

 Tliaumatomastix. It is near the last in its general appearance, in its 

 pseudopodia, in its mode of nutrition, aud in its contractile vacuoles. 

 But it has a ventral groove and trichocysts. It was found in an 

 aquarium in the Botanic Gardens in Brussels. Below the cuticle the 



W 



Fig. 1. — Reckertia sagittifera 

 seen from the ventral surface. 



Fig. 2. — Seen from the side. 



av, anterior ; d, dorsal; v, ventral ; fa, anterior flagellum ; fp, posterior 

 flagellum ; s, ventral groove; vp, contractile vacuole; ,va, food- 

 vacuole ; n, nucleus ; li, droplets of oil ; p, pseudopodia. 



ectoplasm shows a thick cuticle, a structureless hyaline layer, a striated 

 alveolar layer with trichocysts. There is a large vesicular nucleus which 

 divides by karyokinesis. There are numerous food-vacuoles in the 

 endoplasm, and reserve carbon-compounds are represented by droplets of 

 oil. The trichocysts are regarded as specialized vacuoles containing a 

 peculiar substance, perhaps a pectosic gel. J. A. T. 



Experiments with Insect Tlagellates. — C. A. Hoaee {Parasitology, 

 1921, 13, 67-85). Experiments towards infecting various Vertebrate 

 types with Grithidia melophagia, HerpetomGnas jaculum, and H. calUphorse 

 yielded negative results. There seems no warrant as yet for believing 

 that the natural Herpetomonads in insects, especially in those not 

 associated with Vertebrates, may become pathogenic when introduced 

 into the latter. J. A. T. 



