664 



SYSTEMATIC HISTORY OF THE INFUSORIA. 



to the pectinated leaves of the water- j pocket magniher). Length, with tail, 

 violet, as they appear under a shallow | 1-tiG" ; without, 1-140" ; lorica 1-70". 



Geniis CONOCHILUS (XXY. 365-370).— Animalcules social, ha\dng con- 

 glomerate and contiguous envelopes ; each has two permanent eyes. Only 

 one species is kno^vn; its description, therefore, wiU include that of the 

 genus. 



CoNOCHiLus Volrox. — The compound 

 masses w^hite ; envelope gelatinous, hya- 

 line, consisting of from ten to forty ani- 

 malcules united so as to form a sphere, 

 which revolves in swimming, like the 

 Voli'ox. The frontal region of the ani- 

 malcule is broad, trimcated, and sur- 

 romided wdth a wreath of cilia, inter- 

 rupted at the mouth, w^hich is lateral. 

 On the frontal plane arise four thick 

 conical papilla?, often furnished ^^'ith an 



ing thickened and bent. (In the group, 

 XXV. 365-368, the lorica is not sho^NTi.) 

 There are no anterior muscles, but three 

 pairs of posterior ones, which disappear 

 near the rotary organ ; there are also a 

 back and two lateral pairs. Several 

 transverse bands appear connected with 

 two anterior, lateral, longitudinal ones, 

 which, Ehrenberg states, must arise from 

 a netw^ork near the head, as in Hijdatina. 

 These are probably muscular. He has 



anterior, as seen in xxv. 365, 366, and 

 368. The oesophagus is short and nar- 

 row; its head, or bulb, has jaws, w^th 

 teeth and four muscles; it lies imme- 

 diately within the mouth. The stomach 

 and rectum are oval. Tw^o spherical 

 glands are observed near the oesophagus, 

 and posteriorly an ovaiiiun, often con- 

 taining a large ovum, w^hich is expelled 

 near the base of the tail. The ovate or 

 shortly-cylindrical body terminates in a 

 long, thin, and strong cylindrical foot- 

 like tail, the end having a suction-disc. 

 The gelatinous envelope is only percep- 

 tible in coloured water, except when 

 infested with green parasitical Monads ; 

 the animalcules can completely withdraw 

 themselves wdthin it, their tails becom- 



articulated bristle, especially the two j also seen two spiral bands, situated poS' 



teriorly. Two beautiful red visual organs 

 lie immediately beneath the wreath of 

 cilia, and behind them little oval bodies, 

 w^hich he regarded as nervous ganglia, 

 but doubtless erroneously. In the foot- 

 like tail are two large w^edge-shaped 

 glands, probably male organs. These 

 creatures will feed upon cannine and 

 indigo, but are mostly filled with a 

 golden-coloured food. (xxv. 370 repre- 

 sents a cluster of animalcules magnified 

 about ten diameters, of which figs. 365- 

 368 represent a portion highly mag- 

 nified; the first is an under view, the 

 two next dorsal views, and the last a 

 side view. xxv. 369 sliow^s the jaws, 

 teeth, and part of the pharyngeal bulb 

 separate.) Size 1-60"; sphere 1-9". 



FAMILY III.— MEGALOTROCH^A. 



No envelope or lorica. Rotary organ, w^hich is also that of locomotion, 

 simple, incised or flexuose at the margin. Distant muscular bands visible, 

 by means of which the shape of the body can be modified. In Megcdotroclia 

 the alimentary canal is provided with two jaw^s, a stomach, two caeca, and 

 tw^o glandular appendages. In Microcodon there are two single-toothed jaws, 

 and a simple canal, without distinct stomach or cteca. The ovarium in both 

 genera develope a few large ova, each of which in Megalotrocha, Ehrenberg 

 afiirms, after expression, is retained in connexion with the body by means of 

 a thread. Water-vascular canals, with tremulous tags, exist in Megcdotroclia ; 

 red eye-spots in both genera indicate a nervous system ; and in Megalotrocha 

 a radiating body, supposed to be a cerebral ganglion and to fonn dark glan- 

 dular (?) spheres, are seen in the neighboui'hood of the mouth. 



Ehrenberg's divisions of the family are given at p. 478 of the General 

 History. 



The genera contained in this family ai'e undescribed by Dujardin and 

 Leydig, whilst Siebold only recognizes Megalotrocha . Cuphonautes, instituted 

 by Ehi-enberg upon two animalcules found in water from the Baltic, Dujardin 



