44 RESEARCHES IN HELMINTHOLOGY AND PARASITOLOGY. 



withdraw it, and apparently without any injury having been sus- 

 tained, as the animal lives for days afterwards in its usual circum- 

 stances. The interior of the body, in the intervals of the viscera, 

 is filled with discoidal corpuscles, as in Nais, etc. The interior 

 of the intestine is everN'where furnished with nutritive villoid 

 appendages. 



2. Anortha/^ — Body sub-compressed, soft, naked, vibrillated, in- 

 articulate. Alimentary canal simple, straight, alternately con- 

 tracted and dilated. Mouth and anus terminal, simple, indistinct. 

 Eyes, none. 



2. Anortha Gracilis. — White, opalescent, very contractile, monili- 

 form from an alternation of contraction and dilation, corresponding 

 usually to ten segments, into which the animal may be subdivided, 

 but more of less disappearing elongation of the body, becoming 

 more apparent by wrinkling in shortening of the body ; anteriorly 

 semi-ovate, subacute ; posteriorly elongated, cylindroid, obtusel}- 

 rounded. Apparent segments panduriform, furnished each posteri- 

 orly with a clear globular nucleolated nucleus. Intestine variable 

 in capacity, usually dilated in the anterior dilatation of each appar- 

 ent segment, and much contracted in the intervals. 



Length from i to 2 lines, shortening i or i-4th of a line ; breadth 

 when elongated from i -400th to i -300th inch ; when shortened 

 from I -300th inch to y^ of a line. 



Habitation and Remarks. — Found in the same situation as the pre- 

 ceding, creeping planaria-like upon diflferent substances, or most 

 frequently holding a vertical position in the water, apparently with- 

 out movement, but retaining their position b}' means of the actively 

 moving vibrillae, which are comparatively larger than in the preced- 

 ing worms. They appear to feed upon vegetable particles brought 

 to the mouth by means of the currents produced by the vibrillae. 

 The intestine is usually empty, except at the dilated portions, where 

 it is 5'ellowish or greenish, from granular matters contained within. 

 The whole structure of the animal is exceedingly simple, composed 

 of nucleolated, granular corpuscles, those forming the exterior of 

 the body being furnished with vibrillae. Under slight pressure these 

 corpuscles undergo separation from one another and become globu- 

 lar by endosmosis. In this state they measure from i-joooth inch 

 to i-28ooth inch. The nucleoli are globular, shining, and measure 

 I -900th inch in diameter. The exterior vibrillated corpuscles, after 

 separating from the body, often mov^e about for some seconds. The 



* Anortha : avo%Q6ui^ from the erect position of the animal. 



