4o6 S. J. Holmes 



THE BEHAVIOR OF PIECES OF LOXOPHYLLUM 



It has been shown by Jennings and others that pieces of infu- 

 soria react in much the same way as the entire organism so far 

 as this is rendered possible by the shape of the parts concerned. 

 The observations which I have made on the behavior of pieces 

 of Loxophyllum confirm the general results obtained by other 

 observers and add a few points of interest, especially in relation 

 to the subject of regeneration, which is treated in a subsequent 

 section. 



A specimen was cut transversely in two at about the anterior 

 third. The two pieces swam rapidly apart, the anterior one going 

 forward, the posterior one backward. For some time the anterior 

 piece swam about in a circle toward the aboral side. After this 

 it began to move alternately forward and aborally, and then back- 

 ward and orally. At times the oral margin would be raisied up and 

 moved in an undulating manner like the edge of a flag, and some- 

 times the piece would turn completely over on its left side, but 

 it usually glided along on its right side with little or no marginal 

 motion. After about six minutes its backward and forward excur- 

 sions became limited to about the length of its body. In going 

 ahead there was a slight extension of the body, while in going 

 backward the body was always widened. A little later its motions 

 became confined to nearly the same spot. It would go forward, 

 then backward, turning through twenty or thirty degrees, and 

 then go forAvard again. Its behavior had become, therefore, much 

 like that of the normal animal under usual conditions. 



When the anterior end of the piece was stimulated by contact 

 with a fine capillary glass rod it would swim backward and turn 

 toward the oral side. When the posterior end of this piece was 

 stimulated it would not react nearly so readily, and often quite 

 strong stimuli produced no effect. When the response did occur, 

 however, it was manifested in two different ways. At times the 

 piece would flatten and swim backward, especially if the stimulus 

 were strong. At other times the body would elongate and swim 

 forward. In the first case it is probable that the animal was 

 pushed ahead so that the more sensitive anterior end was stimu- 



