Volume X VI. February, igoo. Number 2. 



JOURNAL 



ORPHOLOGY. 



STOLONIZATION IN AUTOLYTUS VARIANS. 



p. CALVIN MENSCH. 



The development of the stolons in the chain-forming species 

 of Syllidians has been referred to as early as 1788 by O. Franz 

 MUller (i), and later by de Quatrefages (2), Milne-Edwards (3), 

 Claparede (4), Von Marenzeller (5), and Langerhans (6) ; but it 

 is only in the recent works of de St .-Joseph (7), Pruvot (8), 

 and more recently in the excellent monograph of Malaquin (9), 

 that detailed descriptions of this process are presented. In this 

 paper I shall give results of my observations in a species which 

 presents some characters different from those described in the 

 previous works. 



I desire to express my gratitude to Dr. M. M. Metcalf, at 

 whose suggestion I undertook this work, also to Professor 

 Whitman, director of the Marine Biological Laboratory at 

 Woods Holl, Mass., for valuable assistance and advice, and 

 finally to Dr. E. A. Andrews for suggestions as to methods 

 of collecting the species. 



Material. — The material for the work was collected at Woods 

 Holl during the summer of 1895. Individuals of Autolytus 

 varians in the process of budding may be found at any time 

 of the year among the hydroids growing on the piles or in the 



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