366 JULIA ELEANOR MOODY 



zitzenformigcn Fortsatz verschen, in dem die enge Mundoffnung 

 licgt, und ringsum mit gleichformigen Wimpern bcsetzt. Zwischen 

 den Wimpern stehen zahlreiche fadenformigen Tentakeln zerstreut, 

 die sich, wie die Tentakeln der Acinetinen betriichtlich verlangern 

 und auch spurlos in den Korper zurlickziehen konnen. Der After 

 und ein grosser kontraktiler Behalter liegen am hinteren Korperpole. 

 Der ziemlich lange strangformige Nuck^us ist unregelmasig zusammen- 

 gekriimmt. Die Gegenwart von Mund und After schliesst unser 

 Thier entschieden von den Acinetinen aus, denen es auf den ersten An- 

 l)lick sehr ahnlich scheint. 



The next recorded observations are those of Entz pubhshed 

 in April, 1883. Actinobolus, found in abundance by him in 

 June, had two weeks later entirely disappeared, not only from 

 his cultures, but also from the pond from which his material 

 originally came. To the facts recorded by Stein, Entz adds 

 the following details: The mouth, situated at the anterior 

 end of the body at the tip of a papilla-like structure, leads into 

 a funnel-shaped gullet finely striated. These striations he in- 

 terprets as folds of the cortex, finding here no differentiation into 

 distinct solid rods, homologous to the basket-like structure 

 found in Chilodon. The tentacles, extending outward from the 

 entire surface of the body, he found to be of uniform thickness 

 throughout their length, ending generally bluntly, sometimes 

 terminating in a sharp point, but never knobbed. These organs 

 consisted of a homogeneous substance, capable of great exten- 

 sion and contraction, but different from the tentacles of Suctoria 

 inasmuch as in their contracted condition the .close spiral ap- 

 pearance observed in the latter, was entirely lacking. 



Stein ascribed no special function to the tentacles, but Entz, 

 although he states that he has never seen Actinobolus swallow 

 an infusorian, often observed the tentacles closely attached to 

 the filaments of Cladophora and other algae, the walls of which 

 upon careful examination, appeared to be ruptured at the point 

 of contact with the tentacles. Entz therefore concluded that 

 the tentacles of Actinobolus ma}^ assist the animal in securing 

 food, by the secretion of a substance from the tip of the organ, 

 thus dissolving the cell-wall of the plant and exposing the con- 

 tents to the action of the endoplasmic core of the tentacles. 



