84JJ W. ARCHER. 



The third special constituent of the contents of this 

 remarkable sarcodine, Pelomyxa, are the bacillar bodies. 

 Besides the nuclei and the shining bodies occur in the 

 parenchyma innumerable quantities of fine hyaline bacillar 

 bodies, of greater or less length, but in general very short, in 

 the mean not over 0006 — O'OOS mm. in length. They lie, like 

 the other structures, free between the vacuoles, and become, 

 like them, moved about by the amoeboid movements of the 

 Pelomyxa (fig. 11). Sometimes they surround the shining 

 bodies so closely that the author fancied they took their 

 origin therefrom. Their surface is smooth and contents per- 

 fectly hyaline. The author sometimes thought there was a 

 longitudinal canal in their interior, as well as a transverse 

 striatum ; but he could not satisfy himself of either. 



These bodies consist of organic substance, as shown by 

 their behaviour in presence of reagents. Removed from the 

 body they show a dancing, that is, molecular, movement. 

 The author could make out nothing of the significance of 

 these bodies. 



This curious sarcodine has been found near London by 

 Professor Ray Lankester. It has not turned up anywhere 

 else in the United Kingdom, though it probably must occur 

 with us in similar situations. 



HyalocUscus ruhicimdus, Hertwig et Lesser^ (fig. 16). 



The form so designated as the type of a new genus is 

 distinguished from any known Sarcodina by the peculiar 

 method of its locomotion. Unlike other naked forms, this is 

 not effected by means of pseudopodia, nor by a stream of 

 protoplasm forwards, into lobes of the body projected 

 anteriorly, but the movement affects all points of the surface 

 alike, and only the direction in which the individual parts of 

 the superficies move determines that in which the whole 

 organism glides onwards. 



An example seen under a moderate power appears as an 

 oval body of a brick-red, reddish-brown, or greenish-brown 

 appearance gliding along. Under a higher power this can 

 be seen to form only the reddish middle portion surrounded 

 by a colourless and hyaline border. Then the object appears 

 as a colourless disc with a granular coloured mass im- 

 bedded, usually occupying the median portion of the disc, 

 but sometimes more towards the posterior ends. This mar- 

 gin is found to be homogeneous and structureless, and it is 

 with difficulty seen, whilst the coloured median region is seen 

 to be more or less sharply marked off therefrom. Besides 



' Loc. cit., p. 49, t. ii, fig. v. 



