188 Transactions of the [TonrX'^^vrnTim^ 



V. — A New Tuhe-clwelling Stentor. 



By Charles A. Barrett, M.E.C.S. Eng., F.E.M.S. 



(^Eead Icfore the Eoyal Microscopical Society, March 9, 1870.) 



Plate XLVI. 



In the autumn of 1867 I found on a piece of weed, taken from the 

 Thames at Moulsford, the animalcule that forms the subject of this 

 paper. 



I was looking for Lagotia, which I had found before on weed 

 from the above locality (though Pritchard quotes Lagotia as a 

 marine animal). When I first saw the upper part of the expanded 

 head, just showing above the piece of weed, I thought it was one of 

 the lappets of the head of the animal I was in search of, but found 

 when it was quite extended that it was a sten tor-like animal quite 

 new to me. 



I turned the weed over to have a better view of it, and found 

 that it was inhabiting a case or tube. The creature was a young 

 specimen, and the tube was but slightly transparent. In older 

 specimens it becomes opaque. The case was of a light brown colour, 

 firm in consistence between that of the tubes of the Limnias and 

 Tubicularia, well formed and gelatinous. The form of the creature 

 could be just made ont, but with difficulty. It was retracted, and 

 was of an ovoid shape at the bottom of its tube. After waiting 

 a short time, it extended itself, and was then a most magnificent- 

 looking animal. It was trumpet-shaped, having no division between 

 the body and that part within the case. It was filled with a bluish- 

 white sarcode, granular and having many vacuoles ; the head when 

 expanded was large, and shaped like the human ear. Just \vithin 

 the edge of this was a thin membrane running round, at the edge of 

 which were placed the vibrating cilia. This thin membrane I shall 

 call the velum. These cilia were in active motion, and produced a 

 current that brought food, &c., from a comparatively long distance 

 to the animal's mouth. There were no cilia over the body, but 

 standing at right angles to the body, and at equal distances from 

 each other, there were long fine hairs. These hairs were five or 

 six times the length of the cilia on the velum, and were perfectly 

 motionless. In fact, though I had the creature under examination 

 for a long time, and daily, I never saw them flash even, like the 

 setae of the Floscularia and Stephanoceros do. These hairs were in 

 appearance like the setae of the Floscularia, and much added to the 

 beauty of the creature. These I shall call setae. These set* were 

 also placed round the edge of the ear-shaped head, but on a plane 

 external to the velum. From the centre of the expanded head were 

 radiating lines or fibres. These were again interlaced with other 



