GERM-CELL CYCLE IN ANIMALS 



are recognizably concerned with the performance 

 of certain definite functions. The fundamental 

 difference, then, between the one-celled and the 

 many-celled animals is that the differentiated struc- 

 tures in the former are not separated from one 

 another by cell walls as in multicellular organisms. 



Whether all Protozoa possess a body which can be 

 considered as specialized and set aside for reproduc- 

 tion purposes, 

 as the germ- 

 plasm theory 

 requires, is a 

 question upon 

 which author- 

 ities differ. In 

 certain cases 

 it seems pos- 

 sible to distin- 

 guish between 

 germinal and 

 somatic proto- 

 plasm without any difficulty. The life history of the 

 fresh water rhizopod, Arcella vulgaris (Fig. 5), will 

 serve to illustrate this (Hertwig, 1899 ; Elpatiewsky, 

 1907; Swarczewsky, 1908; Calkins, 1911). The 

 single nucleus of the young Arcella divides to form 

 two primary nuclei (A^) ; chromatin from these mi- 

 grates out and forms a layer near the periphery (Ch) 

 — the " chromidial net " of Hertwig. This chromatin 

 substance in the mature individual produces hundreds 

 of secondary nuclei (n), each of which is cut off, with 



Fig. 5. — Reproduction in Arcella vulgaris. A. For- 

 mation of secondary nuclei. Ch = chromidia; 

 n = secondary nuclei; N = primary nucleus. 

 (From Hertwig, 1899.) jB. Two gametes. (From 

 Elpatiewsky, 1907.) 



