1915] 



Kofoid: Notes on the Tintinnoina 



65 



to be cautious about single instances of unusual form or structure 

 among organisms. Brandt's suggestion that Haeckel's Dictijocysta 

 tiara is a " sehr sonderbare Formvarietat ' ' has therefore my full accord. 

 Furthermore, certain experiences with the species of Dictyocysta have 

 atforded a clue to the probable source of Haeckel's D. tiara. It may 

 be noted in passing that the correct name for Dictyocysta tcmplmn 

 Haeekel is D. lepida Ehrenberg. 



When the formalin in sea water in which the plankton containing 

 Dictyocysta is permitted to evaporate under the cover glass the lorica 

 undergoes a peculiar shrinkage, which distorts it as in Haeckel's (1873) 



/^^S^ 



Fig. 2. Dictyocysta lepida Ehrenberg var., ou uncoutracted loriea. X 500. 

 The loricae shown in figures 2 and 3 belong to D. templum var. b. Brandt. 



Fig. 3. Dictyocysta lepida Ehrenberg var. X 500. Original showing con- 

 tracting aboral region due to shrinkage. 



figure. A lorica of D. lepida which is thus distorted is shown in text- 

 figure 2. The same symmetrical collapsing of the aboral region which 

 appears in D. tiara, reducing it to a tapering form much narrower than 

 in the uncontracted stage (fig. 3), occurs also in this lorica as dessi- 

 cation ensues. "We conclude therefore that Haeckel's (1873) figure 

 of D. tiara represents only a large lorica of D. lepida with ten instead 

 of the usual eight fenestrae which had shrimken in the aboral region 

 as the result of dessication, perhaps on the plankton net in the interval 

 between one collection and another, or on the side of the container, or 

 in the course of examination upon the slide. Haeckel's lorica measures 

 100/x in length, a size almost attained (95/x) by D. lepida grandis 

 Brandt. 



