604 
the impaled individuals—through the cortex 
to the outside. 
While no animals were observed actually to 
thrust the filament through their bodies in 
this way, in several cases they were seen to 
be pulling with force sufficient to cause a 
distinet papilla-like elevation on the outer sur- 
face and it was easy ‘to see how a slightly 
stronger pull would have caused the tip to 
penetrate the cortex, thus impaling the strug- 
gling creatures. : 
Im every case of attempted ingestion ob- 
served, however, the animals sooner or later 
_ abandoned the effort to escape by “ climbing ” 
the filament itself; then by turning one way 
and another, even whirling about the tip at 
times, they were able eventually to disengage 
themselves. Had they pulled on the filament 
while the tip was in the region of the thin 
cortex at the contractile vacuole, it is probable 
that penetration would have taken place more 
readily. 
By their efforts to free themselves after be- 
coming impaled the ciliates frequently pro- 
duced great holes through their bodies much 
larger than the diameter of the filament. It 
seemed therefore that they might possibly 
have escaped by enlarging these holes through 
constant pushing and pulling until a rupture 
was produced at one side. None of them were 
observed to escape in this way although in 
some only a relatively narrow strip of cortex 
prevented. 
One instance was noted, when the observa- 
tions began, in which an individual was im- 
paled with its aboral or dorsal side toward 
the base of the filament. It was near the end 
of a branch and by pulling on the part of the 
branch distal to it the animal was soon en- 
abled to reach the end and escape. This ex- 
ception to the rule can best be accounted for 
by supposing that the individual was acciden- 
tally stabbed through during the transfer to 
the slide with the pipette. Im all the other 
eases observed, as noted above, the oral sides 
of the animals were toward the base of the 
filament. 
As to the filament, its fungoid nature was 
SCIENCE 
[N. 8. Vou. XLVIITI. No. 1250 
indicated by the entire absence of color. It 
appeared to be far more rigid than most of the 
zoogloeal specimens and in fact its rigidity 
is attested by its effect on the protoplasm of 
its would-be devourer. The growing tips are 
seen to be rounded but tapering somewhat at 
the ends. The tapering and relatively rigid 
point would possess the necessary piercing 
powers to produce the results observed. 
In addition the filaments grew with sur- 
prising rapidity. The one illustrated was 
about four millimeters long at the time it was 
drawn but an hour later the two distal 
branches were more than twice the length 
from their junction that they were at the time 
of drawing. The estimated growth during 
the hour was nearly half a millimeter and, in 
fact, the increase in length was so rapid as 
observed under the microscope that one could 
see the difference from moment to moment. 
The rapid growth, then accounts for the rela- 
tively great length and numerous branches 
that were found distal to the points where the 
pierced animals were still struggling. 
Perhaps this case may be cited as an example 
of maladaptation. on the part of Stylonichia 
vorax, its feeding instincts having led it to 
attempt the impossible, namely, to swallow an 
unswallowable object; and furthermore an ob- 
ject which, by reason of its adhering to the 
animal’s protoplasm, set up in the struggle to 
free itself reactions which resulted in forcing 
the rigid point of the object through its body, 
making it a prisoner. D. H. Wenricu 
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 
SCIENCE 
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