170 Transactions of the Society. 



in the cell ; but the mastax and the intestines kept moving. It 

 remained in this state for two hours, and then began to rouse up, 

 but instead of expanding the tentacles and making an exit out of 

 the upper end of the ceU as before, it began to hach out of the 

 cell by the lower end, and after some time cleared it, turned round, 

 and gradually expanded the tentacles. I watched it a greater 

 portion of the night, and it seemed in no way the worse for the 

 operation it had undergone. 



On Tuesday, 16th, 9 a.m., I found it alive and to all appear- 

 ance anchored by the remaining portion of its foot, one cannot say 

 sucker, because that had been left behind. At 10 p.m., twenty-four 

 hours having elapsed, it was still alive, and seemed to be in the best 

 of health in spite of the change in its circumstances. The tentacles 

 were perfectly semicircular and rigid, which is a sure indication of 

 health, they becoming limp and straggling when the creature is 

 sickening or about to die. 



On "Wednesday, the 17th, at 7 a.m., I found the creature alive, 

 and what is more strange, that it had thrown off an ovum in an 

 advanced stage of development. The ovum was close to its side, 

 but whether attached to it or not I do not know. Agitating the 

 liquid in the trough as far as I dared did not disturb the ovum. 

 By 11 A.M. the young Stephanoceros broke the shell and swam 

 away, leaving the shell still clinging to the parent, where it 

 remained until my observations came to a conclusion. At 11 p.m. 

 (49 hours having passed) the creature was alive and well, and 

 firmly fixed by its portion of tail, with algae commencing to form at 

 the base. At first I took this for the commencement of a new cell, 

 but in this respect I was mistaken, for up to the time of its death 

 it remained in the naked condition. 



Throughout the day on Friday, the 19th, the creature was 

 wonderfully active in finding and selecting food. 



On Sunday, the 21st, all through the day there were unmistakable 

 signs of approaching dissolution. The mastax worked in a very 

 fitful manner. I left it in the evening, feeling sure it would be 

 dead by the morning, as was the case, just eight days from the time 

 of leaving the cell. I had great difficulty in finding the dead body 

 and empty case, the growth of Oscillatoriese, &c., having for the last 

 day or two been so great that it was with the greatest difficulty the 

 animal and the case could be kept from being hidden. 



Another fact I think worthy of noting: Examining some 

 Anacharis, I found an empty case of Stephanoceros Eichhornii con- 

 taining an ovum left by the parent. I watched it, and saw the 

 young one break the shell, come out into the cell, and after swim- 

 ming round inside it, pass out of the aperture. 



The above observations will speak for themselves, not only as 

 to the character of the cell of Stephanoceros Eichhornii, but that 



