AMOKft SIMPLE SABCODE ORGANISMS. 419 



I liave taken Haeckel's figures (fig. 10) as affording an excellent 

 illustration of the life-historj of this remarkable group of orga- 

 nisms*. 



A still more remarkable genus of Monadinee is Vampyrella, 

 Cienkowski. Perhaps the most interesting of the three species 

 of Vampyrella described by Cienkowski is the V. spirogyrce (fig. 11). 

 This has long been known to algologists in the form of spherical 

 brick-red capsules (B), which are often found attached to the fila- 

 ments of the confervoid alga Spirogyra. It is, however, the merit of 

 Cienkowski to have discovered the real nature of these capsules 

 and to have satisfactorily traced their life-history. 



The walls of the capsule are composed of two membranes. The 

 inner gives the characteristic cellulose reaction, becoming blue 

 when treated with sulphuric acid and iodine. The outer mem- 

 brane, which in the older capsules is often absent, forms a soft 

 nitrogenous layer. The contents of the capsule consist of a 

 brick-red protoplasm with, usually, large dark irregular granules 

 towards the centre caused by foreign matter which had been taken 

 in as nutriment. By carefully continued observations the contents 

 may be seen to divide into two or four portions (tetraspores) (C), 

 and then to escape in the form of red Amoeia-like bodies through 

 round openings in different parts of the capsule. The dark bodies 

 which remain behind in the capsule are the undigested remains of 

 the nutriment. 



The bodies which have thus become liberated appear to be desti- 

 tute of nucleus and contractile vesicle. When released they assume 

 the form of spherical masses of a red-coloured protoplasm (D), from 

 the surface of which are emitted pointed pseudopodial rays like 

 those of an ActinopJirys. They are, however, very contractile 

 and undergo constant change of form, drawing themselves out 

 into strings and fine filaments, which tear asunder and again unite 

 and send ofi" branches and form fan-like expansions ; while these 

 ramified creeping masses of protoplasm can again contract them- 

 selves into a sphere. 



When the Vampyrella in this condition is watched in water 

 containing some plants of Spirogyra, it may be seen wandering 

 about slowly until it strikes against one of the filaments of the 

 alga. After gliding for some time over the surface of the filament 

 it attaches itself to it if the filament be healthy and loaded with 

 * Haeckel, " Nachtrage zur Monographie der Moneren," Jenaische Zeitschr. 

 1871. 



35* 



