176 THE MVXOMYCETES OK I'lCTOU COUNTY.— MOOHE. 



Zopf iu liis treatmeiit of these organisms (Die Pilzthiere 

 oder Schleinipilze, 1885), united with them the Monadineae, 

 a group mostly aquatic and embracing such forms as Vampy- 

 rclla, lliirsuUn. Psrikluspora, Fvotomyxa, etc. He also includes 

 in tlie Monadineae, r[as)noctiophora and Tetramyxa, forms 

 which as will be seen, are regarded by most subsequent students 

 as more nearly related to the true Myxomycetes. The second 

 sub-division in Zopf's system is the Eumycetozoa with the same 

 limitations as deBary's jM^'oetozoa. 



This scheme of classification is open to criticism for, while 

 it is perha])s not possible to draw a shar]) lino between the 

 Monadina' and the true Myxomycetes, it is undoubtedly true 

 that the former appear to be ]n the direct line of ascent to the 

 rhizopods and heliozoa and hence to the whole series of animal 

 forms. Moreover, while the characteristic ])lasmo(Iium forma- 

 tion is exhibited in a number of tliem, for example J'rotoniyxa, 

 it is in the great majority unknown. 



Schroter (Engler & Pranrls Die ISTat. Pflanzenfamilien) 

 adopts the term ]\Iyxomycetes which he uses synonymously with 

 de Bary's Mycetozoa ; bnt he admits into the group such forms 

 as Plasmodiophora, which were excluded by the latter as 

 doubtful. 



lie divides the Myxomycetes into three principal groups: 



A. ]\raturc fructification consisting of a mass of free spores. 



1. Sa:])ro])liytes — the amoeboid l>odies uniting in masses 



but not fusing. 



Acrasieae. 



2. Parasitic in the interior of living ])bint cells — so 



far as known true plasmodin. 



Phytomyxinae. 



B. Spores produced in the interior of sporangia, or on the 



outside of discoid or columnar fructifications. 



Myxogasteres. 

 Massee in his monograph (1892) uses the Friesian term, 



