II 



EXAMINATION OF THE CORPUSCLES OF THE 

 BLOOD OF AMPHIOXUS LANCEOLATUS 



British Association Report, 1847, //. 2, p. 95 



In September last I was furnished, by the kindness of Professor 

 Edward Forbes, with one of the living specimens of Amphioxus 

 lanceolatus, which that gentleman exhibited at the meeting of the 

 British Association at Southampton. 



On the succeeding day I proceeded to examine the blood of the 

 animal, but it unfortunately no longer exhibited any signs of life, and 

 it was with difficulty that I obtained two drops for that purpose ; the 

 one by making an incision into the skin (having first carefully dried 

 the surface), the other by cutting off the extremity of the tail. This 

 difficulty will, I trust, be a sufficient excuse for the want of that com- 

 pleteness about the following statements, which more frequently re- 

 peated observations might have given them ; at the same time I believe 

 they will be found correct as far as they go. 



The blood was thin and had a very slight rusty tinge. Under the 

 microscope (objective |th of an inch, Ross) it presented the following 

 appearances : in both specimens a number of large, irregular, pale 

 greenish granule-cells, rather more than -aToo^h of an inch in diameter ; 

 these contained a few scattered strongly refracting granules, were shot 

 out into one or two irregular processes, and adhered together into 

 masses. Besides these there were others having much the same 

 characters, but possessing either more or fewer granules, so that there 

 was a complete gradation exhibited from those which were full of 

 coarse granules, to those which had quite a fine texture without any 

 granules at all. 



