26 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Oeder I. CRYPTOPHYCEJ], Thuret. 



Algse composed of cells which are either isolated or imbedded in 

 mucus, so as to form colonies, or united in the form of filaments. Color 

 usually bluish green, sometimes brown, purj)le, or pink. Eeproduction 

 by hormogonia or non-sexual spores. Sexual reproduction unknown. 



We liavo retained tlie name given by Thnret, in Le Jolis's Liste des Algues Marines 

 de Cherbourg, to the group of low algfe in which sexual rei^roduction is unknown. 

 Our species belong to the Sclnzophytce of Cohn (Beitrlige zur Biologie der Pflanzen, 

 Vol. I, p. 202), which also includes the minute forms commonly known as Bacteria. 

 Most of the species here enumerated are bluish green, owing to the presence of phy- 

 cochrome, and would be jilaced by some writers in the order Phycocliromacece. Some 

 are destitute of phycochrome and have been placed by different writers in the Chroo- 

 coccacece and Palmellacew. Noegeli, in Die Niederen Pilze, is of the opinion that the 

 Bacteria should not be classed with the Phycocliromacece, as in the Schizophytw of Cohn, 

 but one cannot expect to make a satisfactory classification of forms in which no sexual 

 reproduction has, as yet, been discovered. The Protophytes of Sachs's Text-Book 

 include all the iSchizopJiytce of Cohn, togetherwith the Pa ?»ieZ?acefe and Saccliaromycetes. 

 From the nature of the plants themselves, none of the above classifications can be 

 considered of decided scientific value, and, regarding the question of convenience 

 alone, we have adopted the name Cryptophycece as expressing sufficiently well all the 

 marine Protopliytes of our coast, whether they contain phycochrome or not. The 

 order is divided into two suborders, as follows : 



a. Cells free, or united by a gelatinous intercellular substance into fami- 

 lies which never form true filaments Chroococcace.^. 



h. Cells arranged in filaments Nostochine^. 



Suborder CHROOCOCCACEiE. 



{Gl (cogence, Cohn in part.) 



1. Cells free or united in twos or fours Chroococciis. 



2. Cells united by a mucoug intercellular substance into amorphous 



[Note. — In the following descriptive part of the present paper the synonymy of the 

 species is carried only so far as to enable the reader, in the first place, to recognize 

 the more common synonyms and also the works in which the sjTionymy is given in 

 full, and, in the second place, to give a reference to the more accessible works in 

 which the different species are figured. Of the latter frequent reference is made to the 

 Nereis Bar eali- Americana and Phycologia Brittanica of Harvey, to the Etudes Phycologiques 

 and Notes Algologiques of Bornet and Thuret, and the Tahulce PhycoJogicce of Klitzing. 

 For a list of descriptive works consulted the reader is referred to the end of this paper. 



All microscopic measurements are given in fractions of a millimeter, but gross meas- 

 urements of objects more than half an inch in diameter are given in feet and inches, 

 as the divisions of the meter are not, in this country, readily applied to objects which 

 can be seen by the naked eye. 



Unless otherwise stated, the loca lities given are those in which the writer himself 

 has collected the species, but in the case of common species it has been considered un- 

 necessary to give special localities. ] 



