1872.] Mr. E. Ray Lankester on Hemoglobin. 



75 



Miiller, of Jena, states that this vertebrate has corpuscles of a pale red 

 tint. If Ampliioxus should prove not to, it is yet certain that Leptoce- 

 phalus does form an exception to Prof. Preyer's recent statement in his 

 valuable monograph, ' Die Blutkrystalle,' that Haemoglobin is found " bei 

 alien Vertebraten." 



The statements in the present notice will be found to extend consider- 

 ably the area of distribution of Haemoglobin, as given in Prof. Preyer's 

 work, which is the latest (1871) on the subject. 



5. Presence of Haemoglobin in the tissue of the chain of nerve-ganglia of 

 Aphrodite aculeata. — The chain of nerve-ganglia of the Annelid Aphro- 

 dite aculeata possesses a bright crimson tint. This colour is particularly 

 marked in the ganglia themselves, and is most intense in the supraceso- 

 phageal ganglion, which has as intense a colour as a drop of fresh human 

 blood. When examined with the microscope, the colour is found to im- 

 pregnate the nerve-tissue itself, and not to be held in any liquid bathing 

 the tissue. 



The vessels of A. aculeata, which are not represented in closely allied 

 species (which are anangian according to the researches of Claparede), 

 contain a pale lemon-coloured fluid, which gives no bands with the spec- 

 troscope, and is certainly free from Haemoglobin. 



The perivisceral fluid is colourless, and also the muscular tissue through- 

 out the animal, with the single exception of the great muscular pharynx. 

 This has a pale pink tint ; and it and the nerve-chain, when examined 

 with the microspectroscope, gave abundant evidence of the presence of 

 Haemoglobin. The quantity in the pharyngeal muscular tissue is very 

 small indeed ; but, on the contrary, excessive in the nerve-ganglia, corre- 

 sponding with their brilliant crimson colour. 



I may mention here that the orange or yellow colour of the nerve- 

 ganglia of many Mollusca is not due to Haemoglobin. 



6. Presence of Haemoglobin in the muscles of the dorsal fin of Hippo- 

 campus. — The abundance of the little fish Hippocampus in the Gulf of 

 Naples has enabled me to confirm an observation made three years ago 

 on specimens which died in the aquarium in Regent's Park. Whilst the 

 other locomotive muscles of this and other fish are quite free from colour, 

 the muscles attached to the base of the dorsal fin are seen to have a pale 

 red colour ; and on examination with the spectroscope this colour is 

 found to be due to Haemoglobin. Microscopic examination proves the 

 colouring-matter to be diffused in the muscular tissue, and not to be due 

 to a special vascularity of the part in question. Probably other specially 

 active muscles of other fishes may be found to be in the same case as those 

 of the dorsal fin of Hippocampus ; but I have not made any extended ob- 

 servations on this point. 



The deep red coloration of the heart in Vertebrata generally is readily 

 proved by the spectroscope to be due to the presence of Haemoglobin ; but 

 owing to the great vascularity of the tissue in some cases, or to its 



