Description of New Protozoa. 



29 



of the animal were completed, the young Lagotia had in- 

 creased in size, and its tube had become more opaque. 



The spiral structure of the tube appears to afford a provision 

 for its growth similar to that found in the articulated shell of 

 the Echinus. In Lagotia producta, increase in length of the 

 tube would be effected by the deposition of chitine on both 

 edges of the spiral ribbon, while increase in its calibre would 

 take place by the gradual unrolling of the same. The chi- 

 tine is probably secreted by the thick inner coat of the tube ; 

 while the external coat appears to act, like the " colletoderm " 

 of zoophytes, as a cement for attaching the cell to the rocks. 

 These young Protozoa frequently assembled in clusters, and 

 secreted a quantity of " colletoderm," which glued all their 

 cells into a single mass. 



So far, the observation as to the reproduction of Lagotia is 

 in some measure satisfactory ; but it still remains to be dis- 

 covered how the ciliated larvse are produced. In Epistylis 

 nutans, one of the Vorticellina to which Lagotia is allied, an 

 encysting process takes place, according to Stein, by which 

 the animal takes the form of an Acineta. The ciliated head 

 is absorbed ; the body is inclosed in a tough tunic ; and nu- 

 merous long capitate tentacles are put forth, which have the 

 property of sucking tubes, and quickly absorb the fluid con- 

 tents of any animalcule coming in contact with them. Within 

 this Acineta body one or more ciliated embryos are formed, 

 and successively given off, until the substance of the Acineta 

 is entirely exhausted, and it becomes an empty sac. A similar 

 transformation into the Acineta state has been noticed in Va- 

 ginicola, a still nearer ally of Lagotia. I have, however, not 

 been able to detect any such change in the subject of this notice. 



2. Zooteirea religata. (Fig. 7.) 



This Protozoan is an inhabitant of deep water, and was 

 dredged from the oyster-beds opposite to Newhaven. It was 

 attached in considerable numbers to the concavity of the lower 

 valve of an old oyster-shell, from whence it propagated itself 

 to the sea-weeds of the vessel in which it was confined. 

 Zooteirea may be briefly described as an Actinophrys mounted 



