THE axato:my and physiology of the 
FOPvAMINIEERA. 
BY AY. C. AAALLIAMSON, F.R.S., 
PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY IX OWEX’s COLLEGE. MAXCHE3TER. 
T hough no miscroscopic creatures liave been so frequently 
described by naturalists as the Foraminifera^ there are 
few respecting which our information was^ until recentl}q so 
erroneous ; but this state of things is rapidly passing* away, 
not only in the case of the objects spoken of, but of a number 
of other creatures, whose zoological position was equally 
dubious. The modern ga*oup of Rhizopods has been constructed 
out of a number of zoological foundlings that, like Japhet in 
search of a father,^^ have long vainly hunted for their next of 
kin. Within the last few years Sponges have been proved to 
be animals, and may now be regarded as the federal head of 
their race. The Polycystineac, those exquisite specimens of 
silicious filigree-work, have been found to be first cousins to 
the Sponges. The active Polygastrica, so singularly misnamed, 
since, instead of having more stomachs than their neighbours, 
they have no stomachs at all, are the light brigade of the same 
slow-moving race ; whilst the Foraminifera, long regarded as 
the poor relations of the aristocratic Nautili, now occupy a 
dignified position in the family group ; whilst, if the Proteus 
animalcule cannot boast of a skeleton that is valuable for its 
usefulness, like that of the Sponge, or classic in its beauty like 
those of the Polycystins or of the Foraminifera, it has the 
comfort of knowing that through the very simplicity of its 
unadorned body it has contributed more than all the rest to a 
right understanding of the now happy family. 
We have learnt that the characteristic feature of the group 
I lies in the translucent jelly-like substance forming the living 
animal, and to which the name of sarcode^'’ is now commonly 
^ given. This s arc ode presents its simplest form in the Amoeba 
I or Proteus animalcule, so common in stagnant rain-water, 
j From this type, in which few or no traces of organization can 
} be seen, we pass to the higher forms of the Polygastrica, where 
important organs appear to exist, endowed with 
functions. 
