31 
of 1864, in the Mediterranean, off Nice. AVhen swimming 
freely in sea-water, this moner looks like a transparent, glo- 
bular particle of mucus, of about linm. diameter (smaller 
specimens measure only OT mm. diameter). Only about a 
third of this measurement applies to the inner central 
portion of the body, the homogeneous solid sarcode ball, 
while the outer two thirds consists entirely of thousands 
of fine, radiating, mucous threads. These threads, the 
so-called pseudopods, some of which run simple and some 
twisted and anastomosed to the periphery, radiate im- 
mediately from the periphery of the central albuminous 
body. They show throughout, the same life-phenomena 
as the similar sarcode threads of the true Rhizopoda (Acyt- 
taria and Radiolaria). The solidified, albuminous mass 
of the whole body was in continual motion, now slower, 
now faster, which was easy to follow by the passive move- 
ments of the fine and usually numerous particles scattered 
in the albuminous mass. The sarcode threads constantly 
varied in number, form, and size ; they ramified and anasto- 
mosed, separated again, and were drawn back into the cen- 
tral, principal mass. In short, they exhibited exactly the 
same appearance which has been so often and fully described 
by Max Schultze 1 in the Polythalamia, and by myself in the 
Radiolaria 2 . Nourishment was also taken, by the Proto- 
genes, in the same manner as by the last-named, true Rhizo- 
poda. Smaller bodies (Diatomace®, unicellular Algae, &c.) 
remained hanging on the glutinous surface of the albumen 
threads, if they accidentally came in contact with them, 
they were surrounded by them, and then slowly drawn into the 
central albuminous mass. Larger bodies, such as, for ex- 
ample, Peridiuiae (1. c. fig. 2), were finally entirely sur- 
rounded by the body of the Protogenes ; afterwards, certain 
contents of the victim were first assimilated ; and the Pro- 
togenes then immediately moved away from the indigestible 
shell. In a shallow watch-glass, with a little sea water left 
standing for some time, the Protogenes spread itself out at 
the bottom in the form of a thin, hyaline, mucilaginous plate. 
This plate had very irregular, jagged outlines, and a dia- 
meter of from 3 to 4 mm. But the most important point 
which I could ascertain respecting the Protogenes was its 
reproduction by spontaneous fission. This was accomplished 
by a simple division of the globular, mucilaginous body into 
1 Max Schultze, ‘On the Organism of the Polythalamia,’ Leipsig, 1854, 
P- 17 . 
■ Ernst Haeckel, ‘Die Radiolarien, eine Monographie,’ Berlin, 1862, 
p. 86. 
