154 T akeda. — Dysmorpho coccus variabilis , gen. et sp. nov. 
view or the side view, except in the case of an extremely irregular 
specimen, such as that delineated in Fig. 15. The direction of the plane, 
including the apertures, is practically constant, hence in the front view the 
aperture is seen on the left-hand side of the beak, and in the side view on 
the right (compare the front and side views with the end views). 
The size of the shell varies as much as the shape does. Fig. 1 repre- 
sents the largest specimen I have examined, and Fig. 7 the smallest. The 
range of size is therefore 14-19 ju high, 13-17 /1 broad (i. e. in the front view), 
and 10-14 M thick (as seen in the side view). 
The actual body of the Alga inside the shell is often considerably 
smaller than the shell, a clear space being present between them. In all 
the specimens examined the body never completely fills up the shell. The 
space is an actual one, and is not homologous with the so-called ‘ space ’ 
found in Sphaerella , Chlamydomonas , Carteria, and some other allied genera, 
in which the ‘space’ is really the gelatinous part of the cell-wall. It is 
probable that the space in Dysmorphococcns contains water in which the 
organism lives. In one case I observed a living specimen, the shell of 
which became accidentally cracked and broken, presumably by pressure 
of the cover-slip. The organism, which had been vigorously swimming, 
did not seem to suffer at all, and as soon as a little water was added, which 
enabled the monad to move more freely, it resumed its propulsion and 
actively swam with the broken shell hanging on to the body. 
The protoplast is roughly pear-shaped, tapering towards the apex into 
a short colourless beak (Figs. 1-6, 8-11). At this end of the protoplast the 
algal body is apparently in connexion with the apex of the shell. Two 
flagella of equal length are attached to the beak, and emerge through the 
apertures above described. So far as could be ascertained, the protoplast 
has no definite cell-wall, 1 but, unlike that of Polyblepharideae, it does not 
show amoeboid movements. There is a single chloroplast which is urceolate 
and occupies practically the whole of the body. In most cases the chloro- 
plast is pale green and contains a few minute granules, the nature of which 
has not been determined. In one case (Fig. 8) a larger number of granules 
was observed, and this character, like the occurrence of an exceptional colour 
in the chloroplast of many Chlamydomonads, is probably due to special 
physiological conditions. A small discoidal stigma (eye-spot) is present, and 
has a peripheral position, being external to the chloroplast and forming 
a slight prominence on the surface of the protoplast (a in Figs. 4, 6, 8). Its 
position varies to some extent ; in some specimens it occurs in the middle 
portion of the body, while in others it is nearer the apical beak. A pyrenoid 
of fairly large size is always present near the base of the chloroplast, or in 
some cases at a slightly higher level. The pyreno-crystal and amylaceous 
envelope can easily be differentiated by means of the usual stains, including 
1 The shell is not regarded as a cell-wall. 
