Excerpt from The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Vol. 14: Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology
There are, however, certain peculiarities about the elongated and spindle-shaped gonidia which it is desirable to notice, viz. that one cilium appears longer than the other, and that while the short one floats almost motionless backwards, so as to appear as if it proceeded from the posterior extremity, the latter, for the most part, keeps up a constant whipping-movement in front which frequently renders it imperceptible. Both cilia however appear to be of the same length, if we add the length of the gonidium to the one which floats behind, and which is concealed in the first part of its course by lying in contact with or underneath the body of the gonidium; both also appear to be occasionally brought together anteriorly. There is also frequently a kind of proboscis extended from the rostrum or beak of the gonidium which moves incessantly, both in the ovate and spindle-shaped forms, and seems to have a suctorial extremity by means of which it fixes the gonidium to the glass, while the floating cilium also appears to be provided with a similar power and to exert it for detaching the gonidium, when so fixed, by pulling it backwards, which it does with a peculiar jerk; when this little proboscis has been present, I do not think I have ever observed the anterior or active cilium.
After a while, perhaps some hours, the gonidia become stationary, and while they appear to be fixed by the proboscis mentioned, the long cilium floats motionless, or presents a languid kind of whip-like undulation; the latter then disappears, and a day or two after, the gonidia both small and great, for there are many sizes, as will presently be mentioned, are seen creeping about the watch-glass (into which they were transferred for observation) under as active polymorphism as any amoebous cell could present; diffluent, digitated, and in the form of that beautifully radiated figure called Actinophrys Sol (Ehr.). They also now present the "contracting vesicle," as well as other vesicles, which do not appear to alter their dimensions, but vary, like the former, in distinctness with their change of position and the varying form of the gonidium. After a few days' existence in this state their polymorphism becomes very sluggish, they remain for some time under a slowly changing rhizopodous figure, which is more or less common to all, and then disappear.
Whether they germinate or not, I have not been able to determine.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Vol. 14 (Prideaux John Selby)