CONTENTS.
| PAGE | |
| [INTRODUCTION.] | |
| History | [1] |
| Epitome of Anatomy | [2] |
| [PHYSIOLOGICAL.] | |
| Charybdea. | |
| Light and Darkness | [5] |
| Concretions | [8] |
| Sensory Clubs | [9] |
| Velarium and Frenula | [11] |
| Pedalia, Interradial Ganglia, Tentacles | [12] |
| Stomach, Suspensoria, Proboscis, Subumbrella | [13] |
| Margin, Radial Ganglia, Nerve | [15] |
| Stimulation | [17] |
| Activity of Charybdea | [17] |
| Temperature | [17] |
| Food and Feeding | [18] |
| Occurrence of Charybdea | [18] |
| Aurelia and Polyclonia (Cassiopœa) | [19] |
| Summary | [22] |
| [DR. CONANT’S NOTES.] | |
| Charybdea. | |
| Light and Darkness | [24] |
| Sensory Clubs | [26] |
| Nerve | [29] |
| Side, Subumbrella | [30] |
| Pedalia, Velarium, Ganglia | [31] |
| Tentacles | [32] |
| Proboscis, Stomach, Phacelli | [33] |
| Temperature | [33] |
| Food and Feeding | [33] |
| Occurrence of Charybdea | [33] |
| Activity of Charybdea | [34] |
| Aurelia and Polyclonia | [35] |
| Cassiopœa | [39] |
| Aurelia | [39] |
| [HISTOLOGICAL.] | |
| Method | [40] |
| Anatomy | [41] |
| Distal Complex Eye— | |
| General | [41] |
| Cornea | [42] |
| The Lens | [42] |
| The Capsule | [44] |
| The Retina | [45] |
| (a) The Prism Cells | [46] |
| (b) The Pyramid Cells | [48] |
| (c) The Long Pigment Cells | [50] |
| (d) Subretinal Nerve Tissue | [53] |
| (e) Discussion of Literature | [53] |
| (f) Function of the Retinal Cells, Patten’s Theory, and further Literature | [56] |
| The Proximal Complex Eye | [60] |
| The Simple Eyes | [61] |
| Lithocyst and Concretion | [63] |
| The Epithelium of the Clubs | [64] |
| Network and Multipolar Ganglion Cells | [67] |
| The Nerve Tissue | [67] |
| The Supporting Lamella | [68] |
| Epithelium of Ampulla and Floating Cells | [68] |
| The Endothelium of the Peduncle | [73] |
| The Tentacles and Pedalia— | |
| The Ectoderm | [74] |
| (a) Thread Cells | [74] |
| (b) Muscle Fibers | [74] |
| (c) Ganglion Cell | [75] |
| The Endoderm | [75] |
| Summary | [77] |
| LITERATURE | [78] |
| REFERENCE LETTERS | [80] |
| DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES | [81] |
INTRODUCTION.
This paper may be regarded as a continuation of the Cubomedusan studies pursued by Dr. F. S. Conant while in Jamaica, in 1896 and 1897, with the Johns Hopkins Marine Laboratory. His systematic and anatomical results have since been published as his Dissertation (“The Cubomedusæ”) by this University. Conant described this paper as Part I, hoping soon to add a second part on the physiology and the embryology, for which he had some notes and material at hand. Returning, however, to Jamaica with the laboratory, in 1897, he continued his physiological experiments, and preserved material for histological purposes. Upon the untimely death of Conant, his material and notes were placed in my hands by Professor Brooks, to whom I here take the opportunity of expressing my appreciation and sincere thanks for the honor thus conferred and for the many favors received.
In this paper I shall note at some length Conant’s physiological results and append his notes. I shall also add my results on the histology of the eyes and the sensory clubs in general, with some few facts on the histology of the tentacles. The embryology will be reserved for a future paper.
The forms used in the physiological experiments were Charybdea Xaymacana, one of the two species (see Literature [V, a and b]) first found and described by Conant; Aurelia aurita; Polyclonia and Cassiopœa. The greater number of Conant’s notes are on Charybdea, and were left by him just as taken at the time of experimenting. Many of these notes are highly interesting and in the main fit in well with Romanes’[I] and Eimer’s[IV] results.
Dr. Conant’s work on Charybdea, in 1897, was wholly done at Port Antonio, Jamaica. At first Conant had only varying success in obtaining Charybdea, scouring the harbor and neighboring water at all hours, only to obtain but few specimens. It was on the forenoon of August 7th, while we were dredging at the head of East Harbor with a steam launch, that many Charybdeæ were brought up in the dredge. This gave Conant a clue to their whereabouts and to the means of obtaining them, and from that time on he was able to obtain them in abundance. His first physiological experiments were begun on August 4th and continued thereafter at intervals of several days until his departure from Jamaica on September 6th.
Dr. Conant usually performed his experiments during the second half of the forenoon, after the animals had stood for a few hours in the laboratory.