While these changes have been taking place the præ-oral lobe has become much contracted, and partly withdrawn into the stomodæum. At the same time the arms have become bent forward, so as to form a ring round the mouth. Their bases become much thickened. The metamorphosis is completed by the entire withdrawal of the præ-oral lobe within the œsophagus, and by the casting off of the ends of the arms, their bases remaining as the circumoral ring of tentacles, which form however a lophophore rather than a complete ring. The peri-anal ring of cilia is also thrown off, and the anal process withdrawn into the body of the young Phoronis. There are now three longitudinal vascular trunks, united anteriorly by a circular vessel which is prolonged into the tentacles.
General Considerations.
The development of Phoronis is so different from that of the other Gephyrea that further investigations are required to shew whether Phoronis is a true Gephyrean. Apart from its peculiar metamorphosis Actinotrocha is a very interesting larval form, in that it is without a præ-oral ciliated ring, and that the tentacles of the adult are derived from a true post-oral ring, prolonged into arm-like processes.
The other Gephyrea present in their development an obvious similarity to the normal Chætopoda, but their development stops short of that of the Chætopoda, in that they are clearly without any indications of a true segmentation. In the face of what is known of their development it is hardly credible that they can represent a degenerate Chætopod phylum in which segmentation has become lost. Further than this the Gephyrea armata seem in one respect to be a very primitive type in that they retain through life a well-developed præ-oral lobe, which constitutes their proboscis. In almost all other forms, except Balanoglossus, the larval præ-oral lobe becomes reduced to a relatively insignificant anterior part of the head.
Bibliography.
Gephyrea nuda.
(366) A. Kowalevsky. Sitz. d. zool. Abth. d. III. Versam. russ. Naturj. (Thalassema). Zeit. f. wiss. Zool. Vol. XXII. 1872, p. 284.
(367) A. Krohn. “Ueb. d. Larve d. Sipunculus nudus nebst Bemerkungen,” etc. Müller’s Archiv, 1857.
(368) M. Salensky. “Ueber die Metamorphose d. Echiurus.” Morphologisches Jahrbuch, Bd. II.
(369) E. Selenka. “Eifurchung u. Larvenbildung von Phascolosoma elongatum.” Zeit. f. wiss. Zool. 1875, Bd. XXV. p. 1.
(370) J. W. Spengel. “Beiträge z. Kenntniss d. Gephyreen (Bonellia).” Mittheil. a. d. zool. Station z. Neapel, Vol. I. 1879.
Gephyrea tubicola (Actinotrocha).
(371) A. Krohn. “Ueb. Pilidium u. Actinotrocha.” Müller’s Archiv, 1858.
(372) A. Kowalevsky. “On anatomy and development of Phoronis,” Pétersbourg, 1867. 2 Pl. Russian. Vide Leuckart’s Bericht, 1866‑7.
(373) E. Metschnikoff. “Ueber d. Metamorphose einiger Seethiere (Actinotrocha).” Zeit. f. wiss. Zool. Bd. XXI. 1871.
(374) J. Müller. “Bericht üb. ein. Thierformen d. Nordsee.” Müller’s Archiv, 1846.
(375) An. Schneider. “Ueb. d. Metamorphose d. Actinotrocha branchiata.” Müller’s Arch. 1862.
[149] The following scheme shews the classification of the Gephyrea adopted in the present chapter: