BY H.M.S. CHALLENGER DURING THE YEARS 1873-1876, FIRST PART: PORULOSA
(SPUMELLARIA AND ACANTHARIA)***


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Note: Images of the original pages are available through
      Internet Archive. See
      https://archive.org/details/reportonradiolar01haecrich

      Project Gutenberg has the other two volumes of this work.
      Second Part: Subclass Osculosa; Index
         see http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44526.
      Plates
         see http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44527.


Transcriber's note:

      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_Actissa_).

      Text enclosed by hash marks is in "gesperrt"
      (wide-spaced) type (#Larcoidea#).

      Page numbers enclosed by curly braces (example: {25}) have
      been incorporated to facilitate the use of the Index in
      Part II.

      Some typographical errors in the printed work have been
      corrected. They are listed at the end of the text.

      The Addenda & Errata (Second Part, pp. 1763-4) have been
      applied without further comment.



REPORT ON THE SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER
DURING THE YEARS 1873-76

Under the Command of Captain George S. Nares, R.N., F.R.S.
and the Late Captain Frank Tourle Thomson, R.N.

Prepared Under the Superintendence of
the Late Sir C. Wyville Thomson, KNT., F.R.S., &c.
Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh
Director of the Civilian Scientific Staff on Board
and Now of
John Murray
One of the Naturalists of the Expedition

ZOOLOGY--VOL. XVIII.

FIRST PART

Published by Order of Her Majesty's Government







Printed for Her Majesty's Stationary Office
and Sold by
London:--Eyre & Spottiswoode, East Harding Street, Fetter Lane
Edinburgh:--Adam & Charles Black
Dublin:--Hodges, Figgis, & Co.
1887

Price (in Two Parts, with a Volume of Plates) L5, 10s.




CONTENTS.




REPORT on the RADIOLARIA collected by H.M.S. CHALLENGER during the years
1873-1876.

By ERNST HAECKEL, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Zoology in the University of
Jena.

FIRST PART.--PORULOSA.

(#SPUMELLARIA AND ACANTHARIA.#)



EDITORIAL NOTES.


The Report on the RADIOLARIA by Professor Ernst Haeckel of Jena occupies
the whole of the present Volume, the text being bound up in Two Separate
Parts and the Plates in a Third Part. The Report forms Part XL. of the
Zoological Series of Reports on the Scientific Results of the Expedition,
and is the largest single Report of the series which has up to this time
been published.

The Manuscript of the Systematic Part was written by Professor Haeckel in
the English language, and was received by me in instalments on the 12th
August 1884, 13th July and 4th December 1885, and 3rd June 1886. The
Introduction was written in German and was translated into the English
language by Mr. W. E. Hoyle of the Challenger Editorial Staff; the German
text being received in instalments between the 15th July 1886, and the 25th
January 1887.

The Challenger Naturalists found the representatives of this group of
animals to be universally distributed throughout ocean waters, and their
dead remains to be nearly equally widely distributed over the floor of the
ocean, the relative abundance and the species differing, however, with
change of locality, and their abundance or variety being intimately
connected with some of the most interesting and intricate problems of
general oceanography.

It was a fortunate circumstance that so distinguished a Naturalist, with
such an intimate knowledge of the RADIOLARIA, should have been willing to
undertake the laborious examination and description of the extensive
collections made during the Expedition. Professor Haeckel has devoted ten
years of his life to this work, and this Report sets forth the results of
his labours, on the conclusion of which he will be congratulated by all
Naturalists. The entire literature of the RADIOLARIA (from 1834 to 1884) is
completely recorded, and the older species (both living and fossil)
redescribed, so that the Report is a complete Monograph, which will be an
invaluable aid to all future Investigators.



  CHALLENGER OFFICE, 32 QUEEN STREET,
    EDINBURGH, _1st February 1887._




THE

VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER.



#ZOOLOGY.#



  Report on the RADIOLARIA collected by H.M.S. Challenger during the Years
  1873-76. By ERNST HAECKEL, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Zoology in the
  University of Jena.




PREFACE.


The significance of the Radiolaria in regard to the relations of life in
the ocean has been increased in a most unexpected manner by the discoveries
of the Challenger. Large swarms of these delicate Rhizopoda were found not
only at the surface of the open ocean but also in its different
bathymetrical zones. Thousands of new species make up the wonderful
Radiolarian ooze, which covers large areas of the deep-sea bed, and was
brought up from abysses of from 2000 to 4000 fathoms by the sounding
machine of the Challenger. They open a new world to morphological
investigation.

When ten years ago (in the autumn of 1876) I accepted the enticing
invitation of Sir Wyville Thomson to undertake the investigation of these
microscopic creatures, I hoped to be able to accomplish the task with some
degree of completeness within a period of from three to five years, but the
further my investigations proceeded the more immeasurable seemed the range
of forms, like the boundless firmament of stars. I soon found myself
compelled to decide between making a detailed study of a selection of
special forms or giving as complete a survey as possible of the varied
forms of the whole class; and I decided upon the latter course, having
regard both to the general plan of the Challenger Reports, and to the
interests of our acquaintance with the class as a whole. I must, however,
confess at the close of my work that my original intention is far from
having been fulfilled. The extraordinary extent and varied difficulties of
the undertaking must excuse the many deficiencies.

The special examination of the Challenger collection was for the most part
completed in the summer of 1881; I collected its results in my Entwurf
eines Radiolarien-Systems auf Grund von Studien der Challenger-Radiolarien
(Jenaische Zeitschr. f. Naturw., Bd. xv., 1881). Since the manuscript of
this preliminary communication was completed only a few days before my
departure for Ceylon, and since I was unable to correct the proofs myself,
several errors have crept into the Prodromus Systematis Radiolarium
included in it. These have been corrected in the following more extensive
working out of it. Even at that time I had distinguished 630 genera and
more than 2000 species; but on the revision of these, which I undertook
immediately on my return from India, this number was considerably
increased. The total number of forms here described amounts to 739 genera
and 4318 species; of these 3508 are new, as against 810 previously
described. In spite of this large number, however, and in spite of the
astonishing variety of the new and marvellous forms, the riches of the
Challenger collection are by no means exhausted. A careful and patient
worker who would devote a second decade to the work, would probably
increase the number of new forms (especially of the smaller ones) by more
than a thousand; but for a really complete examination, the lifetime of one
man would not suffice.

The richest source of the Challenger material is the Radiolarian ooze of
the central Pacific Ocean (Stations 265 to 274). This remarkable deep-sea
mud consists for the greater part of well-preserved siliceous shells of
Polycystina (SPUMELLARIA and NASSELLARIA). Not less important, however,
especially for the study of the ACANTHARIA and PHAEODARIA, are the
wonderful preparations stained with carmine and mounted in Canada balsam on
the spot by Dr. John Murray. One such preparation (_e.g._, from Station
271) often contains twenty or thirty, sometimes even fifty new species. In
many of these preparations the individual parts of the unicellular organism
are so well preserved that they show clearly the characteristic
peculiarities of the legions and orders. Since the material for these
preparations was taken with the tow-net, not only from the surface of the
sea but also from different bathymetrical zones, it furnishes valuable
conclusions regarding the chorology, as well as the physiology and
morphology of the group. For many new discoveries I am indebted to the
study of such preparations, of which I have examined about a thousand from
168 different Stations (compare s 240). In addition to these about 100
bottles were handed to me, containing partly bottom-deposits, partly
tow-net gatherings.

Sir Wyville Thomson, who directed the investigations of the Challenger with
so much devotion, and only partly saw its results, has laid me under a deep
debt of obligation; not less is this the case, however, with his successor,
Dr. John Murray. I am especially indebted to both gentlemen for the freedom
they have allowed me in the carrying out of my work, and especially for the
permission to include a description of all known Radiolaria in the
Challenger Report, which has thus become a second edition many times
enlarged of my Monograph published in 1862. Since all previous literature
of the subject has been consulted and critically revised, it is hoped that
this Report will form a useful foundation for future investigations. All
names of sufficiently described Radiolaria published during the first half
century of our knowledge of the class (from 1834 to 1884), are inserted in
alphabetical order in the index at the end of this work.

In addition to the treasures of the Challenger, my own collection of
Radiolaria has yielded many new forms whose description is here included.
On my journeys to the Mediterranean (an account of which is given in the
introduction to my Monograph of the Medusae), I have given special
attention to these delicate microscopic organisms for more than thirty
years. Besides the various points on the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean
at the Canaries (in the winter of 1866-67) yielded many interesting new
forms; whilst my voyage across the Indian Ocean, from Aden to Bombay, in
November 1881, thence to Ceylon and back by Socotra in March 1882, was
still more productive. In particular, some extended excursions which I had
the opportunity of making from Belligemma and Matura (at the southern
extremity of Ceylon) gave me an insight into the rich treasures of the
Indian Ocean.

Most important, however, as regards the knowledge of the Indian Radiolaria,
are the collections which Captain Heinrich Rabbe of Bremen has so
beautifully preserved during his many voyages through that region. In the
neighbourhood of Madagascar and the Cocos Islands more especially, and also
in the Sunda Archipelago, he met with large swarms of Radiolaria, among
which were many new and remarkable forms. These were of special value for
completing the chorology, and the more so since the course of the
Challenger in the Indian Ocean lay very far to the southwards. I will
therefore take this opportunity of repeating my best thanks to Captain
Rabbe for the friendly donation of his valuable collection.

The Radiolarian fauna of the North Atlantic Ocean, which was previously but
little known and only slightly increased by the investigations of the
Challenger, received a valuable increase from the interesting collections
made by Dr. John Murray on various expeditions to the Faeroee Islands (on
the "Knight Errant" in 1880 and on the "Triton" in 1882). A large number of
new Radiolaria were captured in the Faeroee Channel, partly at the surface
of the Gulf Stream, partly at various depths, and the proof was thus
furnished that at certain points in the North Atlantic Ocean Radiolaria are
very richly developed. I am further indebted to Dr. John Murray for the
free use of this important material as well as for much other assistance in
the carrying out of my work. Another rich source of Radiolaria I found in
the alimentary canal of pelagic animals from all seas. Medusae,
Siphonophorae, Salpae, Pteropoda, Heteropoda, Crustacea, &c., which live
partly at the surface of the sea and partly at various depths, and swallow
large masses of Radiolaria, often contain numbers of their shells
well-preserved in their intestine. The alimentary canal of Fishes and
Cephalopods too, which live upon these pelagic animal frequently contains
considerable quantities of siliceous shells; and another newly discovered
source has been found in the coprolites of the Jurassic period, which
consist largely of Radiolarian skeletons.

In the investigation of this complicated system of organisms, I have
endeavoured on the one hand to give accurately the forms and dimensions of
the species observed, and on the other hand to present a survey of the
relationships of the different genera and families; and in this I have
striven especially to combine the phylogenetic aims of the natural system
with the essentially artificial divisions of a practical classification.
Being, however, a conscientious supporter of the theory of descent, I can
of course lay no stress upon the value of the categories, which are here
distinguished as Legions, Orders, Families, Genera, &c. All these
artificial systematic grades I regard as of merely relative value; and from
the same cause I attach no importance to the distinction of all the species
here described; many of them are probably only developmental stages, and
like my predecessors I have determined their boundaries on subjective
grounds. In the systematic working out of so much material one always runs
the risk of doing either too much or too little in the way of creating
species; but in the light of the theory of descent this danger is of no
consequence.

In the carrying out of this extensive task the friendly aid of Dr. Reinhold
Teuscher of Jena was of the greatest benefit to me; at my request he was at
the trouble of making a large number of accurate drawings with the camera
lucida, and he also undertook a long series, amounting to some 8000,
accurate micrometric measurements, which were of the greatest value in the
attempt to settle the important question of the constancy of the various
species; I have alluded to this in a note at the conclusion of the Report
(p. 1760). My best thanks are due to Dr. Teuscher for the patient and
careful manner in which he discharged these tedious tasks.

The figures of new species of Radiolaria (about 1600 in number) which
appear in the atlas of one hundred and forty plates accompanying this
Report, were nearly all drawn with the camera lucida, partly by Mr. Adolph
Giltsch and partly by myself. The names of the genera which appear at the
bottom of the plates have in many cases been changed since they were
printed off, as may be seen from the explanations which accompany them. Had
it been possible to complete the examination of the material before the
plates were commenced this might have been avoided, and in many cases a
better selection of figures might have been made. All the drawings have
been made upon the stone by the practised hand of Mr. Adolph Giltsch, in
his usual masterly manner, and his lithographic work, which has lasted
fully ten years, is the more valuable since he has himself microscopically
studied the greater part of the species figured. The fact that the atlas
presents so full a picture of the marvellous wealth of form of the
Radiolaria is especially due to his lively interest in the work, to his
unwearying care, and to his morphological acuteness. May it be the means of
inducing many naturalists to study more deeply this inexhaustible kingdom
of microscopic life, whose endless variety of wonderful forms justifies the
saying--_Natura in minimis maxima_.




CONTENTS.



  FIRST PART.

  GENERAL INTRODUCTION--                                       PAGE

    I. Anatomical Section (ss 1-140),                             i
          Chapter    I. The Unicellular Organism,                 i
             "      II. The Central Capsule,                   xxiv
             "     III. The Extracapsulum,                       li
             "      IV. The Skeleton,                        lxviii

   II. Biogenetical Section (ss 141-200),                     xciii
          Chapter    V. Ontogeny (Individual Development),    xciii
             "      VI. Phylogeny (Genealogical Development),    ci

  III. Physiological Section (ss 201-225),                  cxxviii
          Chapter  VII. Vegetative Functions,               cxxviii
             "    VIII. Animal Functions,                       cxl

   IV. Chorological Section (ss 226-250),                     cxlvi
          Chapter   IX. Geographical Distribution,            cxlvi
             "       X. Geological Distribution,              clxiv

    V. Bibliographical Section (ss 251-254),                 clxxvi

  SYSTEMATIC PART,                                                1

    I.  Subclass PORULOSA,                                        6
            Legion I. SPUMELLARIA vel PERIPYLEA,                  6
                 Order  1. Colloidea,                            10
                   "    2. Beloidea,                             28
                   "    3. Sphaeroidea,                          50
                   "    4. Prunoidea,                           284