Phaeodaria

“ Nevertheless it is possible that the phæodellæ of the Phæodaria (usually green, olive, or brown in colour) , which are true cells, represent vegetable symbiontes, which in the absence of sunlight are able to evolve oxygen by the aid of the phosphoresence of other abyssal animals. Since the Phæodaria are, for the most part, dwellers in the deep-sea, and since the voluminous phæodium must be of great physiological importance, a positive solution of this hypothetical question would be of no small interest (compare § 89) . ”

“ The phæodium, or the peculiar dark extracapsular pigment-body of the Phæodaria, is one of the most important and most characteristic parts of their organisation, and has induced me to derive their name from it; it is not less typical for the whole legion, than the astropyle with its radiate operculum and the proboscis; and both these important parts are always in direct topographical and physiological connection. Whilst I have missed the phæodium in no Phæodarium in which the soft body was well preserved, I have not found it in any other Radiolaria ”

“ The characteristic structure of their central capsule, as true Tripylea, was afterwards, in 1879, described more accurately by Richard Hertwig (Organism. d. Radiol., p. 90, Taf. x. figs. 2, 8, 14) . The rich collection of the Challenger has demonstrated that the Aulosphærida belong to the most common and most widely distributed Phæodaria; many of them are distinguished by the admirable elegance and astonishing regularity of their large and delicate shell. ”

“ Nodal points of the loose network stellate, with a nodal cavity and astral septa. Meshes either triangular or polygonal. Hollow radial spines arise usually at the nodal points of the surface. No peculiar mouth in the shell. Central capsule tripylean, placed in the centre of the shell.
The family Aulosphærida comprises a great number of splendid and widely distributed Phæodaria, which have a special interest on account of the peculiarly complicated structure of their large lattice-shell, of the extraordinary beauty of their form and of their remarkable relations to the other Phæodaria. ”

“ The greatest wealth of forms is found in tropical seas, though in some places in cold regions large numbers of individuals of a limited range of species have been found.
Radiolaria of the groups with a pure siliceous skeleton can alone be fossilised, even the impure siliceous skeleton of the Phaeodaria readily dissolving in the depths at which they live: they have been generally described by Ehrenberg's name Polycystineae. ”

“ Among the Phæodaria increase by cell-division seems to occur commonly in many groups, as in the Phæocystina, which have no skeleton (Phæodinida, Pl. 101, {cxxxvi}fig. 2) , or only an incomplete Beloid skeleton (Cannorrhaphida, Pl. 101, figs. 3, 6, and Aulacanthida, Pl. 104, figs. 1-3) . The Phæosphæria also (Aulosphærida, Cœlacanthida) and the Phæogromia (Tuscarorida, Challengerida) appear sometimes to divide; at all events, their central capsule often contains two nuclei. Of special interest is the spontaneous division of the Phæoconchia, especially the Concharida (Pl. 124, fig. 6) . ”

“ The parapylæ, or the accessory openings of the central capsule, exhibit in all Phæodaria the same form and structure, but vary in number and disposition. They are recognised with difficulty in the smaller species, since they are always of small size, and may be easily overlooked. They seem to be completely wanting in the following families:—Challengerida (Pl. 99) , Medusettida (Pls. 118-120) , Castanellida (Pl. 113) , and in single genera of other families, as in Phæocolla (Pl. 101, fig. 1) . ”

“ The family Castanellida represents a common and widely distributed group of Phæodaria, which posses a very simple and uniform shell, viz., a simple lattice-sphere with radial spines and one simple mouth. ”

“ The Cœlographida, finally, have a phæodium of the most remarkable shape, since in their bivalved shell a peculiar reserve store or magazine of phæodella, which we call the "phæocapsa" is developed for it (Pl. 126-128, g.t.m.) . The bivalved shell has in these most perfect Phæodaria a structure similar to that in the Cœlodendrida; but they differ from the latter in the stronger development, and greater differentiation of the two apical galeæ, and the large hollow tubes arising from them. ”

“ This difference is best marked in the Phæoconchia, whose bivalved lattice-shells have as their ground-form the rhomboid pyramid of Ctenophora. In most Phæogromia the monaxon lattice-shell may develop simultaneously by sudden excretion at a particular moment of lorication; this is also the case with the polyaxon lattice-shells of the Phæosphæria. In their future growth the development of basal or radial apophyses is of special importance. In the majority of the Phæodaria these apophyses are tubes of silicate filled with jelly (often provided with an axial siliceous thread) ”

“ All horizontal planes which cut the axis at right angles are circles, and increase in size from the poles towards the equator. The most important ground-forms of this group are the phacoid (the lens or oblate spheroid) and the ellipsoid (or prolate spheroid) . Phacoids (or geometrical lenses with blunt margins) are very often presented by the central capsules of the Discoidea and of many Acantharia (Quadrilonchida and Hexalaspida) , but the lattice-shells of many Spumellaria and Acantharia exhibit the same form, as also do a few Phæodaria (e.g., Aulophacus) . ”

“ Thalassicollea, (2) Sphærozoea, (3) Peripylea, (4) Acanthometrea, (5) Monopylea, (6) Tripylea (p. 133) . These are subdivided into 18 families, and their phylogenetic affinities discussed (p. 137) . On the ten plates, several new species from Messina are figured, among them the types of several new genera (Cystidium, Cœlacantha, Echinosphæra) (compare § 252) .
1879. Ernst Haeckel (L. N. 34) founds the order Phæodaria as a "new group of marine siliceous Rhizopods," and distinguishes in it 4 suborders, 10 families and 38 genera. ”

“ I call them fair, because they are the colour of fair hair; they have a sort of peak like a widow's, upon their breasts, which is of a dun colour. No one feather is straggling from the other all over their bodies, they being very careful to adjust themselves, and make them all even with their beaks. The feathers on their thighs are round like shells at the end, and being there very thick, have an agreeable effect. They have two risings on their craws, and the feathers are whiter there than the rest, which livelily represents the fine neck of a beautiful woman. ”

“ Powder-down feathers are degenerate down-feathers which appear to secrete a dry, waxy kind of powder. This powder rapidly disintegrates and becomes distributed over the plumage, adding thereto a quite peculiar bloom. In birds of the heron tribe powder-down feathers have reached a high degree of development, forming large patches in the breast and thighs, while in some hawks, and in the parrots, these mysterious feathers are scattered singly over the greater part of the body.
The nature of the covering of nestling birds is of a more complex character than has hitherto been suspected. ”

“ Here its favorite resorts are the small islands of Great Sound, Castle Harbor, and Harrington Sound. The Phaeton, as it is felicitously called, nests in the Bahamas in holes in the perpendicular faces of cliffs and on the flat surfaces of rocks. A single egg is laid, which has a ground-color of purplish brownish white, covered in some specimens almost over the entire surface with fine reddish chocolate-colored spots.
These species compose the small but distinct family of tropic birds and are found throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. ”

“ It would seem that while the feather germ may be artificially stimulated to produce three successive generations of feathers within a year, it may, on the other hand, be induced artificially to maintain a continuous activity extending over long periods. That is to say, the normal quiescent period, and periodic moult, may be suspended, so that the feather maintains a steady and continuous growth till it attains a length of several feet. ”

“ As in bird embryos there is no evidence that feather papillae ever develop into scales or that scale papillae ever develop into feathers it may be assumed that feather papillae are fundamentally different from scale papillae, the difference presumably being due to the presence of special factors in the germ-plasm. Just as in armadillos hairs are found emerging from under the scales, in ancient birds as in the feet of some modern birds the coat probably consisted of both feathers and scales. ”

“ Very rarely the spines are fenestrated (Pl. 35, fig. 1) ; only in one genus (Heliodrymus) they are all or partly branched (Pl. 33, fig. 9; Pl. 35, figs. 3, 5) .
The peculiar development of the phacoid shell has been already described by J. Müller (compare my Monograph, 1862, pp. 156, 438) .
The Central Capsule of the Phacodiscida is everywhere circular, lenticular, envelops the medullary shell, and is enclosed by the phacoid shell, perforated by the radial beams, which connect the latter to the former.
Synopsis of the Genera of the Phacodiscida. ”

“ P. fragile, fig. 3. In describing this genus, which appears to be the same as Entalis of Defrance, Mr. König expresses the supposition that it may probably belong to the class Pteropoda.
PHASIANELLA. Auct. (Phasianus, a pheasant.) Fam. Turbinacea, Lam. Ellipsostomata, Bl.—Descr. Smooth, oval, variegated; aperture entire, oval; outer-lip thin; inner-lip thin, spread over a portion of the body whorl; columella smooth, rather thickened towards the base; operculum horny, spiral within; testaceous, incrassated without. Britain, Mediterranean, &c.; the fine large species are Australian. ”

“ Only in the cassowary and emu among adult birds is the aftershaft as large as the main shaft.
There are several different kinds of feathers—contour feathers, semiplumes, down-feathers, filoplumes and powder-down. Contour feathers, as their name implies, are those which form the contour or outline of the body, and are all that can generally be seen. Those which form the “flight feathers” of the wing, and the tail feathers, are the most perfectly developed. Semiplumes are degenerate contour feathers. ”

“ It is plain, I think, that having determined from an avian figure the form of the organs and appendages of the bird in their different modifications, due to conventionalism, we are able to recognize the symbolic forms adopted by ancient artists to represent the feathers of wing, tail, or body. If figures of feathers were so well drawn that we could identify them as such, we would have no difficulty in recognizing a feather when drawn on a fragment of pottery, where no other part of a bird was represented. ”

“ When dry the shafts are pared or scraped down to give the feathers greater flexibility, and the barbs are curled by drawing them singly over the face of a blunt knife or by the cautious application of a heated iron. Dull-coloured feathers are usually dyed black. Feathers which are dyed light colours are first bleached by exposure in the open air. Much ingenuity is displayed in the making up of plumes, with the general result of producing the appearance of full, rich, and long feathers from inferior varieties and from scraps and fragments of ostrich feathers ”

“ The beautiful, soft, whitish bloom seen on some birds' feathers, such as the pale gray of a male marsh hawk and filmy appearance of some herons' plumage, is caused by specialized feathers called "powder down." Sometimes this powder down is scattered through the plumage; sometimes it is in patches, such as the particularly conspicuous ones in the herons. The tips of the powder down are continually breaking off and sifting over the rest of the plumage, giving it the bloom that with handling quickly rubs off. ”

“ For their stationary habits expose their feathers to much greater risks than are run by those of insects that are more constantly in flight, and on this account they are provided with this protecting shield. The feather of an insect has neither barbs nor shaft. For, though it is called a feather, it is no feather at all, but merely a skin-like membrane that, owing to its dryness, necessarily becomes detached from the surface of the body, as the fleshy substance grows cold. ”

“ There is a small and moveable tuft of feathers on each side of the head. The plumage of the female is much less brilliant and beautiful than that of the male.
These birds, though now found wild in our woods, are supposed to have been originally brought into Europe from the banks of the Phasis, a river of Colchis, in Asia, situated to the East of the Black Sea. Pheasants are also found in other parts of Asia, and in Africa. These birds constitute a rich and wholesome nutriment. They breed in woods and fields, forming their nests, upon the ground, in places where the herbage is thick and close ”

“ If, led by the evidence that in animals the amount of covering is in some cases affected by the degree of exposure, it were admitted as imaginable that the development of feathers from preceding dermal growths had resulted from that extra nutrition caused by extra superficial circulation, we should still be without explanation of the structure of a feather. Nor should we have any clue to the specialities of feathers—the crests of various birds, the tails sometimes so enormous, the curiously placed plumes of the bird of paradise, &c., &c. ”