Derioation. From afaviYpgsvov, a vanishing thing,
“ I t is evident that this genus unites the true Conjugata.
to the Zygnemata by a union well marked in the latter, but
, being a simple soldering in the Aphanizomena : it relates the
Conjugatce with the Laminaria of the sea hy the form of the
lamella, which results from the soldering of the threads : it
establishes an analogy between the Oscillatoria and the Coii-
fe rva , by demonstrating that a movement of reptation, of
swimming, or of oscillation, may appertain also to the organization
as of the Conferva as to that of the Oscillatoria, in
which the characters of animality are supposed to be recognised:
the inflated vesicles unite the Aphanizomena to the Conferva
vesicata of Agardh, and the cells as well as the organization
of the threads themselves maintain with the true Conferva
relations so clear, tha t it would be improper to place otherwise
than amongst them this new genus.” — Moi'ren.
The true position of the genus is undoubtedly amongst the
Nostochinea, uniting them with the Oscillatoria. The analogies
indicated by Bory are more imaginary than real.
1. A ph an izomeno n incurvum Morren.
Plate L X X V I . Fig. 6.
Char. Lamella plain, whitish green, incurved. Threads
cohering. Cells/rom two to eight times as long as hroad.
Morren, in memoir read before the Royal Academy of
Brussels, in Dec. 1839: Thompson, in Annals of Nat.
Hist. vol. V. p. 82.; Harv. in Manual, p. 145.
Ilab. In sheltered creeks, floating on the surface ; Bally-
dram L ak e : W. Thompson, Esq. Grand Canal docks,
near D u b lin : Professor G. J. Allman. In the pond of
the Dublin Zoological Gardens: Miss Ball.
“ Towards the middle of the month of May, up to Ju ly , the
waters of the lakes, the ponds, and the basins which surround
the country houses in Flanders are noticed to present tufts
of a whitish green, and of a size which varies from that of a
little pea to tha t of a melon. These tufts, which appear afar
off cloud-like, are placed at a distance, the one from the other.
One would consider them immovable; but seen nearer, they
enjoy a veritable power of locomotion which allows of their
being met at all heights in the waters. I have observed this
year again a prodigious quantity of it at Gentbrugghe, near
Gand.” — Bory.
Mr. Thompson, who was the first to notice in Ireland this
species, observes, in his remarks on it in the “ Annals of Natural
History,” loc. cit. — “ In Ballydrain Lake I have, both In 1838
and 1839, remarked its presence on very calm days, for it is
only at such times visible during the month of Ju ly , August,
and September, and then it appears in the most sheltered
creeks only, floating in patches of various dimensions.”
I t has not yet been found in Great Britain.
34. A N A B A IN A Dory.
Char. “ Filaments frequently elegantly moniliform, curved,
invested with mucous matter, and haxnng a vermicular
motion resembling that o f worms.”— Bory. Reproduction
consisting o f sporules contained in enlarged cells, the form
and size o f which varies according to the species.
Derivation. From ava, up, and flaivw, to mount.
“ T heir movement exhibits a relation with that by means
of which the earthworms move from place to place ; they are
progressive, and the curves which they describe are of extreme
slowness. I t is by this ambulatory faculty principally that
the aquatic species elevate themselves to the surface of the
water, traversing the length of Confei-va and the remains of
vegetables, mount to the surface of reeds and carices, penetrate
the slime and the Oscillatoria, which they surmount in
such a way that they merit the name derived from the
Greek, by which we have proposed to designate them.”
The remarks of Bory In the above quotation appear to me to
be somewhat fanciful and overstrained. I much doubt whether
this mounting upwards of the Anahaina partakes in any de