Physiology and histology of the Cubomedusæ: including Dr. F.S. Conant's notes on the physiologyBerger, E. W. (Edward William)
Science
Physiology and histology of the Cubomedusæ: including Dr. F.S. Conant's notes on the physiology
Berger, E. W. (Edward William)
Cubomedusae
A small piece of the subumbrella connected with a club can contract. The
proboscis can give contractions of itself when cut off with the base of
the stomach. Even a cut-off lip can twitch by itself. A portion of the
subumbrella by itself also showed twitchings. (See also Experiments 18,
19, 25, 26, 29, 47, 49.)
_Pedalia, Velarium, Radial and Interradial Ganglia._--27. The pedalia
with their tentacles were cut off at their bases to insure cutting out
the interradial ganglia. The animal could pulsate well enough, but
intermittently and without much progress (the velarium, of course, being
injured). Cutting one pedalium caused the others to contract.
28. When the pedalia were cut off from one, the power of direct motion
was entirely gone. It swam in circles, turned summersaults, changed its
course continually, the oral end getting ahead of the aboral end, or
trying to do so. The whole power of balancing was gone. It seemed excited
by the operation and swam continually. [Repeated.]
29. The pedalia can be made to contract inwards by stroking their outer
edge with a needle. This was noted last year and has been seen several
times this year. Their inner edge is not so sensitive.
Touching a _sensory club_ caused the pedalia to contract inwards in two
cases.
The pedalia could be made to contract by giving the subumbrella a
prick,--generally a rather severe one was necessary. The upper part
of the subumbrella seems not so sensitive as the lower part and the
proboscis, and the base of the stomach did not give any reflex at all
(two specimens). One of the two could be made to give the reflex only
with much difficulty. This was a very lively one. It would even stand
severe pricks on the nerve, or even through the region of the sensory
clubs, without contracting the pedalia or stopping pulsations.
Cutting the frenula seemed not to affect the ability to swim well.
Cutting in this region brings about the reflex of the pedalia.
In the preceding fish the _velarium_ was cut away wholly in some places,
in other places it was left only as ragged strips. The pedalia became
very strongly contracted and the _tentacles_ were brought inside the
bell. Pulsations that seemed strong produced much less progress than with
the velarium intact. [Repeated.]
30. One with the whole _margin_ cut off still gave pulsations. Upon the
removal of the region of the _radial ganglia_, however, pulsations were
seen no more.
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