112
B. M. SHAFFER
mucoroides myxamoebae fused to form a plasmodium had been pointed
out by van Tieghem (1880). Presumably Brefeld meant to imply that
anyone might have made the same mistake. In fact, the aggregates no
more resemble plasmodia than do the metazoa, but we do not feel the
need to call them pseudoplasmodia to avoid falling into the errors made
before the development of cell theory; and now that the adjective
'cellular' is generally applied to the Acrasina, there is still less reason
for perpetuating such a clumsy word. Moreover, not only does the pseudoplasmodium demand rather ponderous qualification, as aggregating,
migrating, or culminating, before it identifies any of the three commonly
recognized social stages, but it is not appropriate for any of them, because according to Brefeld's original description, the cells fused within
the centre and within the inflowing streams of a radial aggregation some
time after these had formed, and individual cells began reappearing
within the plasmodium at the end of aggregation—precisely the stage
at which in Sussman's chosen usage the aggregate transforms itself
into a pseudoplasmodium. Therefore, at least one fulminating pseudoplasmodium intends to replace this cumbrous, ambiguous, inaccurate
and hoary face-saver by the term aggregate. As for individual aggregated stages, it is here suggested that in the higher Acrasina there are
basically two. In the first, in which the cells collect together, shape is not
in any way fixed, but is determined by local conditions, and responses
are limited to those that can be made by individual cells or small
groups; the aggregate may appropriately be called an aggregation, a
word in which the process is to some extent implicit. In the second
phase, the aggregate has a fairly definite shape, whatever its origin, and
reactions that are foreign to those of the component cells: it has become
the individual. As no existing words connoting 'many-in-oneness' seem
to be available, the name grex—the classical product of ad-gregation—
is put forward for it. In many species, before
culmination—Bonner's
term for the construction of an upright fruiting body—a grex may
travel over the ground for some time. Bonner calls all such activity
migration, but Raper is understandably reluctant to do so if the grex
is leaving a stalk behind. Perhaps it would be better to call such a grex
lying, and thus to contrast it with one that is erect or standing.
B. M. SHAFFER
mucoroides myxamoebae fused to form a plasmodium had been pointed
out by van Tieghem (1880). Presumably Brefeld meant to imply that
anyone might have made the same mistake. In fact, the aggregates no
more resemble plasmodia than do the metazoa, but we do not feel the
need to call them pseudoplasmodia to avoid falling into the errors made
before the development of cell theory; and now that the adjective
'cellular' is generally applied to the Acrasina, there is still less reason
for perpetuating such a clumsy word. Moreover, not only does the pseudoplasmodium demand rather ponderous qualification, as aggregating,
migrating, or culminating, before it identifies any of the three commonly
recognized social stages, but it is not appropriate for any of them, because according to Brefeld's original description, the cells fused within
the centre and within the inflowing streams of a radial aggregation some
time after these had formed, and individual cells began reappearing
within the plasmodium at the end of aggregation—precisely the stage
at which in Sussman's chosen usage the aggregate transforms itself
into a pseudoplasmodium. Therefore, at least one fulminating pseudoplasmodium intends to replace this cumbrous, ambiguous, inaccurate
and hoary face-saver by the term aggregate. As for individual aggregated stages, it is here suggested that in the higher Acrasina there are
basically two. In the first, in which the cells collect together, shape is not
in any way fixed, but is determined by local conditions, and responses
are limited to those that can be made by individual cells or small
groups; the aggregate may appropriately be called an aggregation, a
word in which the process is to some extent implicit. In the second
phase, the aggregate has a fairly definite shape, whatever its origin, and
reactions that are foreign to those of the component cells: it has become
the individual. As no existing words connoting 'many-in-oneness' seem
to be available, the name grex—the classical product of ad-gregation—
is put forward for it. In many species, before
culmination—Bonner's
term for the construction of an upright fruiting body—a grex may
travel over the ground for some time. Bonner calls all such activity
migration, but Raper is understandably reluctant to do so if the grex
is leaving a stalk behind. Perhaps it would be better to call such a grex
lying, and thus to contrast it with one that is erect or standing.