THE COLORED CORPUSCLES OF THE BLOOD OF THE PURPLE SEA SPIDER, ANOPLODACTYLUS LENTUS WILSON

¹ From the Zoölogical Laboratories, Harvard University, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

The blood of the sea spider, Anoplodactylus lentus, contains numerous pigmented corpuscles. The cells are thin, flexible discs of lenticular or irregularly oval outline with a marginally located nucleus. The poles of the cells are elongated into slender processes which are adhesive.

The corpuscles range in color from pink, lavender, and purple to deep blue. The pigment may be homogeneously distributed or limited to areas marked off by clear bands.

These cells are readily deformed by changes in the concentration of the medium. Staining reactions characteristic of vertebrate erythrocytes are not produced by exposure supravitally to neutral red, Janus green B or brilliant cresyl blue.

Preliminary tests indicate that variations in the color of the pigment are not dependent on hydrogen ion concentration.

The pigment may be decolorized with potassium cyanide or sodium hydrosulphite, but attempts to restore the color were inconclusive. The small amounts of blood obtainable render tests of this nature difficult.

This pigment, obviously neither hemoglobin or hemerythrin, occurring intracellularly in the blood of an invertebrate, and possibly of respiratory significance, merits the attention of physiologists.