Protogenesn.
/prə(ʊ)ˈtɒdʒᵻniːz/, U.S. /ˌproʊˈtɑdʒəˌniz/ Biology. Now historical.
A genus of supposed primitive foraminiferans lacking a nucleus and contractile vacuole; (also protogenes) a foraminiferan of this genus.The supposed organism on which the genus was based was probably a fragment of a nucleated organism. Cf. Protamoeba n.
ΚΠ
1870 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (ed. 2) I. i. vii. 137 In the Protogenes of Professor Haeckel, there has been reached a type distinguishable from a fragment of albumen only by its finely-granular character.
1884 J. Tait Mind in Matter 94 All along the line, from the ‘protogenes’ to the mammoth, there have been marked deviations to the right and the left.
1916 Amer. Naturalist 50 26 Most importance, however, was attributed by Haeckel to the large amœboid forms of Monera, described as without nuclei or contractile vacuoles. Examples of these were announced to exist under the names ‘Protamoeba’ and ‘Protogenes,’ denoting forms of life which Haeckel claimed to have discovered, but which have never been found again by any other naturalist.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1870