A NEW NARCOMEDUSA FROM THE NORTH 



ATLANTIC. 1 



R. P. BIGELOW. 



Late in the summer of 1899, the U. S. S. " Fish Hawk " of the 

 Bureau of Fisheries made an expedition from Wood's Hole to 

 the Gulf Stream. Upon her return I was handed a bottle con- 

 taining a beautiful, clear, colorless medusa of considerable size, 

 and was asked to identify it. The specimen was preserved in 

 formalin and was in excellent condition. A short examination, 

 however, was sufficient to prove it to be an unfamiliar form. 



Fearing the deterioration of this unique specimen, I began at 

 once in the Fisheries Laboratory at Woods Hole, as careful a 

 study of its structure as could be made without destroying the 

 specimen. Detailed, measured drawings were made, two of these 

 being reproduced in the present article. 



Unfortunately the otoliths were not visible, probably having 

 been destroyed by the formalin, and the specimen appeared to be 

 immature, as gonads were not distinctly marked. These circum- 

 stances made the identification difficult, and although the speci- 

 men appeared to belong to a new species, I hesitated to describe 

 a new species from this single specimen. It was, therefore, put 

 aside in the hope that another season might furnish material for a 

 more complete diagnosis. 



The material hoped for, however, has not appeared, and as my 

 friend, Dr. A. G. Mayer, assures me that in all probability this is 

 a new species of the genus Pegantha, I venture to publish the 

 following description : 



PEGANTHA CLARA, sp. nov. 



General description. Bell lenticular, doubly convex, 53 mm. 

 wide, 20 mm. thick, exumbrella smooth, 28 equally spaced bell- 

 lappets alternating with 28 tentacles; 14 of these tentacles are 

 long, and range between 33 and 56 mm. in length, and they alter- 



1 Published by permission of Hon. George M. Bowers, U. S. Commissioner of 

 Fisheries. 



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