HYDRANTHEA. 



99 



THE shorter tentacles were occasionally absent on Dr. 

 Wright's specimen. I cannot but suspect that both the 

 present and the preceding species will prove to be imma- 

 ture forms. 



Ha b. Found creeping on the side of a vessel of sea- water 

 containing shells and zoophytes dredged from the Firth 

 of Forth (T. S. W.). 



Genus HYDRANTHEA, Hincks. 



Der. From Hydra, a genus of Hydroida, and avGos, a. flower. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. Stems very short (rudimentary), 

 rising at intervals from a network of anastomosing tubes, 

 the ivhole Invested by a polypary ; poly piles borne singly on 

 the stems, elongate, fusiform ; tentacles filiform, in a single 

 circle surrounding a low conical proboscis, each alternate 

 tentacle bearing a prominent tubercle composed of large bean- 

 shaped thread-cells ; gonophores large, borne on peduncles, 

 which spring from the creeping stolon, not invested by the 

 polypary, containing fixed sporosacs. 



IN Hydranthea the stem is very slightly developed, and 

 the polypite is not retractile within it. The tentacles are 

 very numerous and surround a somewhat ample disk, in the 



H 



