550 



MEDUSA OF THE WORLD. 



There is a well-developed ring of circular muscle-fibers in the subumbrella, beyond 

 the gonads and inside oi the insertions of the tentacles. This zone of ring-muscles appears 

 broken in the mid-radii of the lappets, thus forming 16 trapezoids in the radii of the sense- 

 organs and tentacles. Radial-muscle strands extend outward in the tentacular radii and con- 

 verge at the bases of the tentacles. 



The medusa is colorless save for the pigment of the eyes in the marginal sense-organs 

 and for 4 interradial masses of red-brown pigment in the central stomach, leaving a clear 

 cruciform space between them. 



Two specimens were taken by the Siboga in the Malay Archipelago, in vertical nets, 

 from a depth of 100 fathoms, at 6 2' S. lat., 123 577' E. long. 



Dr. Lobianco describes a similar medusa in the collection made by the Krupp yacht 

 Puritan, from a depth of 500 fathoms, near Capri, Bay of Naples. He generously permitted 

 me to study the very well-preserved specimen of the medusa in the Zoological Station at 

 Naples. It resembles Maas's specimens from the Malay Archipelago except that the gonads 



FIG. 347. Parapln'llina intermedia. From a specimen in the 

 Naples Zoological Station. 



(female) are more slender and their outer ends somewhat longer than in the Malayan speci- 

 mens. There are 4 deep interradial, crescentic pits in the floor of the subumbrella between 

 the gonads and the gastric cirri. The medusa was 15 mm. wide and in all respects (save 

 in the minor details mentioned above) it appears to be identical with the East Indian medusa. 

 A figure of Dr. Lobianco's medusa drawn by me from his specimen is presented in fig. 347. 



Family EPHYROPSID.& Claus, 1883. 



o/>siWtf, CLAUS, 1883, Organisation und Enrwick.Meduscn, pp. 23, 24; 1886, Arbeit. Zool. Inst. Univ. Wien., Bd.y, pp. 99, 

 no. VANHOFFEN, 1892, Ergeb. der Plankton Expedition, Bd. 2, K. d.,p.2i. MAAS, 1897, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. at 

 Harvard College, vol. 23, p. 65; 1907, Ergeb. und Fortschritte der Zool., Bd. I, p. 2 1 1 . Bigelow, H. B., 1909, Mem. 

 Mus. Comp. Zool. at Harvard College, vol. 37, pp. 21, 33. 



idjt+Linergidtf, HAECKEL, 1880, Syst. der Medusen, pp. 476, 490. 



FAMILY CHARACTERS. 



Coronatse with 8 rhopalia (4 perradial and 4 interradial). 8 or more tentacles and 16 or 

 more lappets. Mouth surrounded by 4 short, simple lips. 4 perradial ostia connect the central 

 stomach with a wide ring-sinus. Peripherally this ring-sinus of the subumbrella gives rise to 



