NOTE ON LUCERNARIA AURICULA. 145 



• the globules and the structure of the zoophyte at once proved that 

 it could not be a circulation in the usual sense of the term. Pre- 

 sently it changed to a very tumultuous action, and almost immedi- 

 ately an immense discharge of ova or globules took place from the 

 centre of the tuft, spreading themselves like an expanding cloud of 

 smoke. Any attempt to count them would have been quite impos- 

 sible — the animal must have discharged many hundreds ; they 

 flowed forth in a continual stream for about half an hour, and then 

 gradually subsided. 



But this was not all. Towards the end of the discharge of ova, I 

 observed a vast number of monad-looking bodies swimming about 

 in all directions with great activity, touching the ova from time to 

 time, and even resting on many of them which had settled on the 

 green conferva, to which the Lucernaria was attached in the trough. 

 I was using Powell and Lealand's 2-inch objective and binocular. 

 On applying the two-third's objective, (the highest power which I 

 could bring to bear upon the object, and then only when they 

 rested on the edge of the trough,) these monad-like creatures were 

 developed into ob-ovate bodies, evidently surrounded with cilia. 



My own impression is, they were male spawn or spermatazoa, 

 and their object the fertilization of the ova. I have never read of, 

 or seen, that I remember, a similar occurrence, and shall be glad 

 if your readers will correct me if I am wrong. The whole observa- 

 tion was more curious and interesting than I can express. I can 

 only compare the action of these moving bodies to a swarm of bees 

 in their hour of jubilee on occasion of the election of a new-made 

 Queen. It was quite by accident that I was so fortunate. It did 

 not last much more than half an hour from beginning to end ; and 

 if the spawning usually takes place after darkness has set in, as in 

 this case, the opportunity of observing it would, of course, be very 

 rare. 



The Lucernaria in this respect seems to differ altogether from 

 the Actinia ; for when several years since I kept a Marine Aquar- 

 ium, I saw the Actinia discharge their young from the mouth in a 

 viviparous state. Rev. J. Fry, Monson Villa, Redhill. 



