726 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



New Medusa.* — Henry B. Bigelow describes Sibogita nauarchus 

 sp. n., a form of much interest, since it belongs to the interesting family 

 Bythotiaridas Maas, which has morphological relations on the one hand 

 to tbe Tiaridas, and on tbe other to the Williida?. From the two 

 previously known species of Sibogita this new form may be readily 

 distinguished by the presence of an apical depression of the ex-umbrella, 

 as well as by the permanently blind terminations of, the centripetal 

 canals. 



Relationship of Scyphomedusse and Anthozoa.t— E. Herouard 

 find that a particular kind of cellular investment, different from that of 

 the general enteron, occurs on the pharynx and gastric filaments of 

 Scyphistoina and Medusa, and that exactly the same kind of differentiated 

 epithelium occurs on the gullet of Anthozoa. This may be taken as 

 part of the justification of the relationship implied by the term 

 Scyphozoa. 



Pelagic Sea-Anemone without Tentacles.}— Nelson Annandale 

 obtained on the Orissa beach of the Bay of Bengal a number of small, 

 more or less globular bodies, which expanded into sea-anemones without 

 tentacles. Although none of the specimens had gonads, they are 

 probably not larval forms, since the number of mesenteries is large. 

 Annandale calls the animal Anactinia pelagica g. et sp. n., and gives the 

 following diagnosis : — Pelagic Cerianthidea without tentacles or a pro- 

 tective sheath. The musculature of the column as in the Cerianthidas. 

 Mesenteries tweuty-four or more ; the membranous part of each 

 mesentery strongly developed and forming in cross-section a protrusion 

 directed away from the ciliated groove. Acontia, but no (?) cinclides, 

 present. Column conical when fully expanded, the aboral pole being 

 pointed. The external surface smooth, feebly ciliated. Ectoderm 

 richly armed with nematocysts at every point. The ciliated groove of 

 great extent relative to the stomodaeuni. The mesenteries at both ends 

 of the stomodaeuni very short. No foramina in the mesenteries. 



Dendroid Graptolites.§ — Ray S. Bassler gives an account of the 

 order Bendroidea, based partly on the unpublished work of G-urley, and 

 partly on his own studies. He deals with numerous genera, such as 

 Dendrograptus, Callograptus, Ptilograptus, and Dictgonema. 



Porifera. 



South African Freshwater Sponges. || — Nelson Annandale describes 

 Spongilla ambigua sp. n. from Natal — a sponge which exhibits close 

 affinities, especially in the structure of its gemmules, to the group 

 represented by S. carteri Bowerbank, and S. nitens Carter, but has its 

 gemmules grouped as in S. fragilis Leidy. A new subgenus Strato- 

 spongilla is established with the following diagnosis : Gemmules covered 



* Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., lii. (1909) pp. 195-210 (1 pi.). 



t Comptes Rendus, cxlviii. (1909) pp. 1225-7. 



% Records Indian Museum, iii. (1909) pp. 157-62 (1 pi.). 



§ U.S. Nat. Museum, Hull. 65 (1909) pp. i.-ix. and 1-76 (5 pis. and 91 figs.). 



|| Zool. Jahrb., xxvii. (1909) pp. 559-70(3 figs.). 



