596 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



New Zealand Ctenophores.*-- W. B. Benham describes Berot 

 shaJcespeari sp. a.., which difl'ers from the three species of the Northern 

 hemisphere — B. ovata, B. forsJcalii, and B. cucumis, as also from 

 B. australis (Fiji) and B. macrostoma (New Guinea). A second new 

 form is Ev/ploTcamis australis sp. n. 



New Dictyonine Sponge.f— R. Kirkpatrick describes Eurete annan- 

 dalei sp. n., an elegant and remarkable form from the Indian Ocean. 

 It has not the "beautiful network" of anastomosing tubes, charac- 

 teristic of Eurete, but consists of a vertical hollow stem with hollow 

 separate lamella?. 



Siesta of Spongilla in Tropics.:}: — Nelson Annandale finds that 

 for some hours in the middle of the day the currents cease and the 

 oscular collars are somewhat contracted. It is by no means uncommon 

 for Ccelenterates to remain in a state of quiescence during the heat of 

 the day in the tropics and even in temperate climates, and it is not 

 surprising that Sponges should follow the same course. 



New Indian Fresh-water Sponges. — Nelson Annandale § describes 

 Spongilla reticulata sp. n., and S. crassior sp. n., and distinguishes the 

 characters of the gemmules in S. decipiens Weber, S. fragilis Leidy, 

 S. crassissima Annandale, and S. crassior. He finds that there is 

 considerable seasonal variation. 



In a subsequent paper Annandale || describes Spoilt) ill a indica sp. n. 

 closely allied to S. sumatrana Weber, and S. lapidosa sp. n. allied to 

 S. loricata Weltner. Of the last named species R. Kirkpatrick^" 

 describes a new variety, bvrmauica. 



Hydromedusan from Lake Qurun.^f — Charles L. Boulenger descrihe> 

 Mozrisia Iponsi g. et sp. n., from Lake Quran, which communicates with 

 the Nile by means of a network of canals which irrigate the Fayuni. The 

 lake is the remains of the historic Lake Mceris, which was used as an 

 artificial regulator of the Nile floods by the monarchs of the twelfth 

 dynasty. It is about the size and shape of the Lake of Geneva, and 

 except during high Nile receives very little water. There is no outlet, 

 and the water is decidedly brackish. With the exception of Mcerisia, 

 Cordylophora, and a Ctenostomatous polyzoan, resembling Virtorella, the 

 fauna seems essentially a fresh-water one, composed probably of such 

 Nile animals as can accommodate themselves to the salinity of the lake. 



The new form is referable to the Anthomedusae, as is shown by the 

 globular shape, four-rayed symmetry of the umbrella, manubrial gonad > 

 and the absence of otocysts. The gymnoblastic hydroid stage confirms 

 this position. Furthermore, the simple mouth, the four unbranched 

 tentacles, and the narrow radial canals, exclude Mozrisia from the 

 Tiaridae, Margelidae, and Cladonemidse, and refer it to the Codonidse, near 

 Sarsia, in fact. The hydroid is unique in its hollow tentacles and trans- 



* Trans. New Zealand Inst., xxxix. (1907) pp. 139-44 (1 pi.). 

 t Records Indian Museum, ii. (1908) pp. 21-4 (1 pi.). 

 J Op. cit., i. (1907) pp. 387-92 (1 pi.). § Loc. cit. 



§ Op. cit., ii. (1908) pp. 25-8 (5 figs.). 

 || Tom. cit., pp. 97-9 (1 pi.). 

 f Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci., lii. (1908) pp. 357-78 (2 pis.). 



