Mr. A. Hancock on the Anatomy of Antiopa Spinolse. 25 



that of the spores of many other Fungi, and particularly of the 

 UredinecB, already very well examined in this respect by Messrs. 

 Tulasne several years ago. 



This idea of a kind of identity between the structure of the 

 spores of the Truffles and the Truffle itself which they are to re- 

 produce, was founded on an analogy of form and colour which 

 exists only in few species, and on the hypothesis that the spores 

 increased in all directions to form the fungous mass of the Truffle ; 

 but as we have seen, this very improbable hypothesis is com- 

 pletely subverted by observation of the germination of the spores 

 of Balsamia, and by that of the existence of a mycelium around 

 the Truffles themselves while they are young. 



The precise knowledge of the varied and complicated structure 

 of these subterranean Fungi, the observation of the different 

 phases of their life, if not in the same species, at least in plants 

 sufficiently allied to admit of analogy guiding us with safety, 

 enable us now therefore to appreciate the manner of the nourish- 

 ment, growth, and reproduction of these plants, so imperfect in 

 appearance that their mode of existence was long concealed from 

 the observations of naturalists, and of which, a quarter of a cen- 

 tury ago, there was but a distant idea of the variety of organi- 

 zation and the considerable number of species. 



Thanks to the extensive and profound researches of Messrs. 

 Louis Rene and Charles Tulasne, this group of Fungi, which so 

 many causes rendered it particularly difficult to study, may now 

 be considered one of the best known ; for to the general anatomy 

 and the physiological facts, of which a brief analysis is above 

 given, are adjoined a detailed monograph of all the species of 

 subterranean Fungi known at this time, and excellent figures re- 

 presenting most of those species and the most minute details of 

 their organization. 



III. — On the Anatomy of Antiopa Spinolse, a Nudibranchiate 

 Mollusk. By Albany Hancock, Esq. 



[With two Plates.] 



This paper treats of the anatomy of an animal which was dis- 

 covered by M. Verany on the shores of Italy, and was described 

 by that naturalist in 1846 under the name of Janus Spinolce. 

 Shortly afterwards it was taken by Dr. Battersby on the Devon- 

 shire, and by Mr. Alder on the Cornish coast ; and the latter 

 gentleman and I published an account of it in the ' Annals of 

 Natural History ' for 1848, where it was named Antiopa splen- 

 dida. At that time we had seen neither the original description 

 nor specimens from the Mediterranean ; but have since been 



