1907- Notes. 223 



ZOOLOGY. 



Deiopeia pulchella in Cork. 



In the Entomologist (vol. xl., 1907, p. 12) Miss R. M. Dakin has lately 

 recorded the capture of a specimen of this moth — a rare migrant in our 

 islands — at Cork on the 24th October, 1906. 



Some Irish Gephyrean Worms. 



Being anxious to determine what Gephyrean worm Dr Kinahan was 

 referring to when he stated in the Natural History Review, vii., i860, 

 page 400, that Syrinx granulosus ? (M'Coy) occurs plentifully in the sands 

 of the Zostera banks of Dublin Bay, I asked Mr. Butler to bring me any 

 Gephyreans he might obtain in the bay, and last month (April) he 

 brought me two specimens of Phascolion strombi in the dead shells of 

 Dentalhun entails that he had dredged in 8-10 fathoms between Sandy- 

 cove and Bullock Harbour. 



One of the specimens was living, so that I was able to watch the move- 

 ments referred to by Mr. Colgan {supra, p. 180), and in one respect I was 

 more fortunate, as occasionally the animal protruded its proboscis to its 

 full extent, and showed the circle of tentacles crowning its extremity, and 

 the minute hooks situated behind the tentacles (the hooks appeared to 

 be irregularly arranged, instead of in four circles as stated by Forbes in 

 " A History of British Starfishes"). 



P. strombi is probably common and generally distributed round the 

 Irish coast, but it cannot be the Gephyrean referred to by Kinahan. In 

 addition to the localities given by Mr. Colgan, I may mention there are 

 specimens in the Dublin Museum from Inver Bay, Blacksod Bay, and 

 off the S.W. coast ; it is recorded by Thompson from Killary on the 

 west coast, and Belfast and Strangford Loughs ; it was obtained in 

 Killybegs Harbour (" Porcupine ") ; it has also been dredged in 

 rather deep water, viz., 70-90 fathoms, off the Maidens rocks, L,arne, 

 Co. Antrim, by Hyndman ; off S.W. coast in 30-90 fathoms (R.I. A. Exp., 

 1885) and in 70 fathoms (" Research"). 



Syrinx granulosus, M'Coy, I believe to be identical with Sipunculus 

 papillosns, Thompson, which would seem to be a species of Physcosoma, 

 closely allied to P. granulatum, Leuckart (see H. L. Jameson, British 

 Association Report, 1899, P- 43 2 ), found principally in the Mediterranean. 

 I am not aware of any specimens of Physcosoma having been found on 

 the east coast of Ireland, and think it is unlikely that P. papillosns, Th., 

 occurs plentifully in the Zostera banks in Dublin Bay. I hope, how- 

 ever, that the dredgings now being carried on in Dublin Bay may help 

 to clear up this point. 



A. R. Nichols. 

 Dublin Museum, 



