DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES 77 



None of the zooids showed any sign of hermaphroditism, and the youngest buds in which any 



gonad was visible were clearly either male or female. 



Larva. The larva could not be distinguished from that of S. sigillinoides except by its rather smaller 



size, 0-44-0-48 mm. from the end of the papillae to the base of the tail. This size, however, falls within 



the range of the larva of S. sigillinoides. 



Remarks. In most respects this species is a quite typical Sycozoa, but the hermaphrodite nature 



of the colonies is exceptional. 



The species seems to come closest to S. pulchra (Herdman) from the Torres Strait between 

 Australia and New Guinea, and S. kanzasi (Oka) from Japanese waters. S. pulchra has herm- 

 aphrodite zooids and is therefore clearly different. S. kanzasi is more difficult to distinguish, but the 

 species can be separated as shown in Table 23. 



Table 23 



S. kanzasi S. anomala 



Oral siphon Usually with plain margin With 6 short pointed lobes 



Oral tentacles 12 16 



Knob-like structure over stomach Present Absent 



Anus With plain margin With 2 lips 



There is little doubt that the two species are very nearly related. Unfortunately the gonads of the 

 specimens seen by Oka (1930) and Tokioka (1953) were not well developed. The knob-like process 

 over the stomach is perhaps an unsatisfactory character for separating the species, because it is inter- 

 preted by Tokioka as a rudimentary bud and is therefore liable to be present or absent according to 

 the phase of asexual development at which the zooid is examined. 



Distribution. North end of North Island, New Zealand. 



Genus Distaplia Delia Valle, 1881 

 Distaplia colligans Sluiter (Text-fig. 21 ; PI. Ill, fig. 3) 

 Distaplia colligans Sluiter, 1932, p. 7, figs. 5-8. 



Occurrence. St. 164: S. Orkneys, 24-36 m. St. 476: S. Georgia, 165-0 m. St. 11 13: Bransfield 

 Strait, 275-130 m. St. MS 63: S. Georgia, 23 m. St. MS 74: S. Georgia, 22-40 m. 



Colony. The colonies from stations 164, MS 63 and MS 74 are all very similar. The largest of 

 these specimens is 1-2 cm. long and 0-3 cm. thick (St. MS 63). The preserved colour is a dull purple 

 brown, marked with paler spots where the zooids show through the test. Generally the colonies are 

 rather low and flattened or pillow shaped, not subdivided or lobed. No common cloacal openings are 

 apparent on the surface, and usually no regular arrangement of the zooids can be made out, although 

 in parts of one of the colonies from St. MS 63 there is an appearance of linear arrangement. In one of 

 Sluiter's specimens there was a regular alignment of the zooids in double rows, but in the other this 

 was apparently not conspicuous. The common test is soft and pliable, and semi-transparent but with 

 a slightly cloudy appearance owing to the presence of many small pale cells, especially in the surface 

 layer. 



Zoom (Text-fig. 21). The zooids generally measure about 3 mm. in length, but their length in life 

 was probably rather more, as the thorax in most colonies is much contracted, except in the specimens 

 from St. 476 and St. n 13, which will be discussed later (p. 78). The oral siphon (o.s.) is short, 

 sometimes quite distinctly six-lobed, but more often almost without lobes. Narrow but fairly strong 

 thoracic muscles are present. A triangular and moderately long atrial languet {ad.) is found in all 

 zooids. I could find no trace of a vascular process from the posterior end of the zooids. 



