LOCAL COLOUR-VARIETIES OF SCHYPHOMEDUS^E. 



A New Species Produced in Forty Years'? 



By R. von Lendenfeld, Ph.D. 



The colours of the lai-ge Medusae are as variable as they are 

 brilliant, and we generally find the same species appearing in a 

 long series of finely toned colour-varieties. 



I have observed two species of large Medusas, Cyanea Annaskala, 

 R. v. L., and Crarabessa mosaica H., which although they vary 

 very much in their colour do not appear in a series of connecting 

 varieties, but rather as " beginning species " in as much as the 

 colour in these varieties is quite constant in the different coloured 

 Medusae met with in different localities. 



I have found these two species in Port Phillip, South Coast, and 

 in Port Jackson, East Coast. Although these two places are not 

 far apart, still the water is very much warmer in the latter harbour 

 than in the former. This is owing to the nature of the Ocean 

 Currents. A warm equatorial current which passes along the 

 Eastern Coast of Australia, supplies Port Jackson with warmer 

 and probably Salter water than that with which Port Phillip is 

 filled. A cold Polar current flows past the entrance to Port 

 Phillip. 



T have found occasion to draw attention to the fact, that 

 Crambessa mosaica in Sydney was brown, whilst in Melbourne the 

 same species always appeared deep blue. The brown colour 

 is not always of the same depth and of similar hue all over the 

 surface of the Medusa, but varies from the colour of white bread to 

 that of coffee. The cause of this colour is to be found in yellow 

 cells, which appear in more or less dense clusters throughout the 

 gallert. These cells are parasitic Alga?, known as Zooxanthella. 

 Such Zooxanthellpe are very common in Jelly-fish, Sponges, &c, 



