MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 39 



spinosa, are additions to the British Fauna, and the four 

 last are new to science. The chief causes for so large an 

 addition to our Copepodan fauna are, first the more special 

 attention we now pay to the minute examination of mud 

 and other dredged materials, which have yielded the major- 

 ity of the above-named species — Port Erin bay and 

 particularly the muddy bottom just inside the breakwater 

 having proved to be specially rich ground ; and, secondly, 

 the establishment of Professor Herdman's " Fishery Lab- 

 oratory " at University College, where large numbers of fish 

 are constantly being examined, and, where under the keen 

 scrutiny of Mr. Corbin a large number offish parasites have 

 been found in situ on the gills of the fishes. Many of 

 these yet await examination, and there is evidently still 

 much to be achieved by a careful examination of the 

 mouths and gills of our common fishes. The branchial 

 sacs of Ascidians collected by Prof. Herdman, have yielded 

 many kinds of parasitic Copepoda, one of these, Notop- 

 terophorus papilio, a remarkably interesting animal, being 

 new to the district." 



A new Copepod, Liclwmolgus agilis, has been very 

 recently found and described by Mr. T. Scott, of the 

 Scottish Fishery Board, as frequenting Cockle shells. 

 This Copepod w^e have also found here, in all the cockles 

 examined, and it is probably a common form which has 

 been hitherto overlooked on account of its pecuhar habitat. 



The Hydroid Zoophytes and Polyzoa collected during 

 the year have, as in previous seasons, been examined by 

 Miss L. E. Thornely, with whom I have gone over a 

 good deal of the material, including any doubtful or diffi- 

 cult specimens. One of the most interesting points is that 

 Miss Thornely has been able to estabHsh that the Lafoea 

 pygmcm, Aid., of Hinck's "Zoophytes" is really, as Alder 

 seems to have indicated in his drawings, a species of 



