BRYOZOA OF THE PHILIPPINE REGION 361 



lodging place. If the avicularia appear so irregular it is because all 

 the zooecia are not in the same hydrostatic or alimentary position. 

 Their activity is equal to that of the tentacles for they are the sentinels 

 of the zoarium. 



In the life of a Retepora there is another feature, the reteporidan 

 mystery. Never is a complete living colony encrusted by another 

 organism. No larva has been able to develop here and disturb the 

 harmony, no spores -of the nullipores have been able to propagate 

 themselves. The residue of digestion expelled with each evagination 

 does not accumulate in any of the numerous zoarial folds. 



The fecundity of the Reteporidae is unbelievable. On an entire 

 colony the number of ovicelled zooecia is immense and reproduction 

 is incessant. The quantity of larvae thus ejected into the sea is 

 very great. Never are they able to fix themselves on the trabecular 

 but they are pitilessly chased away and must search far for the 

 rescuing substratum. However, few have the fortune to find it 

 for their enemies are innumerable and hence Reteporas never 

 dominate a fauna by the number of specimens. The immutable 

 justice which presides over the universal equilibrium here opposes 

 force with force and voracity with voracity. 



Genus RETEPORA Imperato, 1599 



RETEPORA (RETEPORELLA) LAXIPES, new species 



Plate 45, figs. 1-12 



Description. — The zoarium is free, subcylindrical, dendroid; the 

 base is large and much expanded; the branches are very irregular 

 in length and in size. The zooecia are distinct, separated by a very 

 salient thread, elongated, in the form of a shield; the frontal is smooth, 

 concave longitudinally. The apertura buried at the bottom of a 

 long peristomie is semielliptical; the peristome is very salient, com- 

 plete or strongly indented distally; incised by the presence of 4 to 8 

 large salient spines and bearing in front a pseudorimule of variable 

 size. The ovicell is salient, globular elongated, ornamented with a 

 median, longitudinal canalicule; its orifice is placed in the peristomie 

 and protected by a small tongue. The frontal frequently bears two 

 small porelike avicularia. 



Measurements. — 



Apertura \ha -=0.07 mm. Zooecia VLz -=0.55-0.70 mm. 



(interior)lZa -0.10 mm. (exterior) \lz -0.30-0.40 mm. 



Zooecia jLz =0.60-0.65 mm. Peristome, 0.25 mm. 



(interior) Xlz =0.30 mm. 



Variations and structure. — The base is much expanded but none of 

 our specimens was fixed to a substratum. The vibices here form very 

 irregular polygons containing a large hollow tuberosity surrounded 



