810 EECOBD OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



two or three-tliorned, short spinules on their edges, and rarely else- 

 where, but the spinulation is not distinct between them. The radial 

 shields have the greatest number of spinules on them. All the spines 

 on the side arm-plates project at right angles to the arm, and the 

 hooks are glassy at their top. The combination of Amphiuran 

 characters and those of OpMotlirix is thus remarkable. 



Haemoglobin in the Aquiferous System of an EcMnoderm.* — 

 M. Foettinger reports the important discovery of hsemoglobin in an 

 O^Yanxidi—OpMactis virens. In the elements discovered by Simroth 

 in the water-vascular system of this species, the writer was, with 

 living specimens, enabled to detect a bright red colouring matter. 

 Spectral analysis revealed the presence of the two bands character- 

 istic of the oxyhaemoglobin of the Vertebrata. The cells in which it 

 is contained were seen to be nucleated, but in addition to these there 

 were also found a number of free nuclei and small corpuscles, which 

 were also charged with haemoglobin. The author would seem to 

 agree with Simroth in recognizing the presence of a vascular system, 

 independent of the water-vascular, and charged with a nutrient func- 

 tion ; this contains a colourless liquid. On the other hand, the system 

 with the red corpuscles has a respiratory function. 



Buccal Skeleton of the Asterida.f — In this note M. Viguier, 

 while replying to some criticisms of Dr. Hubert Ludwig,| reaffirms 

 the existence of two parts in the "support of the tooth." The fact 

 that there is no trace of any fusion is relied upon greatly by Ludwig, 

 but Viguier points out that in reality the difference between them 

 lies in the fact that what has been taken for the first ambulacral 

 piece is composed of two, which always become separated under the 

 action of potash. This is a statement of fact, which it will be 

 possible to verify or to disprove. 



New Cretaceous Comatulae.§ — Mr. P. Herbert Carpenter describes 

 five new species of Antedon from British cretaceous deposits, two of 

 them in the possession of the Eev. P. B. Brodie, the rest in the collec- 

 tion of the British Museum. The species are : — Antedon perforata and 

 A. Lundgreni, from the upper chalk, Margate ; A. striata, from the 

 upper chalk, Dover ; A. laticirra, from the chalk of Wylye, Wiltshire ; 

 and A. incurva, from the upper greensand, Blackdown. The author 

 further gives a tabular key to the known English cretaceous species 

 of Antedon, and in conclusion refers to certain peculiarities in the 

 structure of these fossils, aj^parently subservient to the circulation of 

 water in their interior. 



Coelenterata. 



Structure and Origin of Coral Reefs and Islands.|| — Darwin's 

 theory may be said to rest on two facts — the one physiological, and 



* 'Bull. Acad. Koy. Belgique,' xlix. (1880) p. 402. 

 t 'Arch. Zool. exp. et gen.,' viii. (1880) p. 1. 

 X See this Journal, ante, p. 446. 

 § ' Quart. Joum. Geol. Soc.,' xxxvi. (1880). 



II See 'Nature,' xxi. (1880) p. 351. Abstract of paper read at the Eoyal 

 Society of Edinburgh. 



