Benham. — Neiv Zealand Ctejwphores. 139 



rather greater than tliis near the equator. One or two have a 

 more oval form, the diameter being proportionally smaller, 

 but in the majority the vertical and horizontal diameters are 

 approximately equal. 



The mouth does not occupy the whole of the base — i.e., it 

 is not relatively so large as in the two well-known Mediterranean 

 species, B. ovata and B. forskalii. In the present species the 

 oral moiety of the body is somewhat contracted, sloping down- 

 wards and inwards, so as to be nearly horizontal around the 

 mouth. 



The costse, even in the largest individuals, do not extend 

 down to the margin of the mouth. This I supposed at first 

 to be related to the immaturity of the specimens, but I find 

 that the largest ones contain fully developed spermatozoa in the 

 meridional canals and young ova, so presumably they are prac- 

 tically full-grown, or at any rate adult. These gonads are limited 

 to the meridional canals, and extend down to their lowest limits. 

 The cost* taper off to a fine point orally, about two-thirds 

 of the total height of the body. The eight costae are not abso- 

 lutely equidistant ; the pair at each end of the sagittal plane 

 run at first parallel with each other and are closer together 

 than are the other costse ; they then diverge rather suddenly, 

 so that at the equator the distance separating the pair of sub- 

 sagittal costse is only slightly less than that between other pairs. 

 Thus, in the largest specimen, the distance between the pair 

 of subtransverse costse at the equator is 12 mm., and between 

 the subsagittals 10 mm. But at their origin these distances are 

 •4 mm. and 1 "5 mm. respectively. 



The subcostal or meridional canals give off, right and left, 

 branched coeca, which do not anastomose but terminate in slight 

 dilatations ; and to some extent those of one canal interdigitate 

 with those of a neighbouring canal — as in B. ovata. The two 

 stomodeeal canals also give origin to a few fine outgrowths 

 which take a horizontal direction on the wall of the stomodaeum 

 and branch slightly ; these open into a series of inwardly directed 

 branches from the meridional canals. These canals and branches 

 are readily seen in the specimens, and I injected them in one 

 large individual in order to confirm the observation. The four 

 meridional and the stomodseal canal of each side open into a 

 semicircular marginal canal at the edge of the mouth ; but the 

 two marginal canals do not meet at the ends of the sagittal 

 plane. This fact is also in agreement with Chun's observa- 

 tions. 



I have obtained specimens of this species of Beroe from the 

 following localities : (a.) Little Barrier Island (Shakespear) ; 

 1906. {h.) Off D'Urville Island, off the north coast of the 



