MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 109 



nephridia are borne on tangled twigs of a snow white 

 colour given off by the dark brown central tube of the 

 organ. There is only a single pair of anterior nephridia. 

 These contain ova, but no rudimentary males were found. 

 All our specimens are females. A full description, with 

 figures, of this new species will be published shortly. 



Prof. Sherrington and Dr. Noel Paton have indepen- 

 dently investigated the green pigment spectroscopically. 

 They report that it is a very remarkable and apparently 

 unknown pigment which is not allied to haemoglobin or 

 chlorophyll. It is not a respiratory pigment and is 

 apparently nearer to " bonellein," described by Dr. Sorby 

 from the Gephyrean Bonellia viridis, than to any other 

 known pigment, but differs markedly in some respects and 

 cannot be identical with it. Prof. Sherrington gives the 

 spectral characters as follows : — " The solution of the 

 pigment in formol (5% solution) exhibited considerable 

 absorption of the violet end of the spectrum (nearly as far 

 as solar line F, to A 468), less of the red end (to solar a, 

 A 716), and a single broad band of absorption in the red 

 between C and D with its centre at A 617 and extending 

 from A 602 to A 630*. No other absorption band existed. 

 Haemoglobin in formol solution exhibits the spectrum of 

 reduced haemoglobin. There is no similarity between the 

 spectrum of the pigment here examined and that of 

 haemoglobin. On the other hand the position of the band 

 recalls that of the strong band given by bonellein A 643 

 to A 617 (Sorby). But bonellein was not examined in 

 formol solution. No other definite absorption band was 

 given by the Thalassema pigment in formol." 



Mr. J. H. Ash worth, Demonstrator of Zoology at the 

 Owens College, spent some weeks at Port Erin in August, 

 and besides collecting, preserving, and examining various 



* Dr. Noel Taton gives the centre of the hand at A. 640. 



