298 RHOPALOMENIA. 



Salivary glands 2 ; penial excitiug organs two or none. Length 6- 

 60 mill., 6 to 25 times the breadth. 



This genus is evidently composed of somewhat heterogeneous 

 elements, which, however, share the peculiar shape and arrangement 

 of spicules described above, and the same mode of existence, differ- 

 ing in both from the northern genus Pwneomenia. 



Thiele (Archiv Wiss. Zool., Iviii, p. 273) proposes to restrict i?Ao- 

 palomenia to the species aglaophenUe and eisigi, and relegate vagans, 

 desiderata, gorgonophila and acuminata to Proneomenia. I have, 

 however, considered it advisable to leave the group within the lim- 

 its fixed by Simroth, except that sopita is removed, as it obviously 

 differs sufficiently to form another genus. 



Key to Species of JRhopalomenia. 



Cuticle Exciting Salivary j^^^^^j^ (..jj^ Length ^ .^^^ 



papillae organs glands index ^ 



one-celled 2 present none 25 gorgonophila. 



,, J j 2 2 present 6 vagans. 



manycelleaj^) 2 (present none 6 desiderata. 



\ none none 13 aglaophenice. 



Of these species, the first is separated widely from the others by 

 its peculiar cuticle-papiilse. The West Indian R. acuminata is still 

 too little knoAvn to be included in the table. 



R. GORGONOPHILA (Kowalevski). PI. 44, figs. 30, 31, 32. 



Elongated, cylindrical, winding around Gorgonia stems, upon 

 which it is parasitic. Length 60 mill. 



Algeria and Provence. 



Neomenia gorgonophila Kowal., Bull. Roy. Soc. Friends of Nat. 

 Science, etc., 1881 (Russian) ; Zool. Anzeiger, iii, p. 190. — Proneo- 

 menia gorgonophila Kow^al. & Marion, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Mar- 

 seilles, III, p. 75, pi. 7, f. 18-21. — Rhopalomenia gorgonophila Sim- 

 roth, Bronn's Thier-Reichs, p. 230, pi. 4. figs. 2-4. 



Fig. 30 represents the animal in its natural position. Fig. 32 

 section showing foot-groove and foot. Fig. 31 section through the 

 skin, showing epithelium above, below it the peculiar club-shaped 

 inter-cuticular papillae, and lower the horizontal spicules, w^ith a 

 layer of circular muscle beneath. 



