NO. 1 OSBURN: eastern pacific BRYOZOA CHEILOSTOMATA 61 



(1873:12) retained the genus Mollia and placed it next to Membrani- 

 porella. Waters ( 1897 :667) discarded Mollia and listed patellaria under 

 Membranipora, which appears to be the best guess to date. Canu and 

 Bassler (1928:69), because of the appearance of the frontal associated it 

 tentatively with the Division Coilostega, in the family Aspidostomatidae. 



The simplicity of M. patellaria, which lacks most of the characters 

 commonly used in classification, is responsible for most of the difficulty. 

 However, the absence of characters which would relate this form to any 

 of the Coilostegan species is important, for there is no polypide tube and 

 I have been unable to find any trace of opesiular muscles or of their 

 dorsal attachments and there are no opesiular notches or slits. Canu and 

 Bassler recognized this difficulty in their statement "the genus could 

 just as well be classed next to Amphiblestrum." It is similar to Rete- 

 virgula in the tubular connections between the zooecia and in the tubular 

 dorsal attachment processes but that genus possesses avicularia and spines. 



Because of the hyperstomial ovicell, the general membraniporoid sim- 

 plicity and the absence of characters which would definitely locate it 

 elsewhere, I suggest that its proper place is somewhere in the family 

 Alderinidae and probably near to Alderina, with which it agrees in the 

 hyperstomial ovicell and the absence of avicularia and spines. It agrees 

 with Alderina also in the presence of pore chambers, which appear to 

 replace the connecting tubules when the latter are absent. 



Mollia patellaria (Moll), 1803 

 Plate 4, figs. 8 and 9; Plate 29, fig. 6 

 Esdhara patellaria Moll, 1803 :75. 

 Diachoris simplex Heller, 1867 :94. 

 Mollia patellaria, Smitt, 1873:12. 

 Membranipora patellaria, Waters, 1898:667. 

 Membranipora patellaria, Calvet, 1902 :12. 

 Mollia patellaria, Canu and Bassler, 1928 :69, 



Zoarium encrusting loosely, attached by tubular dorsal processes, pale 

 and shining. Zooecia small, averaging about 0.40 mm long by 0.26 mm 

 wide, ovate with the distal end evenly rounded and slightly raised. The 

 earlier zooecia near the center of the colony are more or less disjunct 

 and connected by 6 or 8 short tubules, one at each end and 2 or 3 on 

 each side; outside of the central area the side walls of the zooecia are 

 in direct contact. The mural rim is moderately thick and coarsely granu- 

 lated, somewhat thinner at the distal end. The cryptocyst covers about 

 two-thirds of the frontal length, distinctly granular, its distal end more 



