120 SOME ASCIDIANS FBOM THE ISLE OF WlGHl?. 



hitlierto recorded from any other locality than the coast of Connemara, 

 in the West of Ireland. 



The body is ovate in form^ thick, lobate, attached generally by 

 the posterior half, sometimes by a larger area of the left side. 

 When living, it is invariably of a rosy-flesh colour ; and this colour, 

 upon close examination, is seen to be due to a number of crimson 

 dots (the culs-de-sac of the test-vessels) profusely scattered in the 

 substance of the test. 



The dimensions of the largest individual (PL VI, fig. 1) are 

 as follows : 



Maximum length (antero-posterior) . . 1^ inch 



breadth (dorso-ventral) 



,, thickness (right to left) . . f ,, 



The oral and cloacal apertures are on the right side of the body ; 

 the oral is sub-terminal, the cloacal half-way down and near the 

 dorsal edge ; both are small and inconspicuous. The position of 

 the cloacal aperture varies very little in these specimens ; in a few 

 it is slightly posterior to the middle dorso-ventral line, but never so 

 much so as to be two-thirds of the way down. No ocelli were 

 observed around the apertures. 



The test is, in Hancock's words, " firm, thick, semi-transparent, 

 smooth and soft to the touch, rather shining, obtusely lobed, of a 

 rosy flesh-colour, showing minute punctures and veinings of crimson." 

 In its thick, smooth, firm, and shining character, the test of this 

 species resembles that of Phallusia mammillata, a resemblance 

 further borne out by the lobes of its surface, although these are 

 much flatter and less protuberant in Ascidia mollis, than in the latter 

 species. In its softness, however, the test of this species is very 

 unlike that of P. maiiwiillata. 



Hancock states that the " terminal extremities " of the blood- 

 vessels of the test are '' more inflated and globular in this than in 

 any other species. '^ I have a distinct recollection of their pyriform 

 character in the living animal, but their appearance in specimens 

 after preservation in alcohol is very different ; and they are seen to 

 be elongated and finger-shaped, rather than inflated and globular 

 (PL VI, fig. 2). 



When the test has been removed from the rest of the body, the 

 oral and cloacal siphons are seen to be short (PL VI, fig. 3). 

 The intisculature is, as usual, almost confined to the right side of 

 the body ; the fibres are long and delicate. Round each of the 

 siphons a number of delicate fibres form a complete sphincter. 



On the left side, the course of the intestine is visible through 

 the body-wall. The stomach is rounded in form and is situated at 

 some little distance (about one-fifth of the total body-length) from 



