THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA. 21 



recorded from our Pacific coasts. The niinil)er of localities 

 in which this animal has been found is very limited. It oc- 

 curs in the Mediterranean, and has been descril)ed l)y sev- 

 eral observers fnmi Villa Franca, Naples and JVIessina. A 

 species is also described from the Indian Ocean. In 1883, 

 I found a new Athorybia, A. formosa, at Dry Tortugas, 

 Florida. A large Athorybia is known from the Canary 

 Ishuuls. Other Anthoph3-sidifi are described by Haeckel. 

 While crossing the Santa Barbara channel, from Santa 

 Barbara to the island of Santa Cruz, anew Athorybia was 

 taken in the drag net.^ This Athorybia is an interesting 

 one and its discovery important as being the first obser- 

 vation of this genus in the eastern Pacific.'^ 



Athorybia differs from other Physophores, except Phys- 

 alia, in the absence of an axis or stem. There are no necto- 

 calyces and their function is performed b3^the hydrophyllia. 

 The float is large and conspicuous, standing upright as the 

 animal floats in the water. It consists of a pneumatocyst and 

 pneumatophore, forming two separate globular sacs, one in- 

 side the other, both fastened at the upper pole, where there 

 is an external opening in both. The contents of the pneu- 

 matophore is air or gas. The color of the float is a delicate 

 pink, with a dark red pigment zone on the upper pole about 

 the opening. At the base of the float there arises a circle 

 of bracts or hydrophyllia. These bodies are transparent, 



lit is a circumstance worthy of mention that this Atliorybia, rike many other 

 mefUisaj described in this paper, was Ibiind in the vicinity of what is known to 

 fishermen on tlie Santa Barbara Channel as the "Submarine Oil Well." Near tlie 

 middle of the channel petroleum is always found floating on tlie surface of the sea. 

 This is supposed to be derived from the upturned beds of asphaltuni under the 

 water. Whether the source of this oil supply is submarine or not, many of my best 

 medusas were found in close proximity to the floating oil. 



2 With tlie exception of Physalia, Velellaand Porpita, no other Physophores have 

 been recorded from our Californian coast. A fragment of Porpita and one or two 

 mutilated siiocimens were observed near the island of Santa Cruz in my trip across 

 the Santa Barbara channel. I was, however, unable to identify the .species to which 

 these apeciuieiis probably belong. 



