24 NEW INYERTEBRATA FROM 



ured in my notice of certain niedusre from Narrag.insett 

 Bay as Diplophysa inermis, a name under which it is de- 

 scribed by Gegenbaurand others. The adult Sphasronectes, 

 however, has never been reportetf from the Athmtic coast, 

 although it is well known from the Mediterranean. 



In an evening's fishing at Santa Cruz I captured several 

 specimens of a gigantic Sphaj'ronectes, which is so differ- 

 ent from that from Villa Franca, which I have often col- 

 lected, that I have no hesitancy in declaring the Californian 

 representation to be a new and undescribed species. 



There is in Spha?ronectes (Monophyes) but a single 

 nectocalyx, and in this respect it differs from most other 

 known Calycophores. This nectocalyx in S. gigantea is 

 almost a half-inch in diameter and is globular, slightly flat- 

 tened on one side, where the entrance into its cavity lies. 

 This entrance is partially closed by a thin velum. The cav- 

 ity of the bell is shallow. The walls of the nectocalyx are 

 thick, especially at its apex. In this thickened part of the 

 nectocalyx, there lies a groove or depression, out of which 

 hangs the stem. The somatocyst, a blindly ending tube, 

 in communication with the point of junction of the stem 

 with the bell at the fundus of the depression, extends par- 

 allel to the radial tubes of the nectocalyx in the thick ge- 

 latinous Avails of the bell. The somatocyst is filled Avith 

 " spongy cells" as in Diphyes. 



The axis of S. gigantea} is small and short, and can be 

 wholly retracted into the groove of the nectocalyx. When 

 extended, it was several times the diameter of the necto- 

 calyx in length. 



All the diphyozooids upon the stem were immature, 

 which fact leads me to think that the specimens which I 

 had were young, and that the adult has a nectocalyx larger 

 than that of any known Sphaironectes. 



' The name gigantea is suggested for this species. 



