416 G. HERBERT FOWLER, 
The only other point to be mentioned in dealing with the 
soft tissues relates to the small pores under the calicles which 
lead from the exterior into the spiral chamber; they are lined 
by an ingrowth of the body wall with all three layers of ecto- 
derm, mesogloea, and endoderm (fig. 8), a somewhat unexpected 
result. Professor Semper’s explanation of these pores is that 
they correspond to successive positions of the anus of the 
Gephyrean, and serve for the extrusion of its excrement 
(‘Animal Life,’ p. 336). Against this may be urged (1) that 
the pores are probably too minute for this purpose (only 3 mm. 
in diameter! after shrinkage of the tissues); and (2) that what 
appears to be excrement lies in the spiral cavity, not in the 
pore ; (3) that the Gephyrea tenanting Gastropodan shells on 
which no coral has settled are not provided with any such 
convenience. I regret that I can offer no suggestion either as 
to their use or the method of their formation. 
The animal is dicecious ; the generative organs were of the 
usual structure. Figures and a description of the corallum 
will be found in Professor Moseley’s report cited above. 
BATHYACTIS SYMMETRICA. 
By the kindness of Mr. John Murray I have been allowed 
to examine spirit specimens of this coral, dredged by the 
“Challenger ” in 1600 and 2300 fathoms. Unlike the rest of 
the “ Challenger ” material, these specimens are histologically 
useless ; the endoderm has run into a jelly-like mass in which 
cell-outlines are no longer distinguishable, and the mesoglea 
alone can be used for the determination of anatomical relations. 
This result is probably due to the rapidly diminishing pressure 
during their sudden ascent from the great depths at which 
the corals live; but it is remarkable that the Crustacean 
Petrarca, parasitic in the mesenterial chambers of Bathyactis, 
and recently described in this Journal (vol. xxx, p. 107) had 
not undergone any histological deliquescence. 
The corallum consists of a thin flattened disc (the true 
1 The pore for the proboscis, as a means of estimating the size of the worm, 
is 14—2 mm. in diameter. 
