Rafinesque on a fossil Medusa. 287 
Description.—Length or height of the weer six inch- 
es, breadth above three inches. Back rounded convex 
conical, nearly acute, oe itself ordeal penliedeiaths! in 
three branches or pe edane s, all unequal in length and size, 
the axilla or sinuses of the aaa are also unequal and ob- 
tuse. The lateral peduncles are quite detached from the 
middle one, and slightly curved outside: they are both situ- 
ated obliquely, and slightly compressed in the direction of 
the obliquity. The longest peduncle is also the slenderest 
and quite obtuse at the end; the shortest which is opposed 
thereto is the thickest and ‘slightly obtuse at the end; its 
length is only about two and a half inches, while the long- 
est is about four and a half inches long. The central pe- 
duncle is. quite straight, obliquely compressed : 
ted at the end and about four inches long, the opening is ter- 
minal and furnished above on each side by a large fasciele of 
tentacula, assuming a kind of fringed appearance ; they are 
capillary, flexuose and thickly fasciculated, longer than the 
central peduncle and reaching the end of the longest pedun- 
cle, the outside tentacula appear to be the longest. The 
longitudinal section of the animal shows an appearance of 
internal vessels as in many medusas: three | faint ves- 
uose form and to unite near the back, while the whole cir- 
cumference shows many short capillary vessels deriving 
from the surface, extending obliquely inside, but not reach- 
ing quite to the central vessels. A transverse sectio n shows 
the curious respective obliquity of the peduncles, a that 
their inward circumference is slightly striated by those small 
superficial vessels. 
Specific observati ons.— This interesting animal remain 
was found in 1817, . Mr. J. D. Clifford, near papier 4 
er ae of a ne celine. It was not accompanie sae oe any 
shell nor other fossil, but stood alone, and Beers. 78 pen. et the 
stratum apes: so ras Sac are found. qT have dedicated 
Philadephia, 12h gH 1819. 
