3ß4. P. Kramp. 



on well-developed hydranths. Female gonophores are found in great 

 abundance. Normally they grow on the pedicels of well-developed 

 hydranths; in this respect the available material shows certain dif- 

 ferences, hi 4 cases I have found female gonophores on the body 

 of well-developed hydranths (on two colonies from St. 63). hi several 

 cases they are seated on the pedicels of hydranths, but most fre- 

 quently 2 — 8 (scattered or more closely together) are on separate, 

 irregularly curved, wrinkled pedicels, which apparently have not 

 borne hydranths. The question is now, have these pedicels never- 

 theless borne hydranths which have died oil' about the time for the 

 ripening of the gonophores? I have examined some of the large, 

 prolific colonies from St. 95 a. On these colonies the fertile pedicels 

 in some cases bear hydranths, in other cases the perisarc at the 

 distal end of the pedicel shows a hole which indicates, that there 

 has been a hydranth; in still other cases the perisarc seems to be 

 (juite closed, but diatoms and detritus prevented me from saying 

 anything definite about the matter. I then took some of these pe- 

 dicels and cut them into sections with the microtome. The sections 

 show, that the pedicels in question have probably had hydranths; 

 but as the material examined in this way is not large, I cannot say 

 whether all the other gonophore-bearing pedicels have also had 

 hydranths. That the hydranths on the fertile pedicels of E. rameiim 

 may atrophy, was already noticed by Hincks 186cS(28): "The male go- 

 nophores as well as the female are developed from the polypite; but 

 complete atrophy of the latter seems to take place chiefly in the case 

 of the male" (I.e. p. 81). The colonies on which the fertile pedicels are 

 without hydranths completely correspond with E. caricum Jäderhohii, 

 also in that they show a tendency to ramification in one plane, so 

 that they obtain a fan-shaped habit. E. cariciim is therefore un- 

 doubtedly identical with E. ranienm (Pallas). 



There are two possibilities. 1) Either the fertile pedicels on 

 Jäderholm's specimens have had hj^lranths, which have all fallen 

 ofT before the gonophores were ripe ; in thai case it is not strange, 

 according to the above, that Jäderholm thought he had hydranth- 

 less blastostyles before him. 2) Or there have never been hydranths 

 on the fertile pedicels; but this character will not be sufficient for 

 the founding of a new species, as the description of E. caricum 

 otherwise corresponds precisely with the specimens of E. rameiim 

 from the Danmark Expedition. 



Hab.: St. 21, 63, 68 a, 69, 71a, 94, 95 a, 96. 



Depth: 6 — 18(1 m. most frequent at 20 — ca. 60 m. 



Geographical distribution: Arctic: circumpolar. — Cosmo- 

 politan. 



