312 Mr. C. Collingwood on Oceanic Forms of Hydrozoa. 



either perfectly transparent or tinged with pink. They would 

 bear being taken up carefully in a hand-net and placed in a 

 basin of sea-water, but, when there, became absolutely invisible 

 from their transparency and delicacy, and, when touched, would 

 break asunder into transparent, gelatinous, star-like bodies; so 

 that I was of despair at getting even a sketch of their compli- 

 cated forms, for they soon melted away into shapeless masses. 

 I endeavoured to preserve some in glycerine, but without suc- 

 cess, for they immediately fell to pieces and dissolved. These 

 bodies were solid to the touch, about 3 inches long, and appeared 

 to be formed by the union of gelatinous bodies (swimming-bells) 

 of very complex form, and dissimilar at different parts of their 

 length, so that the diameter of one-third was greater than that 

 of the other two-thirds. I was much disappointed at my un- 

 successful attempts to keep some record of them ; but their 

 invisibility, their fragility, and the approach of evening ren- 

 dered all my attempts at that time futile ; and although I might 

 have succeeded better if I had had another opportunity, I never 

 saw anything like them again. 



But the circumstance to be especially remarked is that during 

 all the time these curious animals were floating by, it was rain- 

 ing pretty hard — a condition which, a priori, would have been 

 supposed the most unfavourable for them ; for the destructive- 

 ness of fresh water to delicate marine animals is well known. 

 Whence, too, could they have come in such profusion ? And if 

 the surface of the sea is their natural habitat, why are they not 

 more frequently seen ? 



With regard to the Hydrozoa of the order Lucernaridse (the 

 covered-eyed Medusje of Forbes), on the comparatively few oc- 

 casions when they appear upon the surface, they are usually in 

 great abundance, and not in great variety. Thus in the upper 

 part of the lied Sea, on the 10th of March, a species of Aurelia 

 appeared in great numbers ; and two days after, we passed 

 through a shoal of Rhizostomas. Four days later, in the Gulf 

 of Aden, we again encountered shoals of Aurelia, apparently 

 identical with those of the Red Sea, the two shoals being sepa- 

 rated by about 1400 miles. Again, in October we passed, on 

 the west coast of Borneo, oflF Cape Santubon, through a number 

 of magnificent Fulmogrades. The upper part of the umbrella 

 was pilose, with long papillaj; the periphery was fringed with 

 long tentacles, and the pedicels gave rise to magnificent grape- 

 like masses, the whole being of a delicate wliite colour, and 

 fully 18 inches in diameter. In the following month, in the 

 strait which separates the island of Singapore from the Malay 

 j)eninsula, I observed a great number of the same beautiful 

 Pelagian, and accompanying it some specimens of a small and 



