﻿NO. 
  194G. 
  PACIFIC 
  MEDUSAE 
  AND 
  SIPHONOPHORAE—BIGELOW. 
  27 
  

  

  at 
  an 
  early 
  stage 
  in 
  growth 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  answered 
  from 
  the 
  evidence 
  

   yet 
  at 
  hand. 
  

  

  The 
  tentacles 
  are 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  the 
  bell 
  height, 
  or 
  longer, 
  when 
  

   expanded, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  usually 
  contracted, 
  and 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  

   broken 
  sliort 
  off. 
  Each 
  of 
  those 
  which 
  remain 
  intact 
  bears 
  a 
  spher- 
  

   ical 
  terminal 
  nematocyst 
  knob 
  much 
  as 
  'in 
  H. 
  minor. 
  

  

  The 
  specimens 
  are 
  colorless. 
  

  

  The 
  previous 
  localities 
  for 
  this 
  species 
  are 
  the 
  Humboldt 
  current 
  off 
  

   the 
  coast 
  of 
  Peru, 
  the 
  Malaysian 
  region, 
  and 
  the 
  Indian 
  Ocean, 
  near 
  

   Nias 
  Island. 
  All 
  the 
  records 
  are 
  from 
  "intermediate" 
  hauls. 
  

  

  Order 
  LEPTOMEDUSAE. 
  

  

  Family 
  LAODICEIDAE, 
  Iv. 
  Agassiz, 
  1862 
  (Browne 
  1907). 
  

  

  Genus 
  STAUROPHORA 
  Brandt, 
  1838. 
  

  

  Mayer 
  (1910), 
  in 
  his 
  discussion 
  of 
  Staurophora, 
  has 
  pointed 
  out 
  the 
  

   necessity 
  of 
  comparing 
  specimens 
  from 
  the 
  Pacific 
  with 
  material 
  from 
  

   the 
  Atlantic, 
  to 
  settle 
  definitely 
  whether 
  the 
  two 
  are 
  identical. 
  This 
  

   I 
  am 
  able 
  to 
  do, 
  thanks 
  to 
  an 
  example 
  from 
  Bering 
  Sea, 
  several 
  from 
  

   Prince 
  William 
  Sound, 
  and 
  Atlantic 
  specimens 
  from 
  New 
  England 
  

   and 
  from 
  Newfoundland, 
  with 
  the 
  result 
  that 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  unable 
  to 
  

   find 
  any 
  differences 
  sufficient 
  to 
  separate 
  them. 
  

  

  The 
  recent 
  record 
  of 
  S. 
  mertensii 
  {"laciniata'') 
  by 
  Vanhoffen 
  (1911) 
  

   from 
  the 
  Indian 
  Ocean 
  is 
  very 
  interesting, 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  extending 
  the 
  

   range 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  from 
  the 
  Arctic 
  to 
  the 
  Tropics, 
  but 
  also 
  for 
  bear- 
  

   ing 
  on 
  the 
  Staurophora 
  described 
  by 
  Browne 
  (1902, 
  1908) 
  from 
  the 
  

   Falkland 
  Islands, 
  S. 
  falklandica. 
  This 
  species 
  is 
  evidently 
  a 
  close 
  

   relative 
  of 
  mertensii, 
  the 
  only 
  difference 
  being 
  that 
  the 
  small 
  tentacles 
  

   of 
  the 
  single 
  specimen 
  lack 
  ocelli, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  desirable 
  that 
  more 
  

   extensive 
  material 
  oi 
  falklandica 
  be 
  studied 
  to 
  show 
  whether, 
  as 
  Mayer 
  

   suggests, 
  the 
  small 
  (young) 
  tentacles 
  might 
  develop 
  ocelli 
  later. 
  

   Hardly 
  any 
  species 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  more 
  of 
  a 
  surprise 
  in 
  the 
  Tropics, 
  

   because 
  many 
  years' 
  observations 
  have 
  shown 
  that 
  Staurophora 
  is 
  

   hmited 
  to 
  cold 
  waters 
  in 
  its 
  distribution 
  along 
  the 
  American 
  and 
  

   European 
  coasts 
  of 
  the 
  north 
  Atlantic. 
  But 
  Vanhoffen 
  had 
  North 
  

   Sea 
  specimens 
  at 
  hand 
  for 
  comparison. 
  

  

  STAUROPHORA 
  MERTENSII 
  Brandt. 
  

  

  Staurophora 
  mertensii 
  Brandt, 
  1838, 
  p. 
  400, 
  pis. 
  24, 
  25. 
  

   Staurophora 
  ladniata 
  L. 
  Agassiz, 
  1849, 
  p. 
  300, 
  pi. 
  7, 
  figs. 
  1-15. 
  

   Staurostoma 
  arctica 
  Haeckel, 
  1879, 
  p. 
  149. 
  

   (For 
  further 
  synonymy, 
  and 
  a 
  full 
  discussion 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  and 
  species, 
  see 
  Mayer, 
  

   1910, 
  p. 
  291.) 
  

  

  Dutch 
  Harbor, 
  May 
  25, 
  surface; 
  4 
  young 
  specimens, 
  8-15 
  mm. 
  in 
  

   diameter. 
  

  

  