Chap. III. THE SPECIES OF CYANEA. 119 



ively, two bunches in the intervals between two eyes. Tiie genital pouches are 

 so large that they conceal nearly the whole actiuostome, with the exception of 

 its central peduncle, which projects like a siphon, at the extremity of which are 

 a number of slender tentacles. 



Pelagia proper has no other affinity with Cyanea, except the pouch-like arrange- 

 ment of the radial prolongations of the chymiferous system ; but among the species 

 thus far referred to Chrysaora there are those, the actinostome of which is so 

 largely developed, that it bears a close resemblance to the flowing curtains of the 

 genus Cyanea. The tentacles, also, are sometimes so numerous and so long, that 

 they assume the appearance of those of certain Cyaneidse, but their mode of inser- 

 tion is always different. In all the members of the family of the Pelagidaj, 

 whether true Pelagia or Chrysaora, or the different genera which it is necessary 

 to distinguish from Chrysaora, they invariably arise from the indentations sepa- 

 rating the lobes of the margin of the disk, and not from the lower surface of 

 the lower floor, as in the Cyaneidae. 



SECTION VIII. 



THE SPECIES OF CYANEA COMPARED WITH ONE ANOTHER. 



Though I have had opportunities of examining three species of the genus Cya- 

 nea alive, in their natural element, and of studying them carefully, I have never 

 had an opportunity of comparing them, side by side, with one another, as the 

 period of their appearance along our coast occurs in different seasons of the year. 

 Cyanea arctica begins to show itself in numbers towards the end of the summer, 

 Cyanea fulva in midsummer, and Cyanea versicolor in the spring. Moreover, Cya- 

 nea arctica is common north of Cape Cod, and eastward along the coast of Maine, 

 New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and further northwards; while Cyanea fulva extends 

 south of Cape Cod, and is most common in Long Island Sound, and Cyanea versi- 

 color on the coast of South Carolina. These species are readily distinguished from 

 one another by their color. The disk of C. arctica is of a bright purplish red, 

 deeper over the space occupied by the central cavity and along the margin of 

 the wide tentacular pouches, while the margin is of a whitish color, with a light 

 tinge of grayish blue. The genital pouches are yellowish, especially bright along 

 the edges of their folds. The tentacles vary in color, from yellow orange to 

 reddish brown and deep purple. The flowing curtains are of a chocolate-brown 

 color. Cyanea fulva has a general tinge of cinnamon color, darker about the 

 centre of the main cavity, and much lighter along the margin of the disk, though 



