120 Rev. T. Hincks on Prof. Heller's Catalogue 



(Cavolini)j a form wliicli cannot be separated from Plumularia 

 (mihi) ; while Costa (' Fauna di Napoli ') seems to have ap- 

 plied it to the whole group. As it seems to me, it must either 

 be retained for the ^j>/«ma-section or abandoned altogether ; 

 and in the interests of scientific order I should adopt the latter 

 course. 



Under the genus Anisocalyx Heller records five species as 

 found in the Adriatic ; to these may be added the two which 

 he has relegated to his new genus Heteropyxis^ and also Plu- 

 mularia frutescens, which he has wrongly associated with the 

 P. pluma section. Of these eight species, four are regarded as 

 new ; they are distinguished from one anotlier and from pre- 

 viously known forms chiefly by minute differences in the cha- 

 racter of the internodes and the disposition of the nemato- 

 phores. A. hifrons^ Heller, comes very near P. setacea^ Ellis, 

 the chief difference being that in the former two pinnte spring 

 from each division of the stem, in the latter only one. A 

 single nematophore also is mentioned as occurring in A. M- 

 ■frons above the calycle, whereas in the allied form there are 

 two. The gonotheca is said to be oval or pyriform. The 

 Anisocalyx {Plumularia) setaceus of the Catalogue does not 

 appear to be identical with the British species of this name : 

 it has only a single nematophore, which is described as "a 

 rudimentary cell in the form of a small projecting denticle " 

 placed in the middle behind the calycle, whereas the true P. 

 setacea has two bithalamic nematophores above the calycle, 

 one below it, and one on the intermediate joint. The gono- 

 theca, too, is said to be " elliptical and smooth," which would 

 certainly not be a satisfactory description of the elegant, flask- 

 shaped capsule of P. setacea. If I am right in conjecturing 

 that the Adriatic is distinct from the British form, I would 

 propose for the former the name of P. Helleri. 



Another of Heller's new species is the A, jyinnatifrons^ 

 which, judging from the diagnosis, comes very near the last. 

 The A. diaphanus is more strongly marked, and is charac- 

 terized by an ample development of nematophores, both on 

 stem and branches. Of the two species of Heteropyxis re- 

 corded, one has the pinnge opposite, the other alternate ; in all 

 other points they seem to agree. As I have said before, 

 these forms have no claim to be separated from Plmmdaria 

 (mihi). 



One other ^T^toi^B oi Anisocalyx {Plumularia) is included 

 in the Catalogue, A. secundarius, which is identified with the 

 Sertularia secundaria of Cavolini. As I have stated in my 

 '■ History of the British Hydroida,' there can be little doubt 

 that this curious form is only a stemless variety of Plum. 

 Catharina (Jolmston) or some kindred species. 



