MEDUS/E, VELELL.E, AND PORPIT.E. 36l 



body ; at the top, in the middle, it runs out in a 

 small point, and is entirely surrounded by a narrow 

 (probably muscular) skin, in such a manner, how- 

 ever, that it does not cover the point of the sail ; 

 beneath, this skin does not attach itself to the 

 body, but remains free. On the under-superficies 

 of the body, there is in the middle a large stomach, 

 in the form of a bottle, which is surrounded by in- 

 numerable smaller stomachs, as far as the elliptic 

 gristly mass extends. The whole border of this 

 gristle is covered with pretty long thin tetitacuia, 

 which, where the gristle lies near to the edge of 

 the body, project from under it. 



The large middle stomach (which is always 

 considered as the only one, by authors) seems to 

 swallow very small animals, as we sometimes found 

 it filled with remnants of them ; the smaller 

 stomachs can only suck in their booty. They are 

 generally white, with blue dots on the basis. 



The descriptions given by most authors are 

 suited only to the genus, but are nowise adapted 

 to distinguish the species from one another. The 

 same may be said of the four descriptions in La- 

 marck, Histoire Nat. des Animaux sans Vertebres, 

 t. ii. p. 480. Among those seen by us, four species 

 may be distinguished : 



A. The gristly shell (when you turn the longest 

 side of the body towards you) extends from the 

 front angle of the right side of the body to the 

 back angle, of the left bide, 



