32 ANTHOZOA IIYItROIDA. 



same genus by Miiller, who, at a subsequent period, figured and de- 

 scribed it with an elegance and accuracy which almost defies compe- 

 tition. It seems to have been a favourite with him : " Animalium, 

 quse Zoophyta dicuntur, nullum elegantius, observatorique magis 

 oratum esse potest." There can be no doubt, however, that the 

 opinion of Pallas, in regard of its affinities, is more correct than that 

 of Forskal and Miiller ; and had the present fashion of subdividing 

 natural families into genera on characters of secondary value been 

 then in vogue, undoubtedly the easy task of distinguishing, by a 

 name, this naked zoophyte from the sheathed Tubularia would not 

 have been left to any of his successors. 



2. HYDRACTINIA,"* Van Beneden. 



CHARACTER. Polypes naked, gregarious, united on a common 

 crustaceous base ; tentacula in one subalternating circle ; eggs 

 or lulbules sessile, clustered, on untentaculated individuals. 



According to Van Beneden, this genus is synonymous with 

 the Dysmorphosa of Philippi, the Synhydra of Quatrefages, 

 the CordylopTiora of Allman, and the Echinochorium 

 Hassall. (Arm. Nat. Hist. xv. p. 248 ; Bull, de Y Acad. Boy. 

 de Brux. xii. No. 2.) In referring Cordylophora to it, Van 

 Beneden is obviously wrong, as he himself seems latterly to 

 have suspected. (Bull. sup. cit. p. 14.) Of the sameness of 

 Synhydra with Echinochorium there can be no doubt ; but 

 Mons. de Quatrefages maintains that the genus Synhydra is 

 not only different from Hydractinia, but from all the genera 

 with which Van Beneden has associated it. After an atten- 

 tive perusal of the friendly discussion which has passed be- 

 tween these naturalists, the correctness of Van Beneden's 

 conclusions appears to me to have been proved. Whether the 

 name Hydractinia or Echinochorium has the prior claim for 

 adoption I cannot ascertain positively. Both were published 

 in 1841. I have preferred the nomenclature of Van Beneden, 



* A compound of Hydra and Actinia. The character given to the genus by Van 

 Beneden is : " Polypes nus ; les tentacules formant un seul verticille ; les ceufs 

 sessiles en grappe, situes a la hauteur des tentaciiles. Tous les individus voisins ' 

 sont unis entre eux et forment une couche. Point de polypier." Rech. surl'Em- 

 bryog. des Tubulaires, p. 62. 



