246 ZOOLOGY. [Part IL 



Acalephce. — Acalepliee' are plentiful, so much so, 

 indeed, that they occasionally tempt the larger cetacea 

 into the Gulf of Manaar. In the calmer months of the 

 year, when the sea is glassy, and for hours together 

 undisturbed by a ripple, the minute descriptions are 

 rendered perceptible by their beautiful prismatic tint- 

 ing. So great is then- transparency that they are only 

 to be disthiguished from the water by the return of 

 the reflected hght that glances from their dehcate and 

 polished surfaces. Less frequently they are traced by 

 the faint hues of their tiny peduncles, arms, or ten- 

 tacula3 ; and it has been well observed that they often 

 give the seas in which they abound the appearance of 

 being crowded with flakes of half-melted snow. The 

 larger Idnds, when undisturbed in their native haunts, 

 attain to considerable size. A faintly blue medusa, 

 nearly a foot across, may be seen in the Gulf of Manaar, 

 where, no doubt, others of still larger growth are to be 

 found. 



The remaining orders, including the corals, madrepores, 

 and other polypi, have yet to find a naturahst to under- 

 take their investigation, but in all probabihty the species 

 are not veiy numerous. 



' Jellyfish. 



