JELLY FISHES VARIETY AND BEAUTY. Ill 



of light is seen to gleam for a moment, and to vanish as 

 suddenly as it appeared. Presently an opalescent spot 

 shows itself and disappears. As the eye becomes more 

 trained to take cognisance of these watery phantoms, 

 they assume shape, and a certain amount of outline soon 

 becomes visible. The many-coloured patches are then 

 found to be the bodies of the imprisoned beings, and the 

 streaks of light resolve themselves into threads as fine as 

 those of a spider's web, floating in the water, and some- 

 times connecting a row of transparent globules strung 

 together like pearls on a thread. 



One of these inexpressibly beautiful creatures is indi- 

 cated at Fig. 1. It is called in scientific language Playa 

 diphyes, but I am not aware that it has any popular name. 

 Indeed, like many other beautiful members of creation, 

 it is so seldom seen that it could scarcely possess a popular 

 name. 



The word Diphyes is formed from the Greek, and 

 signifies "double form." The name was given by Cuvier 

 on account of the remarkable structure of the body, 

 which looks like two distinct bodies slightly joined 

 together. In later years, however, these double-bodied 

 Jelly Fishes have been the objects of careful examination, 

 and it is found that their swimming-cups or bells (necto- 

 calyces) form part of a most complicated structure. They 

 pulsate regularly, and with such force that the animals 

 traverse the water with some rapidity, their long, slender 

 filaments trailing after them much as the tail of a comet 

 follows the head. 



