THE HYDROID ZOOPHYTES COLLECTED BY DR WILLEY IN 



THE SOUTHERN SEAS. 



By LAURA ROSCOE THORNELY, 



University College, Liverpool. 



With Plate XLIV. 



The Hydroids in this collection, though many of them are broken from their 

 colonies in a tantalizing way, were evidently so full of life when gathered, and are 

 so beautifully preserved, that to the smallest details they have been interesting to 

 examine. Of two or three species, as I have noted uuder the descriptions of them, 

 there are considerable quantities; of others, few, but complete, colonies; and of 

 several too little to allow me to do more than identify the genus to which they 

 belong. Of these last there is a Gryptolaria, probably C. pulchella Allman, a 

 Eudendrium, a Lafoea, two Thuiarians, an Ophiodes, and a Sertularella, probably 

 S. angulosa. 



I am much indebted to Dr Willey for trusting me with his specimens, and I should 

 like to offer my very best thanks to Professor Herdman, D.Sc, F.R.S., for his very 

 great help with advice and with books. 



Family. Atractylid^, Hincks. 



Genus. Hydranthea, Hincks. 



Hydranthea australis, n. sp. 



There are several little colonies of this species creeping over other zoophytes. 

 The stem is very short, enclosed at the base in little cup-like extensions of the 

 polypary, as in Hydranthea margarica, Hincks', which also has numerous tentacles 

 in a single verticil and large gonophores like this species. The tubercles of thread 

 cells at the base of the tentacles, and the four branched vessels in the gonophore, 

 characteristics of Hydranthea, are not visible in these specimens, but the whole appear- 

 ance points to the species being of this genus and closely related to H. vmrgarica. 



1 British Ilydroid Zoophytes, 1808, p. 100. 



