to British Actinology. 83 



of this genus by the towiiig-net, in Ballycastle Bay and at 

 Port Rush, and afterwards, during the same summer, found it 

 on the other side of Britain, at the mouth of the Frith of 

 Forth. My animal is larger, and differs in several particu- 

 lars from that described by Brandt and by Lesson, and I 

 regard it as a new species. In form it is almost globular, and 

 it measures an inch in length. The central cavity is oblongo- 

 quadrate, and occupies about one-half of the globular um- 

 brella. At its summit interiorly are seen four stomachal ap- 

 pendages, placed at right angles to each other so as to form a 

 cross. They are equal in size, of a yellow colour, squared 

 above, rounded below, and oblong. At their lower or oral 

 extremity are seen four slender white arms, which dichoto- 

 mously divide into numerous tentacula with globular tips. 

 These arms are very extensile, but are never sent from out the 

 cavity. From each of the four oral appendages or alee runs 

 a translucent canal to one of the four fascicles of the ten- 

 tacula, one of which is seen at each angle of the quadrate 

 ca\4tary opening. These tentacula are very curious. They 

 are highly contractile, and spring from little arches of a glan- 

 dular appearance and a red colour, which form the bases of 

 the fascicles, and into which the four canals run. On mag- 

 nifying one of these arches, we find it to consist of two parts, 

 one (the upper) red, the lower white, and each of these to 

 consist of a great number of tubercles, which form the roots 

 of the tentacula. On each tubercle is a minute black ocular 

 dot. The tentacula are not all extended at the same time ; 

 very often one, two or three only are sent out, but there ap- 

 pear to be more than a dozen pairs of tubercles in each arch. 

 Between the arches the margins of the cavity are straight, and 

 furnished with a semicircular lip or valve. The outer surface 

 of the body is smooth, and the appearance of the creature is 

 that of a crystal bubble, with four red dots round a square 

 opening, and a central yellow nucleus, having branched threads 

 suspended from it. 



Sars, in his ' Beskrivelser,' &c. has figured and described a 

 minute Medusa under the name of " Cytceis ? octopunctata" 

 which evidently belongs to the same group w^th the above. 

 The known species of Hippocrene may be summed up as fol- 

 lows : — 



H. Bugainvillii, Brandt. (See figure in Petersburgh Ti'ans- 

 actions for 1838.) Stomachal appendages as long as the 

 proboscis, eight, the four larger ones oblong, yellow, with 

 red centres. Tentaculiferous glands four, red and yel- 

 low, with pink tentacula. Umbrella in part pilose. 

 North Pacific. 



G2 



