Mr. A. H. HassalVs Catalogue of Irish Zoophytes. 365 



zoophyte \vhich I thought might be Langenella repens. I have given 

 a figure of it in order to avoid any error. 



I have recently met with a single specimen of a species of Boio- 

 erbufikia, or, perhaps, I should rather say, of Valkeria, differing 

 both from B. densa and V. hnbricata, but in some measure uniting 

 the characters of each. The polypi have only eight tentacula, and 

 the cells are nearly as large as those of Boxccrbankia densa, but are 

 of a different shape, the upper half of the cells being much narrower 

 than the lower. See Plate VIII. fig. 4. 



Pedicellina, Sars. 



Corpora gelatinosa, nuda, pedicellata, clavata, in surculo tereti re- 

 pente verticalia. Clava oblonga, compressa varie dilatabilis, 

 supra serie tentaculorum coronata. Tentacula cylindrica cir- 

 rata. Os et anus vicina in extremitate superiore excavata. 

 Pedicel! ina echinata, pedicellis echinatis. 



The above are the characters of a very curious and remarkable 

 zoophyte, imperfectly figured and described, first by Ellis and 

 subsequently by Lister, and of which mention is also made by 

 Fleming under the name of Hydra coronata. When in Belfast a 

 short time since, among other works which Mr. Thompson was 

 kind enough to procure for my examination was a copy of Sars's 

 ' Beskrivelser over Polyp.,' &c., published, I believe, in 1835 ; on 

 looking over which I discovered a figure and description of this 

 but little known species under the name of Pedicellina ; which 

 name, as well as Sars's generic and specific characters, I have 

 adopted. Sars has described a second species belonging to the 

 genus Pedicellina, distinguished from the former by the foot-stalk 

 being destitute of hairs. This species I have not met with. To 

 Ellis is due, I believe, the credit cf having first noticed the species 

 of which I am about to give a detailed account. 



Before meeting with Sars's work, I had ventured to change Fle- 

 ming's decidedly incorrect generic appellation of Hydra, and to sub- 

 stitute in its place that of Cardua, retaining the specific term. I 

 was induced to confer this name upon it from the great resemblance 

 which the polypes of this zoophyte bear to the heads of thistles, 

 and this resemblance is strengthened by the presence of hairs upon 

 their surface. A descending gullet, stomach, and ascending rectum, 

 are distinctly visible. Just above the stomach and apparently con- 

 nected with it, a yellow body may be noticed : this is in all pn)ba- 

 bility a liver ; it is not a gizzard, as no food was seen to pass into 

 it, although I was able to trace its passage in its whole course along 

 the intestinal canal. Above this yellow body a dark, ill-defined 

 mass is seen, the nature of which I am not able to determine. The 

 tentacula are about ^rd the length of the head of the polypus, and are 

 about sixteen in number, tuberculated, and thickly ciliated, as is 

 also the interior of the whole line of the alimentary canal. Near 

 the junction of the stomach and ascending rectum, and contained 

 within them, a small dark body may often be observed in active ro- 

 tatory movement ; the nature of the body, which has been noticed 

 ia some other zoophytes, and the cause of its motion, have not, I 



