THRE ANNALS 
AND 
MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
No. 106. NOVEMBER 1845. 
XXXI.—Anatomical and Physiological Observations on Sagitta 
bipunctata. By M. A. Kroun*. 
{ With a Plate. ] 
Tux Sagitta bipunctata was first observed by MM. Quoy and 
Gaimard in the Straits of Gibraltar, at the commencement of 
their second voyage round the world}. Since that time the fauna 
of the Mediterranean Sea has been often explored and described 
by German and French naturalists ; but, to my knowledge, none 
of these observers has again noticed this remarkable animal. It 
is extraordinary therefore, that last autumn and winter, during 
my stay at Messina, such a considerable number of these animals 
were to be met with, that I was sure, whenever the sea was calm, 
to perceive several carried along by the currents which prevail in 
those latitudes. This favourable circumstance enabled me very 
thoroughly to examine this animal, whose structure is still little 
known by zoologists. 
The rapid sketch of the form and external parts of the Sagitta, 
given by MM. Quoy and Gaimard, was made from a young spe- 
cimen four to five lines long. It is very conceivable that, from 
the small size of this specimen, several of its most important 
parts should have escaped the observers, and that they should 
have had but a vague apprehension of some other organs. 
The body of the Sagitta is transparent as crystal, cylindrical, 
* Translated from the Annales des Sciences Naturelles for Feb. 1845. 
¢ Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Ist series, t. x. p. 232. I may also 
state here, that I am obliged to the kindness of Prof. Eschricht for the in- 
formation that Mr. Scoresby met with an animal in the Arctic zone which 
has great analogy with the S. bipunctata, and which he has figured in his 
work (Account of the Arctic Regions, t. ii. pl. 16. fig. | & 2.). The reader 
will learn with pleasure that the researches of M. Eschricht on the Sagitta 
of the North, made in company with MM. Lovén and Kréyer, are soon to be 
published. 
Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Vol. xvi. % 
