530 VESICULARIID.E. 



Form t Inni/iild. With the peduncle as long as the cell, or 



longer. 

 Polypide with 10-16 tentacles; 12 I have found to be the 



usual complement. 



WE can hardly, I think, regard the difference in the 

 length of the peduncular portion of the cell in the two 

 forms (repens and elongata} as more than varietal, as they 

 seem to agree in all other respects. The usual number of 

 the tentacles in both is twelve ; but there are slight irre- 

 gularities. 



As to the distribution of the species, it is somewhat 

 peculiar that the elongata form, which is too remarkable 

 readily to escape observation, has only been noticed on 

 certain portions of the Lancashire coast, where it occurs 

 in amazing profusion, investing all kinds of marine sub- 

 stances. For the form repens we have only one or two 

 British localities ; but it may be more easily overlooked 

 or confounded, on slight examination, with Bowerbankia. 



From the extreme tenuity and transparency of the 

 cctocyst, the internal structure can be studied to the 

 greatest possible advantage in this species. It forms the 

 subject of an admirable memoir by Van Beneden. 



HABITAT. Carapace of crabs, shells, Algae, Hydroids, 

 &c. 



LOCALITIES. Isle of Sheppey, not very common (Farre) : 

 Strangford Lough, on Algae (W. T.). 



Form elongata. Fleetwood, on a buoy; Lytham, ex- 

 tremely abundant (T. H.). 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Ostend, very common, 

 especially on Sertularia, Tnbularia, and Fluslra (Van 

 Beneden) : Caspian Sea (Grimm). 



Form elongata. Ostend, on the carapace of the common 

 crab (Van Beneden). 



