helonging to the Family Laodiceida\ 461 



assuredly distinct from the stomach-lobes. The stomach is 

 rather large and quadrangularly campaiiulate, rose-coloured, 

 and slightly fimbriated at the margins." The umbrella is 

 hemispherical, about 1^ inches (38 mm.) in diameter. Tiie 

 tentacles are about ItiO in number. Tiie autiiors do not 

 mention or figure cirri, which should have been present in the 

 specimens. 



The Laodice which I have found on the British coasts I 

 called Laodice c<ilcarata, and used the name before I had 

 seen the paper by Forbes and Goodsir. Otherwise I should 

 have no doubt called the British form Laodice undulata. 

 The fact that Forbes and Goodsir mention the presence of 

 one " pedunculated tubercle " between every two tentacles, 

 by which they evidently mean a cordylus, shows, I tiiink, 

 clearly tiiat they had found a Laodice^ and, so far as I know, 

 there is ordy one species of Laodice on the British coasts. 



Forbes and Goodsir say nothing whatever about cirri, 

 which they would have seen if the living specimens had 

 been caretully examined. In preserved specimens cirri are 

 sometimes scarce and also the cordyli, as these organs 

 are rather fragile. In the second species, Thaumantias 

 conjluens, the figure of the margin of the umbrella does show 

 two or three projections between the tentacles. They may 

 possibly represent the bases of broken otf cirri and a cord3'lus. 

 The authors state that this species has also pedunculated 

 tubercles. 



To Gegenbaur the credit must be given for the first 

 adequate description witli good figures of a Laodice when he 

 described T haumaniias inediterranea, 1856. 



It is futile to consider Medusa cruciata of Forskal, 1775, as 

 a Laodice, because the essential character of the family is not 

 mentioned or figured, llieckel, moreover, has caused utter 

 confiLsion by placing several species clearly belonging to 

 other genera as synonyms of Laodice cruciata. Tije law of 

 priority is carried too far when it is extended to species 

 which have never been either described or figured, so as to 

 indicate tlie character of the family or genus. 



In the above list of references tliere are six distinct specific 

 names ; three ot them may be safely regarded as synonyms. 

 I have made several endeavours to find a single character or 

 combinations of characters whereby the remaining three 

 species — L. undulata, L. calcarafu, and L. ulothrix — could be 

 distinguished from each other and readily recognized. When 

 the descriptions and figures of these species have been 

 analyzed one finds that new figures, with more detailed 

 descriptions based upon more specimens, are needed. It i* 



