belonging to the Family Laodiceidffi. 467 



report on the * Siboga' medusa?. Maas believes his specimens 

 to be either identical with^ or closely related to, Laodice 

 fijiana of Agassiz and Mayer. If not identical, he suggests 

 that they should be regarded as a variety under the name of 

 indica. In describing the specimens Maas took the oppor- 

 tunity to criticize tlie genus Laodice and its allies. His is an 

 excellent criticism, and after I had independently investi- 

 gated the literature on the species I was pleased to find myself 

 in agreement with liim. 



Laodice Maasii is twice to three times the size o^ L. fijiana, 

 with more than twice the number of tentacles, and with many 

 more cordyli. The gonads extend much further along the 

 radial canals. Both species are provided with ocelli on about 

 two thirds of the basal bulbs of the tentacles. Taking the 

 above characters alone there is no reason for not imagining 

 the smaller L. fijiana growing to a larger size and possessing 

 more tentacles, more cordyli, and longer gonads. Then it 

 would resemble L. Maasii. The medusa figured by Agassiz 

 and Mayer does not look at all like Maas's medusa. The 

 gonads of L. fijiana are adjacent to the stomach and on 

 conspicuous diverticula of ths radial canals, whereas in Maas's 

 medusa the diverticuha are not visible in the figures, though 

 the author states that there are outgrowths along the radial 

 canals. It is a question of degree between a slight outgrowth 

 and a conspicuous one. There is, however, one character by 

 which the two species can be distinguished. ]\laas figures 

 and describes the tentacles with basal spurs, which are not 

 present in L. fijiana. 



Distribution. East Indian Archipelago. 



Laodice fijiana, Agassiz and Mayer, 1891), p. 163, pi. iii. 

 figs. 9-10. 



This species has a very fevv cordyli ; only about eight are 

 present, though the tentacles number about seventy. Cirri 

 absent. Tentacles without a basal spur. The gonads are 

 upon short lateral diverticula of the radial canals. The 

 scarcity of cordyli and the presence of conspicuous diverticula 

 on the radial canals carrying the gonads appear to be the 

 principal characters of this species. 



Distribution. Pacific Ocean, Fiji. 



The following species are excluded from tiie genus 

 Laodice : — 



Laodice cruciata, Hseckel, 1879. 



I think it would be a distinct advantage if this specific 



