British Hydrozoa, Actinozoa, and Polyzoa. 87 
in the narrow slit of L. divisa. There are other differences, but 
of minor importance, between the two species. 
Lepralia polita. Pl. XI. fig. 1 
L. cellulis ovatis, tumidis, suberectis, irregulariter dispositis, aliquan- 
tum sejunctis ; superficie levi, nitida; orificio semicirculari labio 
inferiore recto, superiore quatuor vel quinque spinis evanescentibus 
brevibus armato; peristomate plerumque ad latus utrumque in 
processum parvum elevato; ovicellula globosa, tumidissima, re- 
cumbente, polita. 
The living polyzoary is pinkish. The cells are oval, very 
tumid, irregularly disposed, and a little elevated anteriorly. 
Their surface is nearly smooth, and highly polished. The semi- 
circular mouth has the lower lip straight, and the upper armed 
with four or five short spines, which however are very rarely 
present. On each side of the mouth the peristome is raised into 
an elevated shoulder-like process, against the base of which the 
ovicell, when present, rests. The ovicell is globose, tumid, and 
glossy, and leans backward off the mouth. 
In small patches on shells and stones, dredged in 70-100 
fathoms off Shetland. 
Lepralia microstoma, n. sp. Pl. XI. fig. 2. 
L. cellulis lageniformibus, superne liberis, elevatis, sejunctis, in stra- 
to punctato dispositis; superficie subtiliter granulosa; orificio 
contracto, peristomate producto, labio inferiore evexo, superiore 
ad apicem centralem assurgente ; ovicellula globosa, tumidissima, 
recumbente, subtiliter granulosa. 
The polyzoary in Lepralia microstoma frequently shows a ten- 
dency to assume an irregular outline ; and processes, three or four 
cells wide, branch out here and there. In shape the cells are 
flask-like, very tumid, and gradually contracted above into a 
narrow neck. They are arranged without any order, and rise 
from a punctured crust, which fills up any interstices between 
the cells; their upper portion is much raised and quite free, so 
that the cells have a semierect position. The surface of both 
cells and ovicells is minutely granular. The mouth is very 
small, situated as it were on the top of the produced cell, and 
opening upwards. The peristome is much raised on the lower 
margin, forming a pouting lip, and on the upper rising to a 
central point. The ovicells are globose and very tumid, and 
have a backward inclination. 
Encrusting small stones dredged in 80-100 fathoms in the 
Shetland Sea, about 20 miles north of Unst. 
The general form of the cells and the manner of growth of 
the polyzoary of this species remind us of L. simplex; but the 
two species differ widely in all their details. 
