LAODICEA. 



127 



LAODICEA Less. 



Laodicea Less. Zooph. Acal., p. 294. 1843. 

 Laodicea Agass. Cont. Nat. Hist. U. S., IV. p. 350. 1862. 

 Cosmetim Fokbes. Brit. Naked-eyed Medusa, p. 42. 1848. 

 Thaumantias Gegenb. (non Eseh.) ; in Zeit. f. W. Zool., p. 237. 1856. 



Laodicea cellularia A. Agass. 



Laodicea cellularia A. Agass. ; in Agassiz's Cont. Nat. Hist. U. S., IV. p. 350. 1862. 



I am somewhat doubtful whether this species (Fig. 195) belongs to 

 the genus Laodicea, as the examination of the tentacles could not be 

 made sufl&ciently accurate to determine this point. The general form 



of the ovaries, however, is the same, beginning at the digestive cavity, 

 and running in the form of small hanging lobes along the chymiferous 

 tubes, close to the circular tube. The digestive cavity is so short that 

 the edge, which extends in the shape of four long, narrow lips, deeply 

 frilled (Fig. 196), seems the continuation of the chymiferous tubes, 

 reminding us somewhat of the structure of the actinostome of the 

 ^quoridge, as in Stomobrachium. The epithehal cells are large, irreg- 

 ular, and hexagonal, and can easily be seen with the naked eye. The 

 color of the spherosome is hght violet, the ovaries and digestive cavity 

 being of a darker color, and the base of the circular tentacles of a still 

 stronger shade. There are about twenty-four tentacles between each 

 of the four chymiferous tubes, and a tentacle opposite each tube. Found 

 in the Gulf of Georgia and at Port Townsend, from July to September. 



Gulf of Georgia, W. T. (A. Agassiz). 



Cat. No. 270, Gulf of Georgia, W. T., 1859, A. Agassiz. Medusa. 



Fig. 195. Laodicea cellularia. 



Pig. 196. One of the lips of the actinostome. c, c, c, c, termination of the chymiferous tubes 

 into the digestive cavity, (/ ; I, fold of the actinostome connecting the lips of the actinostome. 



