1879.] PROF. J. R. GREENE ON A RARE MEDUSA. 799 



One cannot but regard the family of Brandtid* as doubtful. 

 Was not Brandt right in constituting his Dodecabostrycha 1 a sub- 

 genus of ChrysaoraJ It differs from the latter, and resembles the 

 C/iarybdeidce, chiefly in so far as it is quadripartite. The eenus 

 Quoyia- ,s very obscure. As to the two other families of Agassiz it 

 seems inconvenient to revive Lesson's nomenclature. Fritz Miiller 

 is certainly right in retaining the generic name Charybdea for the 

 first-discovered species of the group. In this he has the support of 

 his predecessors (including Peron himself) as well as of most later 



true that Peron regarded his own species 3 , and not that of Plancus 

 as the type of his genus. In so doubtful a case the free action of 

 the law of priority in nomenclature is certainly impeded. A-assiz 

 and Haeckel are the only two zoologists who have given the r 

 sanction to Lesson's innovations. They have by so doin* tended to 

 promote confusion, and unnecessarily opposed themselve°s to a lar-e 



skce^irr 7 f th % h T hr r en ' AS t0 the S CUUS ™ropsaS, 

 since Glaus has shown T. haplonema to be a true Charybdea it 

 becomes a synonym of Tamoya proper. y ' 



Gegenbaur's family is adopted by myself*, by Victor Cams 5 , and 

 at a later period by Schmarda 6 . ' 



™S "£% in f le " er t0 Alexande r AgassizT, considers it highly 

 probable that Trachynema may be the young of Tamoya. Subsequent 

 researches of Mecznikow 8 show this view not to be tenable * 



Haeckel, in 1866 9 , adopted Lesson's two families, Charybdeid* 

 and Marsujnahdce, as revised by Agassiz. He associated fhernlu 

 one order Masmorchida, under his subclass of Trachymedusa 10 



Haeckel is about to issue a great work on the Medusa in the (post- 

 poned) first volume of the new < Jenaische Denkschriften.' Mean- 

 while he has published his " System of the Medusae" ». Of this zroun 

 he recognizes two primary divisions, the second of which includes 

 Uegenbaur s Acraspeda together with the Lucernarice. These last 

 make one order {Scyphomedusa), while the Phanerocarpcs of Esch- 

 scholtz constitute another (Discomedusce) . Between Xcypho- and 



1 See Brandt, in 'Memoires de l'Acad. Imp. des Sc. de St -Petersbou™ ' h„ 

 senders abgedruckt, p. 384, and Taf. xxix, xxx (1838) r6ter soourg, be- 



figure.° mPare th6 remai ' kS ° f AgaS8lZ (C ° ntr - iv - ?• "»£ and ™^ the original 

 ■ This singular and but little understood form undoubtedly constitutes a di 

 stmctgenus for wfoch Fritz Miiller's name is the best. 4e 8 pS milt" 

 henceforth be cited zsPeriphylla peronii (or P. charybdeoidel) P ght 



Natural-History Eeview, July, 1863, p. 350 and context. 

 8 Handbueh der Zoologie, ii. p. 548 (1863) 

 6 Zoologie, i. p. 232 (1871). 



8 w. UStra £ d Catal °g ue ? f ^e North-American Acalepb*. p. 55 (1865) 



8 Whose Eussian memoir I have not seen T w f«, ii,„ e *>»yor>o). 

 •Beriohf for 1870-71, p. 163 (1874 therefore, to Leuckart's 



9 GenereUe Morphologie der Organismen, Bd. ii. p. li x 



Equivalent to Haplostomeas with Traehynemida of Alex. Agassiz 

 11 Sitzungsbenchte der Jenaischen Gesellscnaft fiir Medicin nnrfN ,',™' 

 schaft, fur das Jahr 1878. Published in 1879. HaeSel's ^System » w a T D " 

 municated <»■ 26th July (pp. Ixxriii-hxx). ■ aaec£ei8 ^stem was com- 



