336 STRUCTURE OF A MEDUSA. 



rally terminates, as in the present case, in four ex- 

 panded fleshy lips, extremely flexible and versatile, 

 and capable of seizing prey, which is transferred to a 

 stomach situated in the interior of the peduncle. 



From the base of this hanging stomach, four slender 

 vessels diverge at so many right angles, and passing 

 across the surface of the sub-umbrella, proceed to its 

 margin, where they communicate with another vessel, 

 that runs completely round the edge. The circulation 

 of a nutrient fluid can be very distinctly traced in all 

 these canals. 



The four radiating vessels are bordered in the out- 

 ward half of their course by the ovaries, which in this 

 species are narrow and linear, but are more or less 

 conspicuous according to their degree of development. 

 In a specimen now before me, these ovaries are full 

 of clear globose ova with central nuclei ; they are of 

 various sizes, some being so large as to bulge out the 

 side of the ovary. 



The sides of the marginal canal are thick and 

 granular, and give rise to a number of bulbous pro- 

 cesses, composed apparently of the same substance, 

 and running ofi" into slender thread-like tentacles very 

 flexible, extensile, and contractile. The bulbous bases 

 frequently contain highly- coloured masses of matter, 

 which are considered by Prof. Forbes and others as 

 rudimentary eyes. In the species before us, these 

 spots are crescent- shaped, and of a deep purple hue, 

 forming a conspicuous circle of specks around the 

 margin, even to the naked eye. In general the ten- 

 tacles, whether many or few, are all of the same kind; 

 but in this species there are several (from four to 



