192 THE MEDUSAE. 



Dendroclavinae. 



Dendroclavidae Vanhoffen ('89); Delage et Herouard (:01). 



Cytaeidae with the labial nettle swellings sessile ; with more or less pro- 

 nounced peduncle composed of chordate entoderm cells. 



The best known genus of this subfamily is Turritopsis, a representative 

 of which, T. nutricula McCrady, is common along the east coast of North 

 America, and has been described in great detail by Brooks ('86). 



Other forms, allied to Turritopsis, but generically separable from it on 

 the one hand by a less pronounced development of the peculiar peduncle 

 and on the other by greater complexity of the labial nematocyst knobs, 

 have recently been described by Mayer (: 00 a ) and by Broch (: 05) as species 

 of Limnorea Peron et Lesueur. Whether or not these forms are actually 

 congeneric with the L. iriedra of Peron et Lesueur is extremely doubtful, 

 for the description of the latter is most unsatisfactory, while the figure by 

 Lesueur (published by Milne Edwards '49) is so evidently distorted as 

 regards manubrium and mouth-arms that any identification of it with actual 

 specimens is apparently out of the question. 



Very recently Brooks and Rittenhouse (: 07) have suggested the generic 

 name McCradia for "a number of medusae, from various parts of the world, 

 which are very similar to Turritopsis, . . . and are placed together in the 

 genus Modeeria" (: 07, p. 435). The member of this genus which they 

 figure (: 07, pi. 31, fig. 8), though without specific name, is evidently congen- 

 eric and probably conspecific with Lymnorea alexandri Mayer (: 04), and is 

 from near the type locality of that species. Apparently they have over- 

 looked the fact that both Broch and Mayer had already used the name 

 Lymnorea for the Medusae which they call McCradia. 



There is reasonable doubt as to whether Lymnorea or McCradia is 

 the better name for this genus. On the whole, however, it seems that the 

 former has the stronger claim, since both Mayer's and Broch's descrip- 

 tions antedate Brooks and Rittenhouse, and are so good as to leave no 

 doubt as tu the generic identity of their specimens. In this case, how- 

 ever, Lymnorea must be dated from Mayer (: 00"), not from Peron et 

 Lesueur, as the L. triedra is unrecognizable. Since no species seems to have 

 been designated as its type, I suggest L. alexandri Mayer. 



In so Ear as regards the position of the gonads. Brooks and Rittenhouse 



