806 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



IX. E.EPOET ON THE LT7CEEN"4EIDiE. By W. I. BeAUMONT, B.A. 



Order.— STAUROMEDUSiE. 

 Family.— LUCERNAEID^. 



Genus. — Haliclystus. 

 Haliclystus auricula (Rathke). 



Haliclystus auricula, James Clark, Proclrom. Lucern. Joum. Boston 

 Soc. Nat. Hist., 1863, p. 559; and Monog. Lncem., Smiths. 

 Contrib., 1881. 



H. auricula, Haeckel, System Medusae, 1879, p. 389. 



B. octoradiatus, Lamarck et auct. phxr. {^lec Haeckel, 7iec James 

 Clark). 



Pound by us on Zostera in Valencia Harbour in spring and 

 summer. Yery abundant near Chiu'ch Island. Probably to be 

 found all tbe year round. Tbe Misses Delap report it plentiful 

 in January. 



Haliclystus does not appear to attain large dimensions at 

 Valencia; specimens measuring 12mm. in diameter, inclusive- 

 of the arms, are very numerous, but none exceeding this by 

 more than about 2 mm. have come under my notice. In some 

 localities the species attains a diameter of 20 to 30 mm. 

 According to HornelP the common Haliclystus'^ of the Channel 

 Islands is to be found half groTvn in June, averaging then 

 about 12 mm. across the disc, while large adults of 18 to 25 mm. 

 occur in the early months of the year. Through the kindness 

 of the Misses Delap I have recently had an opportunity of 

 examining a number of Haliclystus collected at Valencia in 

 January. They do not differ appreciably in size fi'om those 

 gathered by us in spring and summer. Evidently large indi- 

 viduals are very rare, or retire to some less accessible situation. 

 Sexual maturity is attained by these individuals, though only 



1 "Nat. Science," iii., 1893, p. 33. 



- Hornell names this Jersey species E. octoradiatus. Whether it is the same 

 species as the one dealt with in this paper I am unable to say. The only specimen 

 from Jersey which I have seen is H. auricula. 



