Stephenson — llie (Ictius Corallimorphus. 185 



leave the matter open peiKling exaininatioii of numerous speciiueiKS, Ijut it is 

 advisable to keep in sight the likelihood of all forms belonging to one 

 species. On this supposition 1 liave called the Irish forms (J. rigidus, to 

 which they are nearest, but that is using the term as inclusive of all the 

 otlieis ; and if the names profundus and uhkdus are kept too, the Irish form 

 must probably have a new name. 



Tliere reniaius the niuie interesting (juestiun of tiie allinitie.s of tlie wholu 

 genus and the family to which it belongs, and of its adaptation to its mode of 

 life. 1 will not go far into its allinities at present, because I am waiting to 

 form a linal opinion until certain work with other Stichodacty lines is finished ; 

 but I should like to uicutiou a [loint or two. Tiie creature is a very 

 interesting one: it lives in deep water, and apparently, in conelation with 

 that, it has a very thick body-wall, and seems immobile. Moseley made his 

 account from living nuiterial, and, as far as one can gather from this, it was 

 rigid even in life. What we cannot tell is liow changed it was Ijy leaving 

 the deep sea, and, if it was as rigid down there as it is now, how it fed ! 

 llertwig thought it a primitive form, because of its very weak generalized 

 niuscukiture ; but we have to set over against tliat some other features which. 

 as I have tried to show elsewhere, seem to be the reverse of primitive. These 

 are the thick body-wall, tiie preponderance of diameter over height, and the 

 large size; the numerous perfect mesenteries, the specialization of tentacles 

 into two sorts, and of each of them into a head and a stem, and the large size 

 of tlie nematocysts. The generalized musculature is perhaps a survival of 

 priniitiveness, or a degeneration connected with mode of life. 



LITERATURE.i 



187ii. H. N. MosELKY. — On new forms of Actiniaria dredged in the deep 

 sea ; witli a description of certain pelagic surface-swimming 

 species. Trans. Linn. Soc. Second Series, vol. i, Zoology, p. 295 

 (includes both description and coloured figures of Corallimorphus). 



1882. li Hertwig. — Report on the Actiniaria diedged by H.M.S. 

 "Challenger." "Challenger" Reports, Zoology, vol. vi. 



1888. R. Hemtwig.— Supplement to above Report, vol. xxvi. 



1900. 0. Caulguen. — Ostafrikanische Actinien. Mitth. Naturliist. Mus., 

 Hamburg, xvii Jahrg., p. 21. 



(Carlgren here mentions the genus, and associates with it 

 Corynactis and Isocoralliou, a genus founded by him for tlu^ 

 Corynactis sp. of Hertwig's supplement). 



'This is not a complete bibliography of the lieiius, but mentions the chief p.ipers 

 connected witli it. 



K.I. A. PKOC, VOL. .\X.\\ , SECT. U. [Y] 



