240 University ^of California Publications in Zoology [Vol. 13 



(Costa Rica) ; chuni Vanhoffen, from the Gulf of Panama. And the 

 genus Brachiolophus of Haeckel is nothing but the young of Stomo- 

 lophus, as pointed out by Mayer (1910). The relationships of these 

 four supposed species to one another have been discussed by Mayer 

 (1910) ; and I think there is no escape from his conclusion that of the 

 various characters which have been supposed to separate them, the 

 only one which is anything more than an evidence of contraction, or 

 of varying stages in development, is the number of lappets per octant 

 of the margin. According' to the published accounts, meleagris has 

 16, fritillaria about 26, chuni 14, and agaricus 20. Mayer unites cliuni 

 and meleagris, saying, no doubt correctly, that the former is merely 

 a younger stage of the latter ; but retains fritillaria as a recognizable 

 variety. However, the following counts of the lappets in specimens 

 from South Carolina and Cuba show that there is no discontinuity 

 between meleagris with 16 and fritillaria with 26 : 



Locality 

 South Carolina 



Diameter 

 in mm. 



85 



Lappets per octant 

 19 in one octant 



Cuba 



150 



19, 20, 22, 21 



San Diego 



100 



22 in one octant 



Unfortunately, it seems to be rare to find an entire octant undam- 

 aged, even in specimens in good condition otherwise. But this is 

 enough to show that there is no correlation between number of lappets 

 and geographic occurrence. And it shows, further, that large speci- 

 mens from the southeast coast of the United States may have a consid- 

 erably greater number of lappets than they have usually been credited 

 with. In short, there is no longer any reason to retain fritillaria as 

 distinct from meleagris even as a variety, or to separate the San Diego 

 or Panama specimens from the latter. All forms of StomolopJius 

 which have yet been described must be grouped together as one species, 

 ^S*. meleagris. 



Whether the two color varieties of this species are constant, or 

 whether they vary, or intergrade, is yet to be determined; unfortu- 

 nately, Vanhoffen 's (1888) specimens from Panama, Haeckel's (1880) 

 material, and the South American specimens recently described by 

 Trinci (1906) were all alcoholic, and consequently must have lost what- 

 ever color characterized them in life. But even if the color phases are 

 distinct, the phenomenon is not unparalleled, though unusual, among 

 medusae, a striking example of the same sort being afforded by 

 Cassiopea xaymacliana (Mayer, 1910, p. 643). 



