40 MR. A. W. WATERS ON THE MARINE 



Amathia was made after prolonged comparison of the British Museum and 

 ' Challenger ' specimens, and I cannot think there is anything material to 

 alter in what I then wrote. 



Tn the Cape Verde Island specimens there are usually 14 pairs of zocecia. 

 The zoarium grows from a seaweed, and the free stolon when passing over 

 the narrow branch of any part of the seaweed becomes attached across it, 

 again growing free beyond it. Where the stolon is thus attached the 

 zooecia are arranged horizontally on each side of it, thus forming two lateral 

 series without any sign of the spiral arrangement. From the front of the 

 attached stolon, and in the middle of the group of zocecia, one or two fresh 

 erect branches arise, a mode of growth and branching quite unknown in 

 Amathia, rinsing rather large questions 



On the same seaweed were entangled pieces of Amathia Vidovici, Heller, 

 but on careful separation the colonies were found to be quite distinct. 

 The seaweed having been some time in spirit has entirely lost any colour 

 it may have had, and resembles a figure I have before me of PoJyides 

 rotundus, Grev., which may by now be known by another name. 



I followed MacGillivray in considering that A. connexa, Busk, was a 

 synonym, although stouter; of this I am now doubtful, and in the determina- 

 tion of some of these spiral forms we are on rather uncertain ground. A 

 specimen in the British Museum determined as A. connexa by Busk I found 

 had the stem only 0"2 mm. diameter, which is much below Busk's measure- 

 ment. A. connexa is the largest of these spiral forms with more or less free 

 ends, then coines|^l. tortuosa, then A. distans, and there is also A. Vidovici, 

 with the zooecia much separated, but it may be the differences are not 

 as important as now supposed. In A. obliqua, MacG., the ends are free, 

 and even in A. lendiyera, Lamx., a considerable part is often free ; and 

 while we usually find that the species with the zooecia almost entirely 

 connate have the two series also united, yet in A. lendigera the two series 

 may sometimes be found almost unattached in the middle. We must 

 remember that we are not quite sure what characters are of most value in 

 Amathia. The Zanzibar A. distans has the ends of the zocecia free as in 

 A. tortuosa, and a small fragment from Sydney of what I have always 

 considered to be A, distans has the zoarium and zocecia the same size as 

 those from Zanzibar and the ends are free. 



Loc. New South Wales ; Victoria ; Red Sea; Cape Verde Islands, collected 

 by Crossl&nd. 



