OF THE SELENAIUAD^*, CONESCHAREELINID.E, ETC. 405 



lunar slits* which seem to occur quite generally in C. philippinensis, and at 

 any rate in most species of Conescharellina. They are found in quite young 

 zoaria, and in older ones they may occur in various positions ; sometimes in 

 a circle, that is at equal distance from the apex. I have seen in a colony 

 two such circles with several slits, sometimes the slits occur along the radial 

 line of the zoaria, in others between two radial lines. 



Whitelegge's theory, of these slits being rudiments of intercalated new 

 zooecia, was declared by Levinsen to be practically impossible, and from the 

 position of these slits it does not seem that they can indicate new zooecia, 

 also the chambers are smaller and simpler than those of the zooecia, nor are 

 there so many connections as in the zooecia. Having a considerable number 

 of good dry specimens of C. philippinensis, it was hoped that examination, and 

 sections in various stages, would give an explanation of their function, but 

 this was not easy, though the explanation now offered will, I fully expect, be 

 confirmed when living or spirit specimens are examined. 



Conescharellina anyulopora (Woods) and C. jlabellaris, Lev., have a pro- 

 jecting growth at the apex (PI. 29. fig. 1G ; PI. 30- fig. 1'.') giving much the 

 same appearance as the basal end of Cellaria and Tubucellaria, both of which 

 are directly attached by tubular radicles to the substratum. The slits, if my 

 theory is right, indicate the radicle chamber ; and in a large number of 

 Bryozoa radicle chambers may occur with great frequency, even to each 

 zooecium, though the radicles may be developed in very small numbers. In 

 a previous paper allusion has been made to the radicle chamber in Catenaria 

 Lqfontiif, Ami., in which a round spot, on the dorsal surface, was shown to 

 each zooecium by Savigny, Busk, and others, without it being suspected that 

 this was the opening of a dorsal radicle chamber, until I found a specimen 

 with a few radicles, — although I have seen only a few, since they are very 

 rare. 



When a radicle is formed in Conescharellina probably the disk closino- the 

 chamber is absorbed, and then a semicircular opening occurs as in PI. 29. 

 fig. 19. s. s. Levinsen, p. 3 10, says "these superficial chambers seen in the 

 whole colony seem to be in mutual connection with each other/' They are 

 in communication through rosette-plates. 



Some rather important suggestions J have been made that the mature 



* Levinsen proposes to speak of lunoscia instead of semilunar slit, but when we have a 

 good name, why do we want to change it, even before the function of the structure is 

 understood ? We must resist the tendency to change the name of each minute structure 

 we find. Canu and Bassler say that the lunoeoia are openings of "special compensation 

 zoneciules " : no proof is given, and 1 doubt whether it will be found to be the case. See 

 Early Tert. Cheil. Bry. p. 76. 1017. 



t "Bry. from Rapallo, &c," Journ. Linn. Soc, Zool. vol. xxvi. p. 15 (1890*). 



t Maplestone, " Biporje,'' ■p. 3. L'Orbigny, Pal. Franc, p. 447, suggested that the yomvr 

 colonies of Conescharellina were perhaps tixed by the conical extremity, and in many cases 

 at any rate, this seems tlie most probable. 



