﻿ix. d, 3 Light: Some Philippine Scyphomedusse 199 



corresponding to the similar "Chrysaora stage" of the species 

 found in the bays of the Atlantic Coast of the United States. 



The flatly rounded bell is from 70 to 100 mm. in diameter. 

 There are 24 marginal tentacles of about equal length. In life, 

 these reach a maximum length of almost a meter. In preserved 

 specimens, they are seldom perfect and are much contracted, not 

 usually exceeding a length of twice the bell diameter. There are 

 32 bluntly rounded marginal lappets, and the 2 next the sense 

 organs in each octant are usually about one-half as wide as the 2 

 between the tentacles. The sense organs are marked by shallow 

 notches in the margin. They are covered above by a shelf 

 of tissue nearly twice as wide as the length of the sense club. 

 Below they are exposed, but lie in deep narrow furrows. The 

 mouth arms are complexly folded, presenting along their edges 

 regular pairs of extended points. They are from two to three 

 times as long as the bell radius in preserved specimens and 

 many times as long in life. The umbrella is transparent white, 

 and is covered on the exumbrellar surface with tiny, semiopaque, 

 white spots. The 16 stomach pouches are semiopaque, the 

 dividing membranes entirely transparent, and the exumbrellar 

 radial muscle strands opaque white. The gonads are light yellow, 

 light brown, or yellow with a lavender tinge, the inner edges 

 of the oral palps are light transparent pink to light lavender 

 brown, and the tentacles are opaque white. 



This medusa is known to be very dangerous. The natives 

 call it fosforo ("match" in Spanish). This name is used by the 

 fishermen, because the long oral arms suggest the stick and the 

 bell the head of a match. I have heard of several cases of severe 

 poisoning from this medusa both among natives and Americans. 

 The native remedy is sugar solution taken internally and external 

 applications of vinegar. 



Old 8 has reported a number of cases of poisoning from jelly- 

 fish in which there was a definite symptom complex differing 

 from that in the case of poisoning by Chiropsalmus quadrigatus 

 already mentioned. Mayer 4 cites Doctor Smith 3 as considering 

 that these cases of poisoning were due to the sting of Lobonema 

 smithii Mayer. It seems more probable that they were due 

 to Dactylometra, since it is so common in the bay and is the 

 form commonly considered to be poisonous by the natives, 

 especially the fishermen. I have not seen L. smithii, but the 



3 This Journal, Sec. B (1908), 3, 329. 



'Pub. Carnegie Inst. Wash. (1910), No. 109, 3, 690-691. 



5 Dr. Hugh M. Smith, deputy United States fish commissioner. 



