I9I5-] 



F mma of the Chilka Lake .- Polyzoa. 



129 



Loxosomatoides colonialis, Annandale. 

 1908. Loxosomatoides colonialis, Annandale, Rec. Ind. Mus. II, pp. 14-19, figs. 



2-7 ■ 

 Except for what has been said under the generic heading, I have nothing to 

 add to my original account of the species. 



L. colonialis has been found as yet only in pools of brackish water at Port Can- 

 ning in the Gangetic delta. 



Loxosomatoides laevis, sp. nov. 

 In general structure this species closely resembles the preceding one, from which 

 it differs mainly in the ornamentation of its capitular shield. The differences, how- 



FiG. 1. — Loxosomatoides laevis, sp. nov. 

 Part of type specimen. One of the polyps has been turned back to show the oral surface. 



ever, appear to be quite constant, and I have seen no intermediate forms, though 

 the number of examples examined in the field and in the laboratory has been large. 



The polyps (fig. 1) arise singly and at considerable intervals from a creeping 

 rhizome that branches very sparingly or not at all. It grows mainly in one direction 

 and follows the inequalities of the surface to which it is attached ; the upper surface 

 is convex, the lower surface flattened; its calibre is small and its surface smooth; 

 it is never splayed out at the margins; the thin cuticle that covers it is usually 

 colourless, but may be more or less tinged with brown. 



The polyps all face in the same direction, away from the side of the rhizome to 

 which the stalks of all of them are attached. The stalks are more or less swollen at 

 the base and taper gradually; there is no specialized basal region. In normal 



