MEDUSA. 27 
able to provide this clue by means of my figures of Hleutheria vallentini, but they 
have not yet been published, and only a preliminary description of the Medusa has 
been printed. To any one who has seen either specimens or drawings of Eleutheria 
vallentint or E. hodgsoni it would be fairly easy to identify the genus. 
Eleutheria charcoti, now called by its rightful name, is, I consider, a new species, 
and is distinguished from £. vallentini and E. hodgsoni by the radial canals having 
slender lateral branches with a tendency towards anastomosis. As I have compared 
Prof. Bedot’s figures with the original specimens, I must say that his drawings are 
of the greatest accuracy, even to the minutest details. 
The largest specimens of Eleutheria in the ‘Discovery’ collection have 20 to 
32 tentacles, and in general appearance closely resemble the species from Falkland 
Island. Each tentacle is bifurcated, the upper branch has clusters of nematocysts and 
the lower is provided with a terminal adhesive disc. There are more clusters of 
nematocysts, and their position upon the branch is different from that of E. vallentini, 
but similar to that in E. charcoti. They are arranged laterally along the branch, i.e. 
at right angles to the clusters of /. vallentini. 
There are also other characters, which will be mentioned later on, showing that 
the Eleutheria in the ‘ Discovery’ collection is specifically distinct from the one found 
in the Falklands. The two Antarctic species are more closely related to one another 
than to E. vallentini. 
I have much pleasure in associating the new Antarctic Eleutheria, brought 
home by the ‘Discovery,’ with the name of Mr. T. V. Hodgson, whose perseverance 
and energy under the most trying conditions have led to a very considerable advance 
in our knowledge of the marine fauna of the Antarctic region. 
Our knowledge of the habits of Eleutheria is almost entirely based upon 
Eleutheria dichotoma, which only moves about by crawling, and is apparently 
incapable of propelling itself through the water. There is no evidence that it uses its 
tentacles for swimming, and its umbrella is far too much reduced for that purpose. 
Mr. Vallentin saw the Falkland Eleutheria alive, and states in his notes that it 
is able to swim at a fairly respectable pace by means of its tentacles, which rapidly 
open and close, and so in a manner the Medusa rows itself along. But it evidently 
prefers to crawl amongst seaweed, for Mr. Vallentin writes in his notes, “ These 
ambulatory gonozooids appear to live on a fine weed which is uniformly spread over 
the bottom of the harbour. The gonozooids are always on the move, crawling in and 
out of the fine filaments and twisting themselves into the most peculiar shapes as 
they slowly progress through the miniature tangled forest.” 
Mr. Hodgson informed me that he caught his specimens in a tow-net, which was 
left all night over the stern of the ‘Discovery.’ The ship was at anchor and swung 
with the tide. 
VOL. V. Z 
