154 OKHAMANDAL MARINE ZOOLOGY REPORT— PART II 



SCYPHOMEDUS^. 



Cassiopea andromeda var. maldivensis, Browne. 



Cassiopea andromeda var. maldivensis, Browne, 1905. " The Fauna and 

 Geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes," Vol. 2, p. 962. 



Eleven specimens were taken at low water on the 9th of January, 1906; at Aramra, 

 Beyt Bay, in the entrance to the Gulf of Kutch. These specimens are from 20 mm. to 

 60 mm. in diameter, and in very good condition, even after having been in the original 

 formalin solution for nine years. They were sent from India in a glass-stoppered jar, 

 one litre capacity, with the stopper sealed over with hard paraffin wax, which kept the 

 jar perfectly air-tight and prevented any loss of formahn by evaporation. I may 

 here add that I always use a mixture of vasehne and beeswax for covering the rim of 

 the stopper and it makes even common glass-stoppers proof against evaporation. 



The specimens have lost all traces of colour and are now whitish. They were 

 originally of a dark greenish colour owing to the presence of " Green Cells " or Zoo- 

 xanthellse in the jelly. The colour of the cells is due to chlorophyll, and it very slowly 

 disappears, but at a faster rate if the specimens are kept in strong dayhght. 



The normal number of sense-organs for this species is sixteen, but a variation in 

 number is very frequent. Out of ten of these specimens only three have the normal 

 number ; the others all show an increase, two have 24 sense-organs, three have 19 sense- 

 organs, and two have 21 and 22 sense-organs respectively. 



The number of velar lobes between the ocular lobes is also very variable, as the 

 sense-organs are not usually at equal distances apart. In these specimens three velar 

 lobes appear to be the normal number between the ocular lobes, but any number up to 

 five occurs, and occasionally two sense-organs are so close together that their ocular 

 lobes are adjacent to one another, without an intervening velar lobe. 



The outer margins of the ocular and velar lobes form a continuous and even margin, 

 without any indentations, so that the lobation of the margin is practically absent 

 between the deep ocular clefts in which the sense-organs he. 



The oral arms extend to the margin of the umbrella and are normally arranged in 

 four pairs, but the number is not always constant. In this series two specimens have 

 nine arms, and one has seven arms. 



The appendages on the oral arms are by no means constant in shape and size ; 

 one specimen has long, tapering appendages predominating, another shows broad, band- 

 shaped appendages. In two specimens there is a band-shaped appendage in the centre 

 where the arms meet, surrounded by numerous small appendages, varying in shape and 

 size, forming a kind of rosette, but generally there are only a few large appendages near 

 the central one. 



