24 CTENOPHORES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST OF NORTH AMERICA 
the animal is 8 mm. in length (fig. 19, plate 5) the oral lappets begin 
to develop as 2 short flaps, each about one-fifth as long as the animal 
itself. The 4 auricles appear as short ciliated projections from the sides 
of the body over the subtentacular canals. The subventral canals form 
simple loops in the substance of the lappets. The 8 rows of ciliated 
plates are still of equal length each to each. 
This species is found along the coast of Florida and in the West 
Indies and probably extends as far north as Charleston, South Carolina. 
It is also found in the Mediterranean. Upon calm, hot days it approaches 
the surface in great numbers, but rough weather soon causes it to sink 
into the depths. They are often common during the summer, floating 
near the surface in shallow water in the Florida-Bahama region. 
Fic. 6.—Bolinopsis vitrea, 1.25 natural size. Tor- 
tugas, Florida, June 21, 1910. Drawn from 
life, by the author. 
The pink coloration of this form is very variable, some individuals 
being translucent and colorless, while others exhibit large, deep-colored 
masses of pink pigment in their chymiferous tubes, or pink, diffused 
through their gelatinous substance. It is distinguished from the Arctic 
B. infundibulum by its blunter aboral apex, its relatively longer oral lobes, 
the much simpler windings of the meridional ventral vessels in its oral 
lobes, and its commonly present pink coloration. Its eggs are cast out 
in great masses during the warm months and the young are common in 
spring and summer. Altogether, it is the commonest ctenophore of the 
Bahama-Florida region. 
