

NOTES ON SYNAPTA. 237 



buski is described as having anchor-plates with " seven 

 dentate holes and long narrow handle." The three figures 

 represent plates with five or six large holes and a number 

 of smaller ones, all of which have perfectly plain margins, 

 the handle of the anchor being short and stout. 



S. digitata is said to have tentacles " with four or five 

 digitate processes on either side," while the figure on 

 Plate VII. of the Catalogue represents a circlet of tenta- 

 cles with two digitate processes only on either side. This 

 figure is a fairly accurate representation of the tentacles 

 of a Synapta from Millport, given to me by Mr. P. Cameron 

 of Manchester, and of the tentacles of the large specimens 

 labelled S. digitata from Naples, which were entrusted 

 to me by Dr. Hurst. Of the three forms just enumerated 

 8. digitata appears to me to be distinct, but I am strongly 

 inclined to think that were specimens from a sufficient 

 number of localities available for examination the other 

 two would be found to be inseparable. 



I have referred the specimens from Port Erin to Syn- 

 apta inhaerens. It is true that the number of digitate 

 processes on the sides of the tentacles never exceeds four, 

 and is very commonly three (PL XVII. , fig. 1). The 

 flukes of the anchors are, however, in nearly all cases 

 distinctly serrated, and not more than ten per cent, of the 

 anchor plates have holes with plain margins (PL XVII. , 

 fig. 6), the denticles being well marked, though not so 

 numerous as those of the plates figured by Prof. Bell. 

 The so-called miliary granules, though numerous, are not 

 so thickly scattered as are those of the large specimens of 

 S. digitata from Naples. There is but one Polian vesicle, 

 which attains a very considerable length (PL XVI., fig. 

 1, p.v.) The lateral borders of the twelve tentacles are 

 crowded with calcareous spicules of minute size and 

 simple form, most of them being dumb-bell shaped. As 



