558 General Notes, [May, 7 
the larvæ are more different from the adult form. The devel- 
opment of the mantle in the larvæ and the reduction of the inter- 
nal organs which accompanies it, are a series of purely adaptive 
characters. Dr. Barrois believes that the entoproct larva repre- 
sents the ancestral type of the entire group, remarks that such a 
larva is constructed on the same plan as a rotifer, and conceives of 
the original formation of a Bryozoan as resulting from a simple 
change of life in an organism resembling a Rotifer. The Probryo- 
zoa, in his hypothesis were free-swimming organisms possibly 
analogous to the Rotifera. Professor M'Intosh describes Ce- 
phalodiscus, a singular polyzoan dredged by the Challenger in the 
Straits of Magellan, and allied to Rhabdopleura (Ann. and Mag. 
Nat. Hist). The Rev. T. Hincks, in his sixteenth “ Contribution 
towards a General History of the Marine Polyzoa” (Ann. and Mag. 
Nat. Hist) describes six new species, and in his notice of the 
Polyzoa of the Queen Charlotte islands give preliminary descrip- 
tions of thirty-four species.—Mr. W. A. Haswell (Ann. and 
Mag. Nat. Hist.) states that the elytra of the aphroditarean anne- 
lids are connected with the functions of (1) protection ; (2), pro- 
duction of phosphorescent light ; (3), sensation, and (4), incuba- 
tion. In Zphione the scales are dense, causing the animal to 
resemble a chiton. As they are provided with abundant nerves, 
they are probably the seat of some special sense. The ova al 
carried by ciliary action to the under surface of the scales, where 
they adhere till the embryos are well advanced. Impregnatio® 
probably takes place while the eggs are in this position" 
A. Giard (Comptes Rendus) describes an annelid with yee 
characters uniting the Lycoridea (to which it is closest) with pe 
Hesionea and Polynoë, on the one hand, and with the ae A 
on the other. It inhabits a sort of tube formed by the raised ve: 
eral margins of the thoracic region, upon the dorsal aspect 4. 
Balanoglossus (B. robinii), which at the Iles Glenans ae i 
meter or more in length. The proboscis is entirely una 
which is remarkable in a Lycoridian. 
Mollusks—It appears that in Ceylon Helix hemastoma P 
tected from observation by being covered with a growth of apo 
which likewise grows on the trunks of the palms it gipsie 
Helix superba also has a similarly green protective waste ak 
dering it less visible to passing birds. An important i “Unior: : 
article on the vascular and water-receiving system of the -aschrift : 
ide and Mytilus, by Dr. H. Griesbach, appears in the Zé a 
fir wis, Zoologie of Feb. 20, 1883. Hista 
Crustaceans.—Professor F. A. Forel, Ann. and Mag. Ne a 
enumerates the Entomostraca that constitute the agen, Pm same 
fresh-water lakes, a fauna that in its general features pë: 2 plains 
from Scandinavia to Italy and the Caucasus, and fron q lake 
to the Alps. A complete list of the species inhabiting 
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