MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



animal and why only one or two of them should be thus thrust upwards 

 into the water, and kept upright there, was a mystery. It seemed 

 probable to us that it was done to secure respiration. The sand of the 

 shoal was literally packed with these animals, and there must have been 

 hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions in the whole shallow. We 

 did not hesitate to give the spot the zoological sobriquet of the 

 " Ophiurian Shoal." These ophi ariana were of a species belonging to 

 the Amphiitrida~> and near or in the genus Opliiopsila. Together 

 with them we found a species of Synapta in tolerable abundance and 

 one individual of Sipunmlus. 



K. Mitsukuei and T. Hara. 



Zoological Society of Tokyo. The monthly meeting of the 



Society for January was held at 2 P.M. on Saturday, Jan. 23, in the 

 lecture room of the Zoological Institute of the Science College. Prof. 

 Mjtsukubi in the chair. The following papers were read : 



Mr. S. Yoshiwara on " Two Japanese Species of Asthenosoma." 

 The substance of this paper is found elsewhere in the present part of 

 this periodical. 



Mr. H. Watanake on " the Phosphorescence of Gypridina Hilgeii- 

 dorfii. Müller." The conclusions arrived at by the author were as 

 follows : 



(Ì) The phosphorescent ostracod known in Misaki as "marine 

 fire-fly " is Gypridina Hilgendorf ii, Müller. 



(2) The phosphorescent organ of this ostracod is a group of elongat- 

 ed, unicellular, epidermal glands opening to the exterior symmetrically 

 on either side of the median line, on the external edge of the upper lip 

 — the glands called by Claus " Oberlippendrüse " in 1873. 



(3) The glands secrete, together with the transparent, colorless 

 " secretive vacuoles," yellow homogeneous granules which are stored 

 in the necks of the glands. 



(4) Physical as well as chemical stimuli cause contraction of the 

 muscles of the upper lip, and the secretion of the glands is thereby 

 mechanically squeezed out. 



(5) The phosphorescence of Cypridina Hilgendorfii is a chemical 

 phenomenon accompanying the contact of pigment of the granules with 

 the external medium, i.e. sea water. 



(6) The presence of free oxygen in any considerable quantity is 



