BRITISH SPECIES OF BEROE. 



401 



an exhausted state, — a circumstance which I much 

 regret, as it prevented me from obtaining satisfac- 

 tory information regarding the structure and uses 

 of the internal organs. 



The body was of an orbicular form, slightly de- 

 pressed at the summit, and a little protuberant at 

 the base. There were eight vertical bands or ribs, 

 extending from the summit to the' base. These 

 were narrow, denticulated on the margin, con- 

 fined to the surface, and of a denser substance than 

 the gelatinous interior. From the central surface 

 of the ribs, a number of filaments proceeded, 

 which were lost in the substance of the body. 

 The mouth, or the opening at the base, had 

 some appearance of having its margin divided into 

 four lobes. The tube which conducts from the 

 mouth to the centre of the body, and is prolonged 

 in its axis to the summit, had on each side a com- 

 pressed organ adhering to its walls. These termi- 

 nated in the centre, each in an ovate head, appa- 

 rently containing air. Immediately below each 

 head, there were numerous twisted vessels, some of 

 which contained a reddish fluid. The tube which 

 descended from the summit, as it approached the 

 centre, suddenly expanded, and sent off a branch to 

 a vesicle on each side ; after which it appeared to 

 unite with the one from the mouth. Each of the 

 lateral vesicles terminated below in a blind cavity, 

 which contained a glandular body, to the upper 

 surface of which, several white threads were attach- 



VOL. III. C C 



