Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xli. (1897), No. 3 



The general effect of the scars is to give the branches 

 which bear them a diseased or weather-worn appearance, 

 and it also obscures the regular symmetry of the circles 

 of dactylopores round the gastropores. 



It is, perhaps, for this reason that collectors and 

 curators of museums have rejected the ampulla-bearing 

 specimens and branches of specimens in favour of the 

 more healthy-looking sterile branches. 



It is certainly a very extraordinary fact that hitherto 

 the ampullae have been recorded only on the single species 

 M. Murrayi. 



The interest of these observations lies in the fact that 

 they suggest very forcibly that free swimming medusae 

 occur in other species of Millepora both in the West 

 Indies and the East Indies, and that they appear in large 

 numbers either spasmodically or at the times when the 

 vitality of the colony is on the wane. I may take this 

 opportunity of again asking zoologists and others to send 

 me spirit specimens of Millepora. Fragments of the older 

 and outer branches of large colonies seem to be the most 

 favourable for the investigation of this particular feature ; 

 but from what has been observed on the dried skeletons, 

 it seems possible that the medusae may be found on other 

 parts as well. 



The most important problems that have still to be 

 solved are these : Are the medusae of the different species 

 of Millepora alike, or do they present specific differences ? 

 Are the medusae confined to the male sex, or do medusae 

 occur bearing the ova ? 



The general features of the anatomy of Millepora show 

 that it is a genus which stands quite by itself. Its 

 relations to the Styl aster idee, the group of coral-forming 

 hydroids with which it is usually associated, are so remote 

 as to be problematical. Its wide geographical distribution 



