ORISSA ZOOPHYTES 65 



From the zoological point of view, this quiet three 

 months on the Orissa coast was one of the most 

 eventful periods of my life. When there was nothing 

 else to work at, there were always the tow-net washings, 

 which were rich and varied past all expressing. Out 

 of these I was able to verify many of the known facts 

 concerning the larval forms of Crustacea and the 

 structure and organisation of the Medusae and Cteno- 

 phora. Among the little jelly-fishes of the latter 

 class, two, which I do not think have ever been 

 recorded from the Bay of Bengal, were fairly common ; 

 they were species of Bolina and Ocyroe, both of which 

 are of interest, because, although in all respects they 

 are typical Ctenophora, yet they can propel them- 

 selves through the water, after the manner of Medusae, 

 by the contractions of a pair of lobes which resemble 

 the medusa ''bell" or ''umbrella" divided. 



A shallow, turbid sea, such as this we were work- 

 ing in, where the bottom is for the most part mud, 

 and where the 20-fathom contour-line is from 5 

 to 13 miles distant from shore, is not an ideal 

 home for zoophytes, but species of the genus 

 SpkenopuSy which is one of the few sea-anemones that 

 forms for itself a test or protective coat of fine sand- 

 grains, were so common as to lead us to believe that 

 they were gregarious. Another common zoophyte 

 was Cavernularia obesa, related to the sea-pens and 



dead-men's fingers of British seas, which was often 



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