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Part III. — Seventh Annual Report 



and other forms ars plentiful. The abundance'of this algoid causes the 

 lines to feel sticky, and still more the nets, while its peculiar odour (which 

 some of the men say resembles ' herring water') is diagnostic. Mr Pearcey, 

 of the 'Challenger' Expedition, states that the herring-nets are injured by 

 the abundance of this algoid substance, and that the herrings avoid the 

 water where it is in great profusion.* Further observation is probably 

 necessary before coming to the latter conclusion, but there can be no 

 doubt about the disagreeable odour and tendency to injure the nets. 



While the upper regions of the water in the Bay were teeming with 

 Rhizosolenioe, the lower were crowded with Appendicularians, and the 

 stomachs of these were distended by chlorophyll-granules, the same appear- 

 ing in the f cecal pellets both in the intestine and when discharged. No 

 fragments of skeleton referable to Rhizosoleniye were visible, and the 

 greenish colour of the chlorophyll was somewhat brighter than in that 

 form, but it may have been altered by digestion. The vast swarms of 

 Appendicularians at any rate fed on such material, and were most abun- 

 dant during its presence in the Bay. 



Besides the foregoing, Diatoms of many species occurred in great abun- 

 dance — along with spores of Alga3. 



In May the pelagic Ccelenterates, especially the Hydromedusae, became 

 much more prominent than in the earlier months of the year. Beroe ap- 

 peared in the surface-net on one occasion; while Sarsia tuhulosa, half an 

 inch in polar diameter (smaller at the commencement of the month), occurred 

 in the mid- water net almost daily. Sarsia (Codonium) pulchella, with 

 the greenish tinge at the oral extremity, was also procured. As Syncoryne 

 (the fixed form) is not common in the Bay of St Andrews, these medusoids 

 probably came from the estuary of the Forth and neighbourhood, yet they 

 were often in great numbers, penetrating all the nooks of the Bay, and 

 passing far up the estuary of the Eden. 



Various species of Thaumantias also made their appearance this month, 

 such as the large and beautiful Thaumantias pilosella^ T. melanops, 

 T. lucifera, and T. glohosa,% but they on the whole occurred sparingly on 

 each occasion. It is no wonder that the medusoids of this type are so 

 abundant in St Andrews Bay, since Obelia, Clytia, and the Campanula- 

 rians in general are so common. They are occasionally thrown on 

 the beach in multitudes. Forbes describes Thaumantias pilosella only 

 from Shetland and the south of England, though it is abundant all 

 along the eastern shores. The same may be said of T. melanops, with the 

 exception that Forbes mentions its occurrence only in Shetland. T. lucifera 

 seems to have been met with more generally on the British shores; while 

 the occurrence of T. globosa is limited by the author mentioned to Shet- 

 land. It is likewise very common on the eastern shores. Lizzia octo- 

 pundata occurred sparingly, but it is more abundant in early spring and 

 summer, and is generally distributed over the eastern waters of Scotland. 

 The size of the two first-mentioned species of Thaumantias somewhat in- 

 creased as the month advanced, the smaller examples being most abundant 

 in April and at the beginning of May. 



Besides the foregoing, a small form procured in the mid- water net of 

 the 26th differed from anything known. It had numerous brick-red and 

 comparatively large marginal ocelli. 



Bougainvillia britannica$ in small numbers appeared once. The 



* Proc. Boy. Phys. Soc. Edin., 1885, p. 400. 



t Laodice cruciata, Agass. 



X Phialidium variabile, Hacckel. 



§ Margelis ramosa, Agass. 



