upon Luminous Animats, ©73 
By filtering the water, he separated luminous particles front 
it, which he preserved in spirits of wine : they were, he says, 
like the head of a pin, and did not at all resemble the nereis 
noctiluca, described by Vianelli ; their colour approached 
a yellow brown, and their substance was extremely tender, 
and fragile. Notwithstanding this striking resemblance to 
the medusa scintillans, Le Roy, in consequence of a precon- 
ceived theory, did not suppose what he saw, were animals, 
but particles of an oily or bituminous nature.* 
The minute globules seen by Mr. Langstaff in the Indian 
ocean, were I think, in all probability, the scintillating species 
of medusa ; and on my shewing him some of these animals I 
have preserved in spirits, he entertained the same opinion. 
Professor Mitchell, of New York, found the luminous 
appearance on the coast of America, to be occasioned by 
minute animals, that from his description, plainly belonged 
to this species of medusa, notwithstanding which, he supposed 
them to be a number of the nereis noctiluca.-f- 
The luminous animalcule, discovered by Forster off the 
Cape of Good Hope, in his voyage round the world, bears so 
strong a resemblance to the medusa scintillans, that 1 am 
much disposed to believe them the same. He describes his 
animalcule as being a little gelatinous globule, less than the 
head of a pin ; transparent, but a little brownish in its colour % 
and of so soft a texture, that it was destroyed by the slightest 
touch. On being highly magnified, he perceived on one side a- 
depression, in which there was a tube that passed into the 
* Qhserv. sur un lumiere produite par L’Eau de la mer, Mem. Etrang, des. Sc, 
f Phil. Mag. Vol. X, p. 20. 
