Page:Scientific results HMS Challenger vol 18 part 1.djvu/227

Rh 1. Thalassicolla pellucida, n. sp.

Spherical body very soft, transparent, clear and colourless, without any pigment. Central capsule soft, hyaline, with a thin, structureless, not areolated membrane. Diameter of the central capsule about three times that of the nucleus, one-fourth to one-sixth that of the jelly-envelope. Nucleus delicate, transparent, with one single central nucleolus, about one-third its diameter. Protoplasm of the central capsule contains only small, pellucid, densely packed globules (vacuoles?), no oil-globules. Extracapsular body quite transparent, without pigment or oil-globules, only composed of the large alveoles imbedded in the jelly-cover, and of the fine protoplasmic network between them. No xanthellæ.

Dimensions.—Diameter of the central capsule 0.8 to 1.2, of the nucleus 0.3 to 0.4, of the calymma 3 to 6 mm.

Habitat.—Cosmopolitan, Canary Islands, Haeckel; Cape, Australia, Pacific, Challenger; surface.

2. Thalassicolla spumida, n. sp.

Spherical body nearly transparent, yellowish, without dark pigment. Central capsule pellucid, with a thick, structureless, not areolated membrane. Diameter of the central capsule about twice that of the nucleus, one-sixth to one-eighth that of the jelly-cover. Nucleus delicate, somewhat opaque, with numerous small nucleoli. Protoplasm of the central capsule contains small pellucid globules (vacuoles?), and immediately under its membrane (on its inside) one single layer of large, dark, refractive oil-globules. Extracapsular body very voluminous, foamy, with innumerable alveoles in the jelly, and many xanthellæ between them.

Dimensions.—Diameter of the central capsule 0.6 to 0.8, of the nucleus 0.3 to 0.4, of the calymma 3 to 5 mm.

Habitat.—Atlantic, Canary Islands, Haeckel; Cape Verde Islands, Challenger Station 350; Brazil, Rabbe; surface.

3. Thalassicolla zanclea, Haeckel.

Thalassicolla zanclea, Haeckel, 1862, Monogr. d. Radiol., p. 252, Taf. ii. fig. 3.

Spherical body opaque, transparent only in the periphery, with colourless central capsule, but with brown or black pigment-powder scattered everywhere through the extracapsular alveolated jelly-cover. Central capsule soft, transparent, colourless, with a thin structureless, not areolated membrane. Diameter of the central capsule about one and a half times that of the nucleus, one-half or one-third that of the jelly-cover. Nucleus delicate, transparent, with a thin, finely punctated membrane, with one or more nucleoli. Protoplasm of the central capsule contains only small, pellucid, densely packed globules (vacuoles?), no oil-globules. Extracapsular body very dark and opaque, with a great mass of brown or blackish-brown pigment between the alveoles of the jelly-cover. Numerous xanthellæ.

Dimensions.—Diameter of the central capsule 0.1 to 0.12, of the nucleus 0.07 to 0.08, of the calymma 0.2 to 0.4.

Habitat.—Mediterranean, Messina, Haeckel.