Synascidia cauliculata

Hab. Marine.

Cormus or head obversely conical, flower-pot shaped, some ­ what compressed now; gelatinous flaccid, semitranslucent, surfaced by sixteen or more ridges, each about 1 - 1 2 th in. in its broadest or upper part, which extend upwards from the contracted or fixed end, more or less parallelly, to the free margin of the cormus, over which they bend inwards towards the centre, which is rather depressed; each ridge bearing a double row of synascidians, one on each side, increasing in size upwards as they become more and more developed, until they reach the upper part of the head where this is completed. Colour that of grey semitransparent gelatine, cuticled. Head about 1 j in. high and 1 in. its broadest diameter, that is at the free or upper margin. Stem round, corrugated transversely, smooth, leathery, of a yellowish shining colour, decreasing gradually in size from its union with the cormus to its lower extremity, which is terminated by a root-like expansion; composed of a tough, yellow, smooth cuticle circumferentially, followed by a thin layer of granular cells: the rest made up of double circular cells or holes, like the figure “ 8, ” separated by a thin septum, each cell about l- 300 th in. in diameter, imbedded in granuliferous gelatinous cartilage. Stem 6 in. long, by 1 - Gth in. in diameter, close to the cormus, and l- 24 th in. at the other end. Synascidian not examined fur ­ ther than was sufficient to determine the nature of the object.

Loc. Port Phillip Heads, South Australia.