Among the Jelly-fishes, the position of which is somewhat doubtful, is
the Circe (Fig. 53), differing greatly in outline from the ordinary
Jelly-fishes. As may be seen in Figure 53, the bell forms but a small
portion of the animal; it rises in a sharp cone on the summit,
thinning out at the lower edge, to form the large cavity in which
hangs the long proboscis and the eight ovaries, four of which may be
seen in Fig. 53 crowded with eggs. The Circe differs in consistency,
as well as in form, from other Jelly-fishes. It is hard and horny to
the touch, and the veil, usually so light and filmy, is here a thick
folded membrane, which at every stroke of the animal forces the water
in and out of the cavity. It is very active, moving by powerful jerks,
each one of which throws it far on its way. It advances usually in
straight lines; or, if it wishes to change its direction, it drives
the water out of the veil suddenly on one side or the other, so as to
shoot off, sometimes at right angles with its former path. Four large
pedunculated eyes, hidden in the figure by the tentacles, stand out
prominently from the circular tube. When the animal is in motion, the
tentacles are carried closely curled around the edge of the disk, as
in Fig. 53, where the Circe is represented under a magnifying power of
two and a half diameters. This Jelly-fish is of a delicate rose color,
the tentacles assuming, however, a dark-purple tint at their
extremities when contracted.
_Lucernaria_. (_Haliclystus auricula_ CLARK.)
[Illustration: Fig. 54. Group of Lucernaria attached to eel-grass;
natural size.]
[Illustration: Fig. 55. Lucernaria seen from the mouth side.]
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