It is perhaps surprising that marine Polyzoa should in so many cases have so wide a range. Even though it is the rule for Polyzoa to have free larvae, the period during which these larvae are free-swimming is, so far as is known, a short one in most cases. Cyphonautes is a common pelagic form (see p. [510]), and probably remains for a considerable period in the larval condition. Other Polyzoon-larvae appear to fix themselves very soon after their birth; and this would not appear to give much time for them to be carried to great distances by ocean-currents. It may, however, be suggested that it does not follow that because we know that a larva may, under favourable conditions fix itself a few minutes after it becomes free, we should be justified in assuming that that larva would not retain for a long period the power of undergoing a normal metamorphosis should it be drifted away from suitable fixing-grounds.
Palaeontology.[[594]]—The number of fossil Polyzoa is enormous. D'Orbigny devoted two hundred plates and more than a thousand octavo pages[[595]] to a Monograph on the Cretaceous Polyzoa of France. Many of the fossil forms are extraordinarily well preserved, and there is often no difficulty in recognising the identity between certain fossil species belonging to the more recent formations and living forms. It thus becomes necessary to consult Palaeontological memoirs in working at recent Polyzoa.
While the great majority of fossil Polyzoa do not differ in any essential particular from recent species, this is not altogether the case with the Palaeozoic forms. Leaving out of account the Stromatoporoids, which have been variously referred to the Sponges, Hydrozoa, and Foraminifera, as well as to the Polyzoa, the Palaeozoic strata contain large numbers of peculiar Cyclostomata, together with members of the Trepostomata, a fourth Sub-order of Gymnolaemata, allied to the Cyclostomata. The Trepostomata are for the most part Palaeozoic, but a few survived as late as the Jurassic period.[[596]] These, with the other Polyzoa from the same formations, are considered by Dr. Gregory in his recently published Catalogue of the Fossil Bryozoa in the British Museum (1896).
The number of Polyzoa recorded from the earlier secondary strata is small. The majority of the known Jurassic forms belong to the Cyclostomata; and one or two Cheilostomes are recorded from the same period. Recent papers by Walford[[597]] on Jurassic Polyzoa contain the description of genera which are believed to be intermediate between the Cyclostomata and Cheilostomata, particularly with regard to the characters of their ovicells. Although it is not impossible there may be a connection between the ovicells of these two groups, it has yet to be proved that the two sets of structures are homologous.
The Cretaceous period marks the commencement of a large number of Cheilostome genera, although the Cyclostomes still remain numerous.
In the Tertiary formations the Cyclostomes gradually become less numerous, and although in earlier geological periods they far outnumbered the Cheilostomes, these relations are now reversed. Certain Tertiary strata, and particularly the Coralline Crag (Pliocene), are remarkable for the extremely large number of Polyzoa they contain. It will be noticed that no mention has been made of the Entoprocta, the Ctenostomata, and the Phylactolaemata. Their absence in the fossil condition[[598]] need not, however, be a matter for surprise, as none of these forms are so well suited for being fossilised as are the calcareous Cyclostomata and Cheilostomata. There is consequently no adequate reason for assuming that the absence of a palaeontological record implies that these groups have been recently evolved.
Determination of Genera of Marine Polyzoa.—The species to which a Polyzoon belongs can only be determined, in most cases, with the assistance of the low powers of a microscope. There are very great advantages in the use of a binocular instrument, by means of which a microscopic preparation appears with its parts standing up in proper relief.
In the case of the calcareous forms, the external characters may be more readily made out in a dry preparation than in any other way. For this purpose, the colony should be washed with fresh water, in order to remove the salts, which otherwise crystallise out on drying and obscure the surface. Preparations of this kind must be looked at with the aid of reflected light. Canada-balsam or glycerine preparations are also valuable, whether stained or unstained; and are essential for the examination of the softer forms. In the case of erect species, both surfaces of the branch should be looked at. The opercula, avicularia, and rosette-plates afford important systematic characters in the case of the Cheilostomata.
It must not be forgotten to take account of the condition of the zooecia at different ages. The old zooecia often become entirely altered in form, by the deposition of additional calcareous matter, or by the loss of certain parts present in the younger zooecia. Thus the marginal spines may be entirely lost in the older individuals, while in those forms which develop a "peristome" (see Fig. 255 and p. [524]), the characters of the orifice can often be determined in the young zooecia only. It is thus essential to examine the growing ends of the branches or the rim of the colony, as the case may be.
