Fig. 41.—Fredericella indica.
A=statoblast, × 120. B=outline of expanded lophophore and adjacent parts, × 75; a=anus, r=rectum. C=outline of zoarium on leaf of water-plant, × 3.
(A and B are from specimens from Igatpuri, C from specimen from Shasthancottah).
28. Fredericella indica, Annandale.
Fredericella indica, Annandale, Rec. Ind. Mus. iii, p. 373, fig. (1909). Fredericella indica, id., ibid. v, p. 39 (1910).
Zoarium. The zoarium is of delicate appearance and branches sparingly. It is often entirely recumbent but sometimes produces short, lax branches that consist of two or three zoœcia only.
Zoœcia. The zoœcia are very slender and almost cylindrical; they are slightly emarginate and furrowed, the keel in which the furrow runs being sometimes prominent. The external surface is minutely roughened and apparently soft, for small grains of sand and other débris cling to it, but never thickly. The ectocyst is practically colourless but not transparent.
Statoblasts. The statoblasts are variable in size and form but most commonly have a regular broad oval outline; sometimes they are kidney-shaped. The dorsal surface is covered with minute star-shaped prominences, which sometimes cover it almost uniformly and are sometimes more numerous in the centre than towards the periphery. The ventral surface is smooth.
Polypide. The lophophore bears about 20-25 tentacles, which are very slender and of moderate length; the velum at their base is narrow; as a rule the lophophore is accurately circular.