Narcomedusae form a peculiar order within the subclass of Craspedotae or Hydromedusae, distinguished by free ‘hearing buds’ at the border of the ‘gelatinous umbrella’ and by the development of sexual organs in the lower stomach wall. Tentacles or ‘capturing filaments’ that branch off from the border of the umbrella are not hollow and most flexible as it is the case in most other medusa, but solid and rigid; they bend gradually only and are covered with ‘sensing hair’. The ‘hearing buds’ too (fig. 7) are converted piston-shaped tentacles, ‘hearing hair’ freely rising from their base; they are at the same time organs responsible for the sense of balance.
Translation of the original German introduction by Ernst Haeckel:
Phylum of Cnidaria (Nesseltiere); - subclass of Craspedotae (Schleierquallen); - order of Narcomedusae (Spangenquallen).
Translation by VR Translators Bangalore
This is one of the 100 pop science biology illustrations that were published from 1899 – 1904 in Leipzig by Ernst Haeckel through Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts.
We've scanned the original lithography at 1200dpi on the Epson A3 scanner of A3 scanner huren. You can download a 400dpi JPEG here.