/F/srtssi Library of the University of Toronto J. 3 - 3 - 0 3 . \ V 'Vu* » -H^UVwV- ^ ^ 3 *R £,^VUv<*- THE BRITISH SEA-ANEMONES AND CORALS. LONDON : R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL. v ■ • ACTINOLOGIA BRITANNIC A. A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH SEA-ANEMONES AND CORALS. WITH COLOURED FIGURES OF THE SPECIES AND PRINCIPAL VARIETIES. BY PHILIP HENRY GOSSE, E.R.S. LONDON: VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW. I860. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Toronto https://archive.org/details/actinologiabrita00goss_0 PREFACE. In writing the following pages, I have laboured to produce such a “ History of the British Sea-Anemones and Corals/’ as a student can work with. Having often painfully felt in studying works similar to the present, the evil of the vagueness and con- fusion that too frequently mark the descriptive portions, I have endeavoured to draw up the characters of the animals which I describe, with distinctive precision , and with order. It is said of Montagu that, in describing animals, he constantly wrote as if he had expected that the next day would bring to light some new species closely resembling the one before him ; and therefore his diagnosis can rarely be amended. Some writers mistake for precision an excessive minuteness, which only distracts the student, and is after all but the portrait of an individual. Others describe so loosely that half of the characters would serve as well for half-a-dozen other species. I have sought to avoid both errors : to make the diagnoses as brief as possible, and yet clear, by seizing on such characters, in each case, as are truly distinc- tive and discriminative. Further to aid the student, I have given the characters in a regular and definite order , so that he may at a glance compare species with species, or genus with genus, in their several parts and organs. In this I have received little aid — I may say almost literally none — from my predecessors. The “ History of British Zoophytes ” VI PREFACE. by Dr. Johnston has hitherto been the English naturalist’s only guide to the study of these creatures ; and notwithstanding the value of this work in many points, the almost utter worthless- ness of their specific characters has been often confessed. That excellent zoologist lived on a coast where the Anemones are feebly represented ; and hence his personal acquaintance with species was very small, or the result would doubtless have been different. The elaborate tl Histoire Naturelle des Coralliaires ” of M. Milne-Edwards is liable to the same objection. A work of immense research, labour, and patience, it bears evidence in every page of being the produce of the museum and the closet, not of the aquarium and the shore. With those species which possess no stony skeleton, the learned author evidently had no acquaint- ance,— or next to none ; — and hence he has merely reproduced the words of his authorities in all their vagueness ; while the distribution of the species into genera and families appears so full of manifest error to one personally familiar with the animals in a living state, that I have not attempted to follow his arrangement. I have been compelled, therefore, to draw up the characters of my subjects de novo ; and in doing so I have resorted to nature itself ; I have studied the living animals. For the last eight years I have searched the most prolific parts of the British shores, — the coast of Dorset, South and North Devon, and South Wales ; and have moreover, as the following pages show, had poured into my aquaria the productions of almost every other part of our coasts, — from the Channel Isles to the Shetlands. For these last I am indebted to the kindness of many zealous scientific friends, whose names appear in this volume, and to whom I here express my grateful obligation ; especially distin- guishing Mr. F. H. West of Leeds, and the Rev. W. Gregor of Macduff, as pre-eminent in their contributions. The result is that seventy-five species find their places in these pages, five of which are merely indicated, leaving seventy good species, exclusive of the Lucernariadce . Of these twenty- PREFACE. Vll four only are described in Johnston, — the rest of his species being either synonyms or resting on insufficient evidence. Fifty -four British species have been examined by myself, perhaps a larger number than have come under the notice of any other naturalist ; by far the greater part in life and health ; and thirty-four of these have been added to the British Fauna by myself. A new feature in works of this sort, which will strike the student, perhaps needs a word of explanation ; — I mean the dis- tinguishing of the prominent varieties of each species by a diagnosis, and the assigning of a trivial name to each. Consider- ing the variability of many of the forms, I trust the convenience of this procedure will excuse the innovation. The analytical tables of the families, genera, and species, hitherto scarcely known in English zoological works, will, I think, be found useful ; nor will the attempt to tabulate the geographical distribution of the species be devoid of interest to the philosophic student. The plates must speak for themselves : they have been printed in colours by Mr. W. Dickes, who has spared no effort to make them, as nearly as possible, fac-similes of my original drawings, which were made from the life. Nearly two years have been occupied in the progressive publi- cation of the work, as it has been issued in bi-monthly parts. Advantages and disadvantages attend this mode of publication. Among the former may be reckoned that the information is brought down to the latest period, and that the successive parts stimulate the zeal and co-operation of fellow-labourers ; the book thus embodying the knowledge of many, rather than of one. Among disadvantages must be put down, incongruities between the earlier and the later portions, statements made and opinions hazarded which are subsequently corrected, and omissions which are finally supplied. For these defects the author must cast himself on the kind consideration of his readers, who must be aware that no branch of science is at one stay even for a single month. Vlll PREFACE. My labour has been performed con amove; I have looked forward to it for many years past; and it is with no small grati- fication that I see it completed. I send forth the result as one more tribute humbly offered to the glory of the Triune God, “ who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.” P. H. Gosse. Torquay, December , 1859. LIST OF PLATES, I. — 1. Actinoloba dianthus. 2. Sagartia bellis. 3. S. troglodytes. 4, 5, 6. S. rosea. 7. S. venusta. 8, 9. S. sphyro- deta . . To face page 12 II. — 1, 8. Sagartia nivea. 2, 3, 4. S. miniata. 5. S. troglodytes. 6. S. parasitica. 9, 10. S. ornata 42 III. — 1, 2. Sagartia troglodytes. 3. S. viduata. 4, 5. S. pallida. 6. S. pura. 7, 8. Adamsia palliata 106 IV. — 1. Tealia crassicornis. 2, 3. Bunodes gemmacea. 4. B. Ballii. 5, 6. B. thallia 190 V. — 1. Bolocera Tuediae. 2. Anthea cereus. 3. Aiptasia Couchii. 4. Sagartia coccinea. 5. S. troglodytes Front VI. — 1 to 6. Actinia mesembryanthemum. 7. A. cbiococca. 8. Sa- gartia chrysosplenium. 9. Anthea cereus. 10. Tealia digitata. 11. S. viduata 206 VII. — 1, Phellia gausapata. 2. P. murocincta. 3. Gregoria fenes- trata. 4. Bunodes coronata. 5, 6. Edwardsia carnea. 7. E. callimorpha. 8. Cerianthus Lloydii. 9, 10. Hal- campa chrysanthellum. 11. H. microps 228 VIII. — Hormathia Margaritae. 2. Phellia Brodricii. 3. Peachia hastata. 4. P. undata. 5. Stomphia Churchiae. 6. Ily- anthus Mitchellii 23s IX.— 1 to 5. Corynactis viridis. 6. Bolocera eques. 7. Zoanthus sulcatus. 8. Z. Alderi. 9, 10. Z. Couchii. 11. Aure- liania augusta. 12. A. heterocera. 13. Capnea san- guinea ................ 282 LIST OF PLATES. X. — 1. Lophohelia prolifera. 2. Peachia triphylla. 3. Sphenotro- chus Wrightii. 4. S. Macandrewanus. 5. Zoanthus Couchii. 6. Paracyathus Taxilianus. 7. P. pteropus. 8. P. Thulensis. 9. Hoplangia Durotrix. 10, 11. Bala- nophyllia regia. 12, 13. Caryophyllia Smithii. To face p. 308 XI. — Anatomical details. 1. Ideal demi-section of a Sagartia. a. septum ; b. septal foramen ; c. stomach ; d. liver ; e. ovarian mesentery ; f. ovary ; g. craspedal mesentery ; h. craspedum ; i. acontia. 2. Fragment of craspedum (S. bellis) with its mesentery {magnified). 3. The same craspedum under pressure {more highly magnified). 4. Fragment of acontium {S. bellis). 5. Portion of column containing cinclides {A. dianthus). k. fully open ; l. slightly open ; m. closed. 6. Chambered cnida {Ca- ryophyllia) before discharge. 7. Chambered cnida {Tealia) discharged, n. ecthoraeum ; o. strebla; p. pterygia. 8. Chambered cnida discharging, showing the ecthoraeum in process of evolving. (N.B. — The strebla and pterygia are here omitted, for the sake of greater clearness.) 9. Tangled cnida {Corynactis). 10. Spiral cnida {Tealia) discharging. 11, 12. Globate cnidae {S. parasitica). q. peribola 348 XII. — Magnified Figures. 1. Phellia picta. 2. Zoanthus sulcatus. 3. Edwardsia carnea. 4. Caryophyllia (tentacle). 5. Zo- anthus Alderi. 6. Halcampa microps. 7. Gregoria fenestrata. 8. Phellia murocincta 358 INTRODUCTION. Though the following “ History of the British Sea- anemones and Corals ” is intended for general readers, it seems desirable that it should be accompanied by a brief resume of what is known concerning the anatomy and physiology of this order of animals. I have commenced the text of the work with a general description of the con- stituent parts of their bodies, in order to establish a determinate orismology for the class, and shall here assume that the reader is sufficiently familiar with the various organs, and the terms by which they are indicated. The Sea-anemones present a low grade of animal existence, and are commonly represented as exceedingly simple in structure. The term 4 4 Animal-flowers,” by which they were known to the early observers, and which has been perpetuated in the Greek equivalent 44 Anthozoa,” applied to the class by some modern naturalists, has been thought to express the fact, that a vegetable type of organization is scarcely less proper to them than an animal one. It is, however, to the accidental resemblance which these beautiful forms often bear to a highly-coloured and many-petaled flower, that the name owes its appropriate- ness, rather than to any close assimilation to the vegetable structure. The Sea-anemone is an indubitable animal, and its organization is more complex than is usually supposed. This will be seen as we proceed with the successive ex- amination of the organs.* * In all cases in which. I do not adduce any other authority, the following statements may be considered as given on the authority of my own dissec- tions and observations. Xll INTRODUCTION. 1. Tegumentary System. The skin is sufficiently distinct. After a few hours’ maceration in fresh water {Sag. bellis ), the epithelial and pigmental cells are easily removed with a hair-pencil, leaving the outer layer of muscular fibre bare. If the specimen be immersed in spirit for a day or two (A. dianthus), the integument may be separated in flakes, which, under the microscope, are seen to be composed of a multitude of short corrugated fibrillse, set in no definite direction, interspersed with clear granules, pigment grains, and cnidse. An examination of the living animal (« dianthus , bellis, crassicornis, Hale, chrysanthellum, Cor. viridis, &c.) shows that the skin is composed of three elements, though these cannot always be separated. A layer of epithelial ciliated cells forms the first tunic : these are constantly in process of being thrown off from the true skin, in the form of mucus ; but in some cases (. PheTlia , Edwardsia) they entangle foreign matters, and retain their cohesion as an investment more or less dense, and more or less firmly adherent to the skin. Below this is the true skin, of a more granular character, and carrying, imbedded in its thickness, a multitude of cnidse, whose discharging points are directed outwards. Intimately connected with this layer, but still lying sufficiently beneath it to be regarded as a distinct stratum, are the pigment-cells, which impart the colours to the animal. The tentacles of Aijptasia and Anthea (less conspicuously also of S. bellis ) are lined with a dense layer of cells, forming to the naked eye a dark brown lining. Some peculiarities of these cells I have detailed (at page 167, infra ) : it is probable that this layer may have some special function yet unrecognised. 2. Muscular System. In most species the muscular frame- work of the body is beautifully distinct, and the tissue is readily isolable. The column is a cylinder of muscular tissue, consisting of two layers, the outer composed of transverse, the inner of longitudinal, fibres. The trans- verse fibres are the more strongly marked : they average about ’0001 inch in diameter, and are never striate. The cylinder which forms the column, is closed in most species by two extremities, which are flat, like the top and bottom of a tin canister : the former is the disk, the latter the base. Each of these is but a continuation of the same INTRODUCTION, XIII two layers of fibre that compose the column-wall,— -the outer transverse fibres becoming concentrically circular; the inner longitudinal ones converging to, or towards, a centre. In general, the boundaries of these divisions are distinctly marked by an abrupt angular change of the direction of the inner fibres ; but in some species (Ilyan- THiDiE, Turbinolia , &c.), the body tapers gradually to a point below, without any angular change of direction. The fibres of the inner layer meet at a central point in the base, except in those species which have a central foramen there ; but in the disk they sustain another change of direc- tion, bending abruptly down at right angles, so as to form an inclosure in the axis of the column, parallel to the outer wall — the fibres of the outer layer still coating them. This downward prolongation forms the stomach, which will be presently described. In T crassicornis the angle which is formed by the in- bending of the fibres to form the disk, is strengthened by a muscular cord, about half a line in thickness, consisting of annular fibres, and evidently acting as a sphincter : it is this band that forms the parapet. In Sagartia ( bellis , miniata , nivea , &c.) the muscular tunic, in contraction, corrugates into a reticulate or honey- comb-like pattern, inclosing shallow cells of much regu- larity. It is, I think, these inclosed areas, any one of which may be considered as a cell, with perpendicular walls of muscular tissue, that constitute the sucking warts, by means of which minute fragments of shell or gravel are grasped, and retained with considerable force. If this exposition is correct, all of the corrugated cells are capable of becoming suckers at the will of the animal ; but, in fact, only a few are so used at a time. The cells {nivea, miniata) are about *014 inch in depth and longitudinal diameter, while their transverse diameter may average about *084 inch. It is the outer layer of muscles that constitutes these corrugations. The sucking warts in the Bunodidce , are of similar character ; but here the elevation of the muscular tunic is more permanent, and the walls of the individual cells are thicker, and are incurved towards each other. To the muscular system belong the Septa. These are thin plates of muscular tissue, comprising the two layers of transverse and longitudinal fibres, doubled on each other, X1Y INTRODUCTION. and stretching vertically through the -cavity inclosed by the column. Each principal septum (Plate XI. fig. 1, a), in any of the normal species, is inserted, by its outer edge, into the column-wall throughout its entire height ; by its lower edge, into the base, from the wall to the centre ; by its upper edge, into the disk, from the margin to the mouth ; and, by its inner edge, into the stomach, from the lip, almost to the free bottom of that viscus. From thence the inner edge recedes with an arching outline, and is free, until it is gradually merged in the lower edge at the centre of the base. Between these primary septa, others are developed in succession, partitioning off the imperfect chambers thus formed. But the septa of each successive cycle, while still inserted in the column-wall throughout, spring from the stomach at higher and higher points, and terminate at points more and more remote from the centre of the base. The number of septa depends, to a certain limit, on the age of the individual, but in Peachia it never exceeds twelve, and in Halcampa microps , eight. In Peachia , the tissue of the septa is very dense, and still more so in T. crassicornis, where it assumes a firmness almost cartilaginous, and a decided blue colour. The muscular tissue of the disk protrudes in the form of hollow cones, which are the tentacles : each of these springs from an interseptal chamber, and hence their deve- lopment is in cycles corresponding to that of the septa. The fibres which compose their walls are very delicate. 3. Nervous and Sensory System. I have been as unsuc- cessful as my predecessors, in my search for nervous threads or ganglia ; still, I have little doubt that such exist. I should expect their presence in the form of a ring, sur- rounding the mouth, perhaps with a pair of ganglia at the gonidial tubercles, distributing threads to the tentacles. I have never observed any trace of auditory vesicles or otolithes, nor any organs that I could regard as eyes ; not even in the rudimentary form of those aggregations of pig- ment-cells, that occur on the margin of the Naked-eyed Medusae. A delicate sense of touch certainly exists, dis- tributed over the entire surface, but specially localized in the lips and the tentacles. The occasional elongation of one or more of these latter organs, and their employment (as described at pp. 34 — 36, infra ), indicate the existence of an active tactile faculty, and not merely of passive INTRODUCTION. XV irritability. The tips of the tentacles are bristled with the minute points, called by Dr. T. S. Wright palpocils ,* which he considers as delicate tactile organs. These are specially conspicuous on the globose heads of the tentacles of Corynactis and Caryophyllia. I am not sure whether I ought to regard, as an organ of taste, the surface of the lower, part of the stomach, which in T. crassicornis I find covered with innumerable papillae, not quite uniform in size or shape, some being more pointed, others more round, and averaging about '0003 inch in diameter. 4. Digestive System. This is very simple, consisting essentially of a short tube descending from the centre of the disk, with an open extremity hanging loose in the body-cavity (Plate XI. fig. 1, c). I have already observed that the inner edges of the septa are inserted into its outer wall, and these maintain it in place, while by their trans- verse contraction they can draw asunder its surfaces, and by their longitudinal contraction they can either lengthen or shorten it. The stomach-wall itself, however, is muscular possessing at least the layer of transverse fibres, though I have not quite satisfied myself of the presence of the longi- tudinal layer. The form of the stomach is not that of a cylinder, but of a flattened sac, or of a pillow-case unsewed at both ends. This form may be well seen in pellucid specimens of A. diantJius , and in the smaller iLYANTHlDiE, and it may be examined by dissection in others. The excessive contrac- tion of the parts, and the copious excretion of mucus, do, however, present great obstacles to satisfactory demonstra- tions under the scalpel. I have therefore resorted to accessory means. A specimen of T. crassicornis fully expanded I treated with laudanum, drop by drop. It immediately expelled the water contained in tha tentacles, causing these organs to shrink and shrivel, but not re- tracting them. The mouth, which had been pursed together, began slowly to open, and dilated greatly, almost to the concealment of the tentacles, the summit of the now flattened animal being almost wholly occupied by the gaping orifice. An excellent opportunity was thus afforded for examining the structure of the stomach, which was revealed without the excretion of mucus. The languor, too, induced by the narcotic, allowed the parts to be freely * See Edin. New Phil. Journ., April, 1857. XVI INTRODUCTION. touched with instruments without much effort at con- traction. The gular tube is remarkably corrugated longitudinally, the folds being so full, that a transverse section would present a series of figures 8. In the present state of con- traction there were horizontal corrugations also. At a short distance below the mouth the stomach ends abruptly, the edge, thin and delicate, hanging freely like a much folded curtain into the cavity. At each angle of this flattened sac the gonidial groove was conspicuous from top to bottom, inclosed by two slender columns of the firm cartilage-like muscle. The diameter of the digestive tube is, when at rest, not greater than that of the mouth ; indeed, the walls are in contact; nor, so far as my observation extends, are they ever separated except for the reception of food. It has been customary to represent the stomach as a sac pierced at the bottom “ by one or more valvular openings which1 communicate with the cavity of the body.”* But the case is as I have stated it : the free folded membrane hangs perpendicularly ; nor is there any thickening of the edge, nor any structure which at all resembles a sphincter. In tall specimens, I have observed, through the semi- transparent integuments, food pass into the stomach, and have marked that the morsel is invariably retained, never passing through to the general cavity ; but I am persuaded that this is effected by the common contractility of the walls, and not by a sphincter. "When morsels of food, such as fragments of butchers’ meat, are swallowed by Anemones, they are retained for some hours, and then vomited ; and because little change has passed upon the solid parts it has been rashly concluded that no process of digestion takes place in these animals. On this foolish hypothesis it is difficult to see why food should be swallowed at all, or what need the animal has of mouth or stomach. Their ordinary food, however, is not mammalian muscle, but the far softer and more fluid flesh of Crustacea, Mollusca , and Annelida . Nothing is more common than to find large specimens of A . mesembryan - themum or T. crassicornis discharge, soon after their capture, * Siebold’s Comp. Anat. § 37. “ The stomach with its circular aperture at the base ” (Teale). Johnston, indeed, denies it any aperture at all : — u There is no — other visible exit from the stomach than the mouth.” INTRODUCTION. XY1I the shell of a crab, or a limpet, from which the entire flesh has been removed and replaced by a tenacious glaire. No doubt the first part of the process consists largely of ma- ceration, and continued pressure, by means of which the juices of the food are extracted. The nutritive matters thus obtained are then subjected to the action of the bile. No anatomist, I believe, has as yet attributed a liver to these animals, but I have little doubt that such is the character of a structure which I am about to describe. In dianthus, crassicornis, Peachia undata, and others, the stomach-wall is lined on the interior side of its upper portion (the side, I mean, which is within the interseptal chambers) with a thick highly-coloured sub- stance. In the first two named this is yellow or orange, in the last salmon-red. This lining is ( dianthus ) about half a line in thickness, of a pulpy tissue, arranged in irregular lobules, covered with a ciliated epithelium (Plate XI. fig. 1, d). On being crushed down, the pulp is found to be composed of a nearly uniform mass of yellow fat-cells, the largest of which are about *0003 inch in diameter, and the smallest immeasurable points. Cnidm occur numerously in the true stomach-wall, but none in this lining-coat. I am justified, then, in presuming this organ, from its colour, form, position, and structure, to be a liver* In Aiptasia I find what I think an analogous structure, but with a slightly varied position. The septa, instead of being inserted into the stomach-wall from the point where they spring off to the summit, recede from it at their upper part, where their edges carry rounded pulpy lobes, which under pressure consist of a clear tenacious sarcode, carrying a moderate number of brown pigment-cells. The sarcode is composed of globose cells, averaging *0005 inch in diameter, each containing more or fewer oil-globules, * As an example of the need of caution in such observations as these, I may be pardoned for mentioning the following circumstance : — While viewing the surface of the pulpy tissue above described under a good reflected light with a power of 133 diameters, I saw it forming irregular lobes, with deep narrow sinuous depressions. Over the surface, and chiefly following the lines of the sinuosities, I noticed meandering white lines, like very slender branching threads. The thought that I had dis- covered veritable nerves immediately occurred to me ; but turning the mirror of the microscope to test the observation with a different angle of the light, I found I had been looking at merely the light reflected from the edge of the smooth lobules 1 l XV111 INTRODUCTION. averaging *0005 inch, but some attaining *0003. These are very numerous in the mass. 5. Circulatory and Respiratory systems. These exist in so simple a condition that we can scarcely separate them in our investigations. Dr. Williams has distinguished by the term Chylaqueous fluid , “ that fluid which occupies the gastric and perigastric cavities of all animals below the Annelida.”* It is far less vitalized than true blood, but still it is not mere water, being impregnated with organized corpuscles and slightly albuminized. In the animals of the class before us there is no blood, and no vascular system, but the cavity of the body is ample, and is copiously occupied by a transparent fluid, which has by some been mistaken for sea-water. I have, however, proved by ex- periments, recorded elsewhere, f on numerous species, that this fluid is copiously provided with organic corpuscles, circular or ovate disks, granulose in character, of a clear yellow colour, varying from *0001 to *0008 inch in diameter, the larger ones inclosing oil-globules. The fluid coagulates on the addition of nitric acid, showing that it holds albu- men in solution. It would appear that the action of the stomach is confined to the solution and extraction of albumen and oil, which are carried with sea-water into the general cavity, the com- pound being a chylaqueous fluid; and that it is in the upper part of the interseptal chambers that it is acted upon by the biliary. secretion. For the free circulation of this fluid to every part of the interior, the whole body is lined with a delicate, strongly ciliated epithelium. The ciliary current is upward : when a pellucid dianthus has its fosse much exposed, it is quite easy to see the current driving up from every part of the interior along the whole inner wall, and passing into the tentacles, up which the atoms are then hurled. I believe there is no change in the set of this current : for though atoms are seen, especially at the bottom of the tentacles, occasionally to pass annularly or diagonally; and though of course there must be a return of the fluid driven up- ward— for there does not appear, with the closest watching, a trace of exit at the tip of the tentacles; and though, indeed, atoms are seen, though rarely, to pass downward, — I think these irregular and retrograde movements are * Phil. Trans. 1852. + Annals of Nat. Hist. ; March, 1858. INTRODUCTION. XIX merely the mechanical result of the impact of the ciliary current on the closed tip. If so, the current runs upward on the whole inner surface of the walls, and then returns down the centre. And this, I am persuaded, is the case. That the tentacles are perforated at the tip is, however, certain : but it is closed or opened at the will of the animal, the outer annular layer of fibres acting as a sphincter. Nothing is more common than to see a fully expanded indi- vidual of T. crassicornis , when suddenly alarmed,' eject slender streams of water from the tips of its tentacles ; and I have seen an instance in which, the animal being but just covered with water, the jets were projected to a height of three inches above the surface. In S. bellis , after macera- tion, the slightest pressure on these organs causes the pigment to ooze out at the tip. In many that I so treated, not one allowed it to escape at the side ; nor in any case was there the least appearance of resistance, suddenly yielding as if by a rupture ; nor did the aperture in any case enlarge, nor was it in any case otherwise than at the precise extremity. From which circumstances I infer a natural foramen there ; and think that it exists in all species, except those (as Corynactis and Caryojphyllia ) which have a globose appendage at the extremity of the tentacle. The circulation of the nutrient fluid is aided by a curious apparatus of foramina, of which I have met with no description. It is difficult to find them in dissection, for they appear to close with contraction ; but in bellis , on making a transverse section just below the disk, I have found a small round aperture in each primary and secon- dary septum, through which I could thrust a probe without laceration. It is during life, however, that, under certain favourable circumstances (for they cannot at all times be detected), they must be studied. In dianthus , when very much distended, I have seen the principal septa perforated with a large circular foramen in the midst of their broadest part, resembling iron girders supporting a floor, excavated for lightness (Plate XI. fig. 1, b). In Anthea cereus they are conspicuous ;* but I have been unable to detect them in T. crassicornis or in Corynactis. * The most satisfactory observations I have made on these perforations were on a specimen of Anthea cereus, var. sulphurea. Being very much expanded, and distended to translucency, the base adherent to the side of a glass tank, the column greatly exceeding the base, the window opposite, b 2 XX INTRODUCTION. That the function of Respiration should be widely dif- fused and very simple in these animals will follow from what has been said. The chylaqueous fluid, consisting largely of sea-water admitted freely from without, is itself a reservoir of oxygen, and thus its organized elements are perpetually aerated. We have already seen how the ciliary currents within maintain a constant succession of the bathing fluid upon every part ; and there can be no doubt that some mode of exit is provided for the effete water. What this is, however, I know not. In Cerianthus , which has a posterior foramen to the body-cavity, I have seen the water forcibly ejected from this aperture (see infra , p. 272) ; I have also marked a sudden jet d'eau from the disk (pro- bably from the mouth, but of this I was not sure) of T . crassicornis , which shot up some mucous shreds with force to the surface, a height of some five inches. Perhaps these expulsions, and those from the tentacle-tips already alluded to, may be set down as so many expirations (per- haps periodical) of deoxygenated water. Ancillary to respiration, as renewing the water in the vicinity of the animal, is the ciliation of the external sur- face. This is strong and uniform on the tentacles, but I have never been able satisfactorily to trace it on the column. It is first visible at the margin, flowing in an even current up the tentacle, on every side, from the foot to the I saw with a lens, for an hour together, with the utmost distinctness, a small circular (oval in perspective) foramen in each septum. That is, I saw them in a dozen or more successive septa, without interruption. The diameter of the foramen was about the same as that of a tentacle near the tip, in its ordinary state of extension. That the foramina were in films whose surfaces were coincident with the line of vision, and not transverse to it, I proved, by moving my eye to the right and left, by which the foramen became more and more round, or more and more linear, the line in the latter case being that of the axis of the column. Hence they must have been in films running from the column-wall towards the axis perpen- dicularly, as regards the position of the animal ; — conditions which agree with the septa, and with them only. The next day, with a very favourable sight, I traced the foramina conse- cutively for half the circumference of the animal. In this space there were 49 septa (perhaps one more than the half, for I bisected only with my eye) ; and I found that the foramina are pierced through those which are entire (by far the greater number), but that the series is interrupted irre- gularly by those imperfect septa, which span the cavity like an arch. The latter were invariably two together, differing much in the height of the arch, and graduated in this respect. The detail of the numbers of the consecutive septa, in the half-animal, stands thus ; — Perforate— 13 . 2 . 10 . 4 . 2 . 2 . 2 . Imperforate — . 2.2 . 2. 2. 2. 2. 2 INTRODUCTION. XXI tip, where it passes off. Balanophyllia presents an excep- tion to this rule, which I have found to hold good in all other examined cases. In this instance, the tentacles, which are densely clothed with palpocils, seem to me destitute of external cilia, wdiile all the scarlet parts are furnished with these latter. The ciliary currents flow down the sides of the column, and up the conical mouth from the whole circumference of the disk. 6. Reproductive System. The Actinaeia increase by spontaneous fission, by gemmation, and by generation. Fission takes place either by a longitudinal division of the entire animal from above downwards, or by separation of small fragments from the edge of the base, which soon develop themselves into minute and apparently young indi- viduals. The former mode appears to be not uncommon with Anthea cereus (see infra , p. 169) ; and an imperfect form of the same produces double-disked individuals of Actinoloba and Actinia. The latter mode is common with several of the Sagartiadoe. (see pp. 19, 66, 86, 110). Gemmation, — the production of buds from the parent individual — occurs largely in the order before us, but prin- cipally in those which have a stony skeleton. According to Mr. Dana, whose classification I have followed, the Astr^e- acea always bud from the disk, the Caryophylliacea invariably from the side or base. But a specimen of A. diantlius has come into my possession, — through the kindness of L. Winterbotham, Esq. of Cheltenham, — which has two young individuals projecting one from each side, at about mid-height, — an indubitable example of lateral gemmation. The animal has continued in the same condi- tion for nearly a year, with no tendency to separate its progeny. Generation is of course the normal mode of increase of the race. The sexes are sometimes united in one indi- vidual (S. troglodytes , p. 100) ; sometimes separate ( Stom - phia Churchice , p. 225). The testes and the ovaries cannot be distinguished from each other by a cursory examination ,* each consists of a pulpy mass, usually of an orange or pale salmon-colour, attached to the free edges of the septa. The peritoneal membrane which invests each side of the septum is produced beyond the muscular layers in the form of a mesentery of two films in contact (Plate XI. fig. 1, e). At some distance from the edge of the septum, the films XXII INTRODUCTION. separate, and inclose the reproductive organ (/), uniting again beyond it into a second mesentery (g)9 which is bounded by the craspedum ( h ) presently to be described. Both mesenteries are full and plaited, especially the cras- pedal one. The spermatic fluid is discharged in a turbid cloud through the mouth, and is diffused through the surrounding water (pp. 99, 100). The ova are also discharged through the mouth, or through the gonidial grooves (pp. 97, 98, 99). The development of the egg is into an infusorium-like germ, differing in shape in different species, but always covered with vibratile cilia, and freely locomotive. Exam- ples of the occurrence of these will be found infra (; passim ), and many highly interesting details have been recorded in the magnificent works of Sir J. G. Dalyell. The manner in which the development of the Anemone proceeds has been illustrated by Dr. Cobbold;* a depression in the surface of the globose embryo becomes the general cavity ; the edges then become incurved and descend into the cavity, forming the stomach; septa spring from the inner wall, beginning from the summit and extending downwards, and tentacles bud from around the mouth. Eggs, germs, or fully formed young, are discharged indifferently through the mouth : in the latter two cases the embryos have passed their earlier developments within the general cavity. 7. Teliferous System. In common with some nearly allied forms the Actinaria are furnished with a system of armature of most extraordinary character. It is compara- tively a recent discovery that their tissues contain exces- sively minute bodies, in the form of oblong or oval transpa- rent vesicles, which have the power of shooting out a long thread of extensive tenuity. Wagner first drew the atten- tion of physiologists to these organs, though he mistook their functions for that of spermatozoa ; an error which was participated by Dr. Wyman, in his observations recorded in Dana’s magnificent work on Zoophytes. Their true cha- racter has, however, been sufficiently established by many observers, including Wagner, Erdl, Quatrefages, Kolliker, Agassiz, and myself. These bodies I have called cnidce , or thread-cells. The cnidce , in the Actinoid Zoophytes, are not confined to one organ or set of organs. They are found in various * Annals Nat. Hist, for Feb. 1853. INTRODUCTION. XX111 tissues, and in different regions of the body. They abound in the walls of the tentacles, in the marginal spherules (of Actinia proper), in the corrugated integument that sur- rounds the mouth, in the walls of the stomach, and in the epidermic mucus that is thrown off from these last-named parts on the stimulus of irritation. But there are certain special organs in which they are crowded to an extraor- dinary degree, and which, so far as I know, have no other function than that of being magazines of the cnidce. These organs are of two kinds, which I have designated respec- tively as craspeda , and acontia. The Craspeda . The peritoneal membrane of the septa, having formed, by the contact of its two laminge, a kind of mesentery, separates again to inclose the ovary; again unites into a second mesentery, the edge of which is greatly puckered, and thickened in the form of a cylindrical cord, closely resembling the bolt-rope of a ship’s sails, or still more the cording in the hem of a flounced garment. This marginal cord, bound throughout its length to the ovary, or to the septum, by a mesentery, I call the Craspedum (Plate XL fig. 2). So far as my examinations have gone, the craspeda are found in all Actinaria, and for the most part in great profusion. In T. crassicornis , for instance, they constitute an inextricable tangle of white frilled cords, seen every- where below and behind the stomach, and protruding through every wound of the integuments. The thickness of the cord does not, as has been stated, “ increase from above downward.” Nor does it “ terminate in the coats of the stomach if we gradually cut away the stomach, piece- meal, until the free edge has disappeared, we still find the crasjpeda bordering the mesenteries of the septa , until the latter are lost at the point of their convergence in the centre of the floor of the visceral cavity. The craspedum, under pressure, displays the following elements. (1.) A clear, colourless, highly refractile sar- code, which, under extreme pressure, has a tendency to draw out into strings, and long-tailed drops, like a thick oil on a wetted surface. (2.) Minute scattered granules, very irregular in shape. (3.) Mulberry-like aggregations of granules, of a clear yellow hue, compactly built together, and firm, which have the appearance of being inclosed in a definite cell-wall. These are generally ovate, but are some- XX1Y INTRODUCTION. what irregular in form. (4.) Cnidae, in greater or less abundance, according to the species. As the craspedum flattens under pressure, these are crowded at the edges, and are seen to he arranged, more or less distinctly, side by side ; their long axes set at right angles to the axis of the craspedum , and their emitting extremities either close to its edge, or projecting from it. The more dense their aggrega- tion, the more definitely is this arrangement maintained; doubtless because displacement of their original position is more readily effected by the flattening action of the com- pressorium, when the cnidce are more loosely scattered in the fluid sarcode. The peritoneal membrane which invests the whole is richly ciliated on its entire surface. (Plate XI. fig. 3.) The Acontia. Certain species of the Zoophytes under consideration have the faculty of shooting forth from the mouth, as well as from minute orifices scattered over the surface of the body, slender flexible filaments, usually of an opaque white hue, but sometimes, as in Adamsia palliata , of a brilliant lilac tint. In some instances, as in Sagartia parasitica, S. miniata and Adamsia palliata, these threads are protruded in great profusion, coiled up in irregular spirals, and forming tangled masses that resemble bundles of sewing cotton. It appears to be a means of defence ; and any of the species just mentioned may readily be excited to display these weapons by a slight irritation of the surface of the body. The slightest touch is usually a sufficient stimulus to the extension, which will often continue to proceed for some time, the filaments; shooting forth from various points with great force and rapidity. They have a strongly adhesive power, which, however, is not dependent on any superficial viscosity, but on the projectile power of the contained cnidce , of which I shall presently speak. If we carefully watch one of these threads, we shall perceive that after a time it is gradually withdrawn again into the body, by the orifice at which it was protruded. In the case of 8. parasitica , a large species, these filaments, which I designate by the term acontia , sometimes extend six inches from the body, in a straight line. Yet in a few minutes the whole has disappeared. It is gradually cor- rugated into small irregular coils, at the end which is attached to the animal ; and these little coils are, one after INTRODUCTION. XXV another, sucked in, as it were, through an imperceptible orifice. Acontia are less universal than craspeda , for whereas the latter are always present, so far as I know, in this order, the former are found only in the Sagartiada, and perhaps in the Bunodidce. In Sagartia bellis they spring from the mesenteries that carry the craspeda ; generally two acontia from each mesentery, and most frequently in pairs. Their point of insertion may be anywhere in the length of the mesentery, great irregularity prevailing in this respect. Though at first it seems a solid cylinder, the acontium is really a flat narrow ribbon, with involute and approximate edges, which can at pleasure be brought into contact, and thus constitute a tube (Plate XI. fig. 4). Like the craspedum , of which it seems to be a form modified for a special use, its surface is richly ciliated ; and the ciliary currents not only hurl along whatever floating atoms chance to approach the surface, but cause the detached fragments themselves to wheel round and round, and to swim away through the water. Though there is not the slightest trace of fibrillae in the structure of the acontium , even under a power of 800 diameters, the clear sarcode , of which its basis is composed, is endowed with a very evident contractility. Under pressure, the edges of the flattened acontium appear to be thronged with clear viscous globules, over- lapping one another, and protruding ; indicating one or more layers of superficial cells, doubtless forming the peritoneal epithelium. As the pressure is increased, these ooze out as long pear-shaped drops, and immediately assume a perfectly globular form, with a high refractive power. Below these is packed a dense crowd of cnidce , arranged transversely. The Cinclides. The emission of the acontia is provided for by the existence of special orifices, which I term Cinclides. The integument of the body, in the Sagartia, is perforated by minute foramina, having a resemblance in appearance to the spiracula of insects. They occur in the interseptal spaces, opening a communication between these and the external water. The appearance of the cinclides may be compared to that which would be presented by the lids of the human XXVI INTRODUCTION. eye, supposing these to be reversed; the convexity being inwards. Each is an oval depression, with a transverse slit across the middle. When closed, this slit may some- times be discerned merely as a dark line (Plate XI. fig. 5, m), the optical expression of the contact of the two edges ; but, when slightly opened (Z), a brilliant line of light allows the passage of the rays from the lamp to the beholder. From this condition the lids may separate in various degrees, until they are retracted to the margin of the oval pit, and the whole orifice is open (&). The dimensions of the cinclides vary not only with the species, and probably also with the size of the individual, but with the state of the muscular contraction of the integu- ments, and, as I think, with the pleasure of the animal. In a small specimen of S. dianthus , I found the width of a cinclis , measured transversely, ^fgth of an inch ; but that of another, in tlie same animal, was more than twice as great, viz. Troth of an inch. This was on the thickened marginal ring, or parapet, which in this species surrounds the tentacles, where the cinclides are larger than elsewhere. Watching a specimen of S. nivea under the microscope, I saw a cinclis begin to open, and gradually expand till it was almost circular in outline, and sth of an inch in diameter. I slightly touched the animal, and it in an instant enlarged the aperture to rorth of an inch. In a specimen of S. bellis , less than half grown, I found the cinclides numerous, and sufficiently easy of detection, but rather less defined than in dianthus or nivea . They occurred at about every fourth intersept, three intersepts being blind for each perforate one, and about three or four in linear series, but not quite regularly, in either of these respects. In this case they were about eVth of an inch in transverse diameter, a large size, — and I measured one which was even g^tli of an inch. By bringing the animal before the window, I could discern the light through the tiny orifices with my naked eye. From several good observations, and especially from one on a cinclis , widely opened, that happened to be close to the edge of the parapet of a dianthus, I perceived that the passage is not absolutely open, at least in ordinary, but that an excessively thin film lies across it. By delicate focusing, I have detected repeatedly, in different degrees of expansion, and even at the widest, the granulations of a INTEODUCTION. XXV11 membrane of excessive tenuity, and one or two scattered cnidce , across the bright interval. On another occasion, in the case of a cinclis at the edge of the parapet — a position singularly favourable for observation — I saw that this subtle film was gradually pushed out until it assumed the form of a hemispherical bladder, in which state it remained as long as I looked at it. At the same time the outline of the cinclis itself was sharp and clear, when brought into focus farther in. The film, whatever it be, is superficial, and does not appear to be a portion of the integument proper. I take it to be a film of mucus (composed of deorganized epithelial cells), which is constantly in process of being sloughed from all the superficial tissues in this tribe of animals, and which continues tenaciously to invest their bodies, until, corrugated by the successive contractions of the animals, it is washed away by the motions of the waves. As, however, one film is no sooner removed than another commences to form, one would always expect external pores so minute as these to be veiled by a mucus- film in seasons of rest. That the cinclides are the special orifices through which those missile weapons, the acontia , are shot and recovered, rests not merely on the probability that arises from the coexistence of the two series of facts I have above recorded, but upon actual observation. In a rather large S. dianthus, somewhat distended, placed in a glass vessel between my eye and the sun, I saw, with great dis- tinctness, by the aid of a pocket-lens, many acontia protruded from the cinclidcs, and many more of the latter widely open. The acontia , in some cases, did not so accurately fill the orifice but that a line of bright light (or of darkness, according as the sun was exactly opposite or not) was seen, partially bordering the issue of the thread, while the thickened rim of the cinclis surrounded all. The appearance of the orifices whence the acontia issued was that of a tubercle or wart, and the same appear- ance I have repeatedly marked in examples observed on the stage of the microscope; namely, that of a perforate pimple, or short columnar tube. This was clearly manifest, when the animal, slowly swaying to and fro, brought the sides of the cinclis into partial perspective. On another occasion I witnessed the actual issue of the acontia from the cinclides. I was watching, under a low XXV111 INTRODUCTION. power of the microscope, a specimen of 8. nivea, while, by touching its body rudely, I provoked it to emit its missile filaments. Presently they burst out with force, not all at once, but some here and there, then more, and yet more, on the repeated contractions of the corrugating walls of the body. Occasionally the free extremity of a filament would appear, but more frequently the bight of a bent one, and very often I saw two, and even three, issue from the same cinclis. The successive contractions of the animal under irritation, caused the acontia already protruded to lengthen with each fresh impetus, the bights still streaming out in long loops, till perhaps the free end would be liberated, and it would be a loop no longer ; and sometimes a new thread would shoot from a cinclis , whence one or two long ones were stretching already ; while, as often, the new- comers would force open new cinclides for themselves. The suddenness and explosive force with which they burst out, appeared to indicate a resistance which was at length overcome : — perhaps — in part at least — due to the epithelial film above mentioned, or to an actual epiderm, which, though often ruptured, has ever, with the aptitude to heal common to these lowly structures, the power of quickly uniting again. It appeared to me manifest, from this and other similar observations, that no such arrangement exists as that which I had fancied ; — that a definite cinclis is assigned to a definite acontium , or pair of acontia , and that the extremity of the latter is guided to the former, with unerring accu- racy, by some internal mechanism, whenever the exercise of the defensive faculty is desired. What I judge to be the true state of the case is as follows : The acontia , fastened by one end to the septa or their mesenteries, lie, while at rest, irregularly coiled up along the narrow interseptal fossae. The outer walls of these fossae are pierced with the cinclides . When the animal is irritated, it immediately contracts ; the water contained in the visceral cavity finds vent at these natural orifices, and the forcible currents carry with them the acontia , each through that cinclis which happens to lie nearest to it. The frequency with which a loop is forced out shows that the issue is the result of a merely mechanical action; which is, however, not the less worthy of our admiration because of the simplicity of the contrivance, nor the less manifestly the result of Divine INTRODUCTION. XXIX wisdom working to a given end by perfectly adequate means. The ejected acontia , loaded with their deadly cnidge in every part of their length, carry abroad their fatal powers not the less surely, than if each had been provided with a proper tube leading from its free extremity to the nearest cinclis. The Cnidce . — I come now to describe those minute but potent organs which constitute the object of all the mecha- nism above described. Four distinct forms of these cap- sules have occurred to my investigations ; and these I shall treat of in turn. (1.) Chambered Cnidce ( Cnidce earner atce). This is perhaps the most generally distributed form, as it is manifestly the most elaborately armed. It may be well examined in Caryophyllia Smithii. The globular heads of the tentacles seem, under pressure, to be literally com- posed of these capsules, the ends of which project side by side, as close as they can be packed, one against another. The form of these is long and slender, almost linear. The craspeda are also similarly studded with cnidce , which are, however, of longer dimensions, and of fuller form. As I have seen no chambered cnidse, in any species, so large as these, I shall take them as a standard for description, alluding to those of other species only when they differ from these. They are perfectly transparent, colourless vesicles, of a lengthened ovate figure, considerably larger at one end than at the other (Plate XI. fig. 6). One of average dimensions measures in length *004 inch, and in greatest diameter *0005. In the larger (the anterior) moiety, is seen, passing longitudinally through its centre, a slender chamber, fusiform or lozenge-form, about *00015 inch in its greatest transverse diameter, and tapering to a point at each extremity. The anterior point merges into the walls of the cnidce at its extremity, while the posterior end, after having become attenuated like the anterior, dilates with a funnel-shaped mouth, in which the eye can clearly see a double-infolding of the chamber-wall. After this double fold the structure proceeds as a very slender cord, which, passing back towards the anterior end of the capsule, winds loosely round and round the chamber, with some regularity at first, but becoming involved in contortions more and more intricate as it fills up the posterior moiety of the cavity. The fusiform chamber appears to be marked on XXX INTRODUCTION, i its inner surface with regularly recurring serrations, which are the optical expression of that peculiar armature to be described presently. Under the stimulus of pressure, when subjected to micro- scopical examination, and doubtless under nervous stimulus, subject to the control of the will, during the natural exer- cise of the animal’s functions, the cnid, 'ce suddenly emit their contents with great force, in a regular and prescribed manner. It must not be supposed, however, that the pres- sure spoken of is the immediate mechanical cause of the emission : the contact of the glass-plates of the compres- sorium is never so absolute as to exert the least direct force upon the walls of the capsule itself; but the disturbance produced by the compression of the surrounding tissues excites an irritability which evidently resides in a very high degree in the interior of the cnidce ; and the pro- jection of the contents is the result of a vital force. In general the eye can scarcely, or not at all, follow the lightning-like rapidity with which the chamber and its twining thread are shot forth from the larger end of the cnida. But sometimes impediments delay the emission, or allow it to proceed only in a fitful manner, a minute portion at a time ; and sometimes, from the resistance of friction (as against the glass-plate of the compressorium), the elongation of the thread proceeds evenly, but so slowly as to be watched with the utmost ease ; and sometimes the process, which has reached a certain point normally, be- comes, from some cause, arrested, and the contents of the cell remain permanently fixed in a transition state. Thus a long continued course of patient observation is pretty sure to present some fortuitous combinations, and abnormal conditions, which greatly elucidate phenomena that nor- mally seemed to defy investigation. In watching any particular cnida , the moment of its emission may be predicted with tolerable accuracy by the protrusion of a nipple -shaped wart from the anterior extremity. This is the base of the thread. The process of its protrusion is often slow and gradual, until it has attained a length about equal to twice its own diameter, when it suddenly yields, and the contents of the cnida dart forth. At this instant I have, in many instances, heard a distinct crack or crepitation, in the examination of cnidce both of this species and of S. 'parasitica . INTRODUCTION. XXXI When fully expelled, the thread or wire, which I distin- guish by the term ecthorceum (Plate XI. fig. 7, n), is often twenty, thirty, or even forty times the length of the cnida ; though, in some species, as in most of the Sagartice , it frequently will not exceed one-and-a-half, or two times the length of the cnida. The ecthorcea , which are discharged by chambered cnidce , are invariably furnished with a peculiar armature. The basal portion, for a length equal to that of the cnida , or a little more, is distinctly swollen, but at the point indicated it becomes (often abruptly) attenuated, and runs on for the remainder of its length as an excessively slender wire of equal diameter throughout. In the short ecthorcea of Sagartia, the attenuated portion is obsolete. It is chiefly upon this ventricose basal portion that the elaborate armature is seen, which is so characteristic of these remarkable organs. For around its exterior wind one or more spiral thickened bands, varying in different species as to their number, the number of volutions made by each, and the angle which the spiral forms with the axis of the ecthorceum . The whole spiral, formed of these thickened bands, I designate the screw, or strebla (fig. 7, o). In the ecthorcea emitted by chambered cnidce from the craspeda of T. crassicornis, the screw is formed of a single band, having an inclination of 45° to the axis, and be- coming invisible when .it has made seven volutions. In those from the same organ in S. parasitica we find a screw of two equidistant bands, each of which makes about six turns, — twelve in all, — having an inclination of 70° from the common axis. In those similarly placed in Caryophyllia , the strebla is composed of three equidistant bands, each of which makes about ten volutions — thirty in all — with an inclination of about 40° from the axis. In every case the spiral runs from the east towards the north, supposing the axis to point perpendicularly upwards. Sometimes, especially after having been expelled for some time, the wall of the ecthorceum becomes so attenu- ated as to be evanescent, while the strebla is still distinctly visible. An inexperienced observer would be liable, under such circumstances, to suppose that the screw, when formed of a single band, as in T. crassicornis , is itself the wire ; an error into which I myself had formerly fallen. An XXX11 INTRODUCTION. error of another kind I fell into, in supposing that the triple screw of the wire in C. Smithii was a series of imbricate plates : the structure of the armature is the same in all cases (with the variations in detail that I have just indicated) ; and the structure is, I am now well assured, a spiral thickened band, running round the wall of the ecthorceum on its exterior surface. I have been able, when examining such large forms as those of Corynactis and Garyojphyllia , with a power of 750 diameters, to follow the course of the screw, as it alternately approached and receded from the eye, by altering the focus of the objective, so as to bring each part successively into the sphere of vision. These thickened spiral bands afford an insertion for a series of firm bristles, which appear to have a broad base and to taper to a point. Their length I cannot determin- ately indicate, but I have traced it to an extent which considerably exceeds the diameter of the ecthorseum. These barbed bristles I denominate pterygia. (See fig. 7 ,y>.) The number of 'pterygia appears to vary within slight limits. As well as I have been able to make out, there are but eight in a single volution of the one-banded strebla in T. crassicornis ; while in the more complex screws of S. parasitica , Cor. viridis, and Gary . Smithii there appear to be twelve in each volution. The barbs, when they first appear, invariably project in a diagonal direction from the ecthorceum ; and sometimes they maintain this posture ; but more commonly, either in an instant, or slowly and gradually, they assume a reverted direction. From some delicate observations, made with a very good light, I have reason to conclude that the strebla , and even the pterygia , are continued on the attenuated portion of the ecthorceum , perhaps throughout its length. In Corynactis and Garyophyllia I have succeeded in tracing them up a considerable distance. In the latter I saw the continuation of all these bands, with their bristles; but the angle of inclination had become nearly twice as acute as before, being only 22° from the axis. The appearance of the attenuate portion, as also of the base of the ventricose part, is exactly that of a three-sided wire, twisted on itself ; the barbs projecting from the angles. (2.) Tangled Cnidce ( Gmdce glomiferce). This form is very generally distributed, and is mingled with the former INTRODUCTION. xxxiii in the various tissues. In the genus Sagartia, however, it is by far the rarer form, while in Actinia and Anthea , it seems to he the only one. The pretty little Corynactis viridis is the best species that I am acquainted with for studying this kind of cnidce. Their figure is near that of a perfect oval (Plate XI. fig. 9), but a little flattened in one aspect, about *004 inch in the longer, and *0015 in the shorter diameter. Their size, therefore, makes them peculiarly suitable for observations on the structure and functions of these curious organs. Within the cavity is a thread ( ecthorceum ) of great length and tenuity, coiled up in some instances with an approach to regularity, but much more commonly in loose contor- tions, like an end of thread rudely rolled into a bundle with the fingers. The armature of this kind does not differ essentially from that already described. It is true, I have detected it only in Corynactis , where the short ecthorceum of the tangled cnida is surrounded throughout its length by a barbed strebla of three bands. The barbs are visible under very favourable conditions for observation, even while the tangled wire remains enclosed in the cnida, but their optical expression is that of serratures of the walls, without the least appear- ance of a screw. This is the only species in which I have actually seen the armature of the ecthorceum in this kind of cnida , but I infer its existence from analogy, in other species, where the conditions that can be recognised agree with those in this, though the excessive attenuation of the parts precludes actual observation of the structure in question. (3.) Spiral Cnidce ( Cnidce cocTdeatce). In a few species, as S. parasitica, T. crassicornis , and Cerianthus Lloydii , I have found very elongated fusiform cnidce which seem composed of a slender cylindrical thread, coiled into a very close and regular spiral. In some cases the extremities are obtuse, but in others, as in T. crassicornis , the posterior extremity runs off to a finely attenuated point, the whole of the spire visible even to the last, the whole bearing no small resem- blance to a multispiral shell, as one of the Cerithiadce or TurriteUadce (Plate XI. fig. 10). The ecthorceum is dis- charged reluctantly from this form, and I have never seen an example in which the whole had been run off. So ex- cessively subtle are the walls of the cnida , that it was not c XXX1Y INTRODUCTION. until after many observations that I detected them, in an example from T. crassicornis , which had discharged about half of the wire ; I have not seen the slightest sign of arma- ture on the cethorceum . So far as my investigations go, these spiral cnidce are confined to the walls of the tentacles, in which, however, they are the dominant form. (4.) Globate Cnidce [cnidce globatce) ? In the acontiam of T. parasitica flattened under pressure, and finally ex- pressed from its substance, are numerous more or less globose or ovate vesicles, which gradually push out a cylindrical protuberance at each end , sometimes to a length equal to that of the original form (figs. 11, 12). These vesicles appear filled with a fluid of different refractive power from that of the clear sarcode in which they are lodged ; but no sign of contained thread have I been able to detect, nor have I seen any discharge beyond the pro- trusion above spoken of. I am not at all sure that these vesicles are consimilar in function with the true cnidce; and I am still more doubtful about the bacillar bodies ound in the acontio'id filaments of T. crassicornis. In the indubitable cnidce , — those which I have distin- guished as (1) Chambered and (2) Tangled, — the emission of the ecthorceum is a process of distinct eversion. This is not a solid but a tubular prolongation of the walls of the cnidce, turned in, during its primal condition, like the finger of a glove drawn into the cavity. Some of the observa- tions on which I ground this conclusion I have already published, but it may not be impertinent to repeat them here, with others which have since occurred to me, all proving the same fact. In the discharge of the ecthorceum of the tangled cnidce , it frequently runs out, not in a right line, but in a spiral form ; whenever this is the case, each band of the spire is made, and stereotyped, so to speak, in succession, while the tips go on lengthening : the tip only progresses , the whole of the portion actually discharged remains perfectly fixed ; which could not be on any other supposition than that of evolution. In the discharge of the chambered kind, the ventricose or basal portion first appears ; the lower barbs fly out before the upper ones, and all are fully expanded before the attenuated portion begins to lengthen. This again is consistent only with the fact of the evolution of the whole. On several occasions of observation on the chambered cnidce of Caryophyllia , I INTRODUCTION. XXXV have actually seen tlie unevolved portion of the ecthorceum running out through the centre of the evolved ventricose portion. But perhaps the most instructive and convincing example of all was the following. One of the large tangled cnidce of Corynactis viridis had shot about half of its wire with rapidity, when a kind of twist, or “ kink,” occurred against the nipple of the cnida , whereby the process was suddenly arrested. The projectile force, however, continuing, caused the impediment to yield, and minute portions of the thread flew out, piecemeal, by fits and starts. By turning the stage-screw I brought the extremity of the discharged portion into view, and saw it slowly evolving, a little at a time. Turning back to the cnida I saw the kink gradually give way, and the whole of the tangled wire quickly flew out through the nipple. I once more moved the stage, fol- lowing up the ecthorceum , and presently found the true extremity, and a large portion of the wire still inverted ; slowly evolving indeed, but very distinct throughout its whole course, within the walls of the evolved portion (fig. 8). From all these observations, there cannot remain a doubt of the successive eversion of the entire ecthorceum. It may be asked, What is the nature of the force by which the contained thread is expelled? That it is a potent force, is obvious to any one who marks the sudden explosive violence with which the nipple -like end of the cnida gives way, and the contents burst forth ; as also the extreme rapidity with which, ordinarily, the whole length is evolved. A curious example of this force once excited my admiration : the ecthorceum from a cnida of Corynactis viridis was in course of rapid evolution, when the tip came full against the side of another cnida already emptied. The evolution was momentarily arrested, but the wall of the empty capsule presently was seen to bend inward, and suddenly to give way, the ecthorceum forcing itself in, and shooting round and round the interior of the cnida. The most careful observations have failed to reveal a lining membrane to the cnida. I have repeatedly dis- cerned a double outline to the walls themselves — the optical expression of their ' diameter ; but have never detected any, even the least, appearance of any tissue starting from the walls, as the ecthorceum bursts out. My first supposition, reluctantly resigned, was, that some such XXXVI INTRODUCTION. lining membrane of high contractile power, lessened, on irritation, the volume of the cavity, and forced out the wire. The cnida is filled, however, with a fluid. This is very distinctly seen, occupying the cavity, when from any im- pediment, such as above described, the wire flies out fitfully — waves, and similar motions, passing from wall to wall : sometimes, even before any portion of the wire has escaped, the whole mass of tangled coils is seen to move irregularly from side to side, within the capsule, from the operation of some intestine cause. The emission itself is a process of injection ; for I have many times seen floating atoms driven forcibly along the interior of the ecthorceum , sometimes swiftly, and sometimes more deliberately. Nothing that I have seen, would lead me to conclude that the wall of the cnida is ciliated. I consider, then, that this fluid, holding organic cor- puscles in suspension, is endowed with a high degree of expansibility ; that, in the state of repose, it is in a con- dition of compression, by the inversion of the ecthorceum ; and that, on the excitement of a suitable stimulus, it forcibly exerts its expansile power, distending, and con- sequently projecting, the tubular ecthorceum , — the only part of the wall that will yield without actual rupture. The cnidce cannot, I think, be regarded in the light of cells, since they are but the contents of other vesicles, which thus present a higher claim to the character of cell- wall. In the craspeda of S. parasitica , may be seen many of the chambered cnidce , bearing this outer envelope, which, without determining anything concerning its nature, I shall distinguish as the peribola. Many of the cnidce have ruptured their investing membrane, which gives way at no special point, sometimes at the anterior end, sometimes at the posterior, and as frequently, all down the side. The peribola thus ruptured, may be seen in many instances still hanging about the cnida , while others are quite free from any remains of it, and in some cases I have seen the cnida still enveloped in its peribola, unruptured. The peribola I have seen investing, and hanging around the cnidce of the spiral and globate kinds, and this circum- stance has afforded me an additional ground for presuming the latter to belong to this category of organs (figs. 11, 12, g). It appears necessary that the cnida should set itself free INTRODUCTION. XXXVll by the rupture of its jperibola , before it can effect the emission of its ectkoraeum . At least I have never met with an example of the contrary. It has long been known, that a very slight contact with the tentacles of a polype is sufficient to produce, in any minute animal so touched, torpor and speedy death. Since the discovery of these cnidae, the fatal power has been supposed to be lodged in them. Baker, a century ago, in speaking of the Hydra, suggested that “ there must be something eminently poisonous in its grasp;” and this suspicion received confirmation from the circumstance that the Entomostraca , which are enveloped in a shelly covering, frequently escape unhurt after having been seized. The stinging power possessed by many Medusae, which is suf- ficiently intense to be formidable even to man, has been reasonably attributed to the same organs, which the micro- scope shows to be accumulated by millions in their tissues. Though I cannot reduce this presumption to actual certainty, I have made some experiments, which leave no reasonable doubt on the subject. First — I have proved that the ecthoraeum when shot, has the power of penetrating, and does actually penetrate, the tissues of even the higher animals. Several years ago, I was examining one of the purple acontia of Adamsia jpalliata : no pressure had been used, but a considerable number of cnidae had been spon- taneously dislodged. It happened, that I had just before been looking at the sucker-foot of an Asterina , which remained still attached to the glass of the aquatic box, by means of its terminal disk. The cilia of the acontium had, in their rowing action, brought it into contact with the sucker, round which it then continued slowly to revolve. The result I presently discerned to be, that a considerable number of the cnidae had* shot their ecthoraea into the flesh of the sucking disk of the Echinoderm , and were seen sticking all round its edge, the wires imbedded in its sub- stance even up to the very capsules, like so many pins stuck around a toilet pin-cushion. To test this power of penetration still farther, as well as to try whether it is brought into exercise on the contact of a foreign body with the living Anemone, I instituted the following experiment. With a razor I took shavings of the cuticle, from the callous part of my own foot, as from the ball of the toe, and from the heel. One of these shavings I XXXV111 INTRODUCTION. presented to the tentacles of a fully expanded T. crassicornis. After contact, and momentary adhesion, I withdrew the cuticle, and examined it under a power of 600 diameters. I found, as I had expected, cnidce studding the surface, standing up endwise, the wires in every case shot into the substance. They were not numerous — in a space of *01 inch square, I counted about a dozen. I then irritated a S. parasitica till it ejected an acontium , and taking up with pliers another shaving of the cuticle, allowed it to touch the acontium , which instantly adhered across its surface. I now drew away the cuticle gently, so as not to rupture the acontium , and examining it as before, immediately saw dense groups of cnidce , standing endwise on the surface, the ecthorcea all discharged and inserted in the substance almost to the very capsules. The groups were set in a sinuous line, across the cuticle, where the acontium had adhered, with scattered cnidce between them on the same line. In one of these groups I counted thirty- five cnidce in an area about *0025 inch square. These examples prove that the slightest contact with the proper organs of the Anemone is sufficient to provoke the discharge of the cnidce ; and that even the densest condition of the human skin offers no impediment to the penetration of the ecthorcea. As to the injection of a poison, it is indubitable that pain, and in some cases death, ensues even to vertebrate animals from momentary contact with the capsuliferous organs of the Zoopiiyta. The very severe pain, followed by torpor, lasting for a whole day, which Mr. George Bennett has described as experienced by himself, on taking hold of Pliysalis pelagica , was produced by the contact of the tentacles. The late Professor Edward Forbes has graphically depicted the “ prickly torture” which results to “ tender-skinned bathers,” from the touch of the long filamentous tentacles — “poisonous threads” — of the Cyancea capillata of our own seas ; and observes that these ampu- tated weapons severed from the parent-body, sting as fiercely as if their original proprietor itself gave the word of attack. I have been assured by ladies that they have felt a distinct stinging sensation, like that produced by the leaves of the nettle, on the tender skin of the fingers, from handling our common Anthea cereus ; while, on the other hand, I have myself handled the species, scores of times, INTRODUCTION. XXXIX with impunity. And I have elsewhere * recorded an in- stance, in which a little fish, swimming about in health and vigour, died in a few minutes with great agony, through the momentary contact of its lip with one of the emitted acontia of Sag artia parasitica. It is worthy of observation, that, in this case, the fish carried away a portion of the acontium sticking to its lip ; the force with which it ad- hered being so great, that the integrity of the tissues yielded first. The Acontium severed , rather than let go its hold.\ Now, in the experiments which I have detailed above, we have seen that this adhesion is effected by the actual impenetration of the foreign body, by a multitude of the ecthoreea , whose barbs resist withdrawal. So that we can with certainty associate the sudden and violent death of the little fish with the intromission of barbed ecthoreea. I have instituted some experiments with a view to try whether acid or alkaline properties could be detected in the (presumed) fluid which is discharged. First with a solu- tion of indigo, and afterwards with the expressed juice of violets, I occupied the plate of the compressorium ; and in the flattened drop made the cnidee in the acontium of S. parasitica to emit. In the case of the indigo, the colouring matter remained in the form of masses, but the juice of violets affords an apparently homogeneous fluid, even when reduced by pressure to an excessively thin film. I could not detect, even with the most careful scrutiny, the slightest tinge of discoloration of the blue fluid, — not the most delicate shade of red or green — along the side of the emitted ecthoreea , nor in the vicinity of the cnidee. And * u The Aquarium,” ed. 1. p. 115. + Dr. Waller has recently recorded an interesting experiment which he made with Act. mesembryanthemum. He allowed its tentacles to touch the tip of his tongue. “ The result was such as to satisfy the most scep- tical respecting the offensive weapons with which it is furnished. The animal seized the organ most vigorously, and was detached from it with some difficulty after the lapse of about a minute. Immediately a pungent acrid pain commenced, which continued to increase for some minutes, until it became extremely distressing. The point attacked felt inflamed and much swollen, although to the eye no change in the part could be detected. These symptoms continued unabated for about an hour, and a slight temporary relief was only obtained by immersing the tongue in .cold or warm water. After this period the symptoms gradually abated, and about four hours later, they had entirely disappeared. A day or two after, a very minute ulceration was perceived over the apex of the tongue, which disappeared after being touched with nitrate of silver.”— (Proc. Boy. Soc. April 14, 1859.) xl INTRODUCTION. though, in order to obtain a greater intensity of colour, I allowed a drop of violet-juice to dry on each plate of the compressorium, so that with a power of 800 diameters, the whole field was of a deep uniform translucent blue — still the ejected wire produced no change of tint. Such a test as this is not sufficient to prove that no acid or alkaline property exists in the discharged fluid, and still less that no poisonous fluid at all is effused ; since that most concentrated poison, the venom of the rattlesnake, is said to change vegetable blues to reds, in so slight a degree as to be scarcely perceptible * Admitting the existence of a venomous fluid, it is diffi- cult to imagine where it is lodged, and how it is injected. The first thought that occurs to one’s mind is, that it is the organic fluid which we have seen to fill the interior of the cnida , and to be forced through the everting tubular ectho- rceum . But if so, it cannot be ejected through the ex- tremity of the ecthorceum , because if this were an open tube, I do not see how the contraction of the fluid in the cnida could force it to evolve; the fluid would escape through the still inverted tube. It is just possible that the barbs may be tubes open at the tips, and that the poison-fluid may be ejected through these. But I rather incline to the hypothesis, that the cavity of the ecthorceum in its primal inverted condition while it yet remains coiled up in the cnida , is occupied with the potent fluid in question, and that it is poured out gradually within the tissues of the victim, as the evolving tip of the wire penetrates farther and farther into the wound. Perhaps it is not too much to say that the whole range of organic existence does not afford a more wonderful example than this, of the minute workmanship and elaboration of the parts, the extraordinary mode in which certain pre- scribed ends are attained, and the perfect adaptation of the contrivance to the work which it has to do. * In a communication made by Dr. M'Donnell to tbe Royal Society, some experiments were detailed, which had led the observer to believe that electricity was the power in question. In a subsequent paper, however, that gentleman gave up his hypothesis. ( Proc . Roy. Soc. Jan. 14, and Nov. 18, 1858.) BRITISH SEA-ANEMONES. GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND EXPLANATION OF TERMS. As it is of great importance in scientific description to employ precise terms for the various parts of the objects described, and for the conditions of those parts, and to use the same terms always in the same sense, I here define the terms which I propose to use in this work. The principal parts of the body of a Sea- Anemone are the following : — the base ; the column ; the disk ; the tentacles ; the mouth ; the cavity. 1. The Base {Basis). This is the lowest part of the animal, usually forming a flat area, by means of which it adheres to other bodies. It is often expanded (< zxpansa ), its outline being consi- derably broader than a section of the column. In some cases, as in Edwardsia , it becomes very small, loses its function, and finally, as in Cerianthus , disappears. In Adamsia , it is greatly extended laterally into two wings, which, curving round, meet and unite by their edges, forming a complete circle. This form of base may be distinguished as ANNULAR ( annularis ). B 4 GENERAL DESCRIPTION which is next to the centre; its back (postica), that which is next to the margin ; its RIGHT and left sides ( latus dextrum , l. sinistrum), those which depend upon these indications. Each tentacle has a FOOT (radix) and a tip (apex). 5. The Mouth (Os). The entrance to the stomach is placed, as has been stated above, in the centre of the disk. It is surrounded by a generally thickened lip (labium), which is sometimes elevated on a CONE (colliculus), and sometimes level. The lip may be SMOOTH (Iceve), or furrowed (sulcatum) ; at each of two opposite points, — the mouth-angles (gonidia), — there are placed two tubercles (lentigines) , between which opens an imperfect tube or groove formed by the approxi- mation of two cartilaginous bands : these grooves, one at each mouth-angle, may be termed GONIDIAL GROOVES (canales gonidiales). Their function appears to be that of oviducts. (In Actinoloba, there is but a single mouth- angle, and a single groove).* From the lip descends into the cavity of the body a membranous veil, much gathered into folds, but free at the lower edge, like a sack without a bottom ; this is the stomach (stomachus), of which the portion immediately below the lip may be conveniently termed the throat (gula). 6. The Cavity (Venter). The whole of the region included between the walls of the column and the stomach-wall, and between the free edge of the stomach and the base, may be indicated by this term. It is divided into imperfect chambers by * In Actinopsis, a singular form recently described by Messrs. Danielssen and Koren from tbe Norwegian coast, the gonidial tubercles are prolonged into a pair of long and rigid semi-cylinders, the sides of which are bent downwards, and the tips of which are cleft. AND EXPLANATION OF TERMS. 5 perpendicular muscular PARTITIONS (septa), all of which are inserted into the column-wall, but advance into the cavity in various degrees. Some are inserted by their inner edge into the stomach-wall, completely dividing-off the cavity : these may be called PRIMARY septa (septa primordiaiia) . Others are placed intermediately between these, which do not reach the stomach- wall ; these are secondary septa (s. secundaria). Others, again, are intermediate between these and the former, whose height is still lower (these may be distinguished as tertiary (s. tertiaria) ; and so on, if there be any series beyond this. The spaces thus parted off in the cavity, I would call intersepts (inter septa). The free edges of the secondary and tertiary septa, and also of the primary ones below the stomach, carry a thin membrane which encloses the ovaries (< ovaria ), and is terminated by a sort of CORD (craspedum), much twisted and involved. Long missile cords (acontia) are in some species attached by one end to the partitions, and lie coiled- up, or float freely, in the intersepts : these are, by the volun- tary contractions of the animal, forcibly ejected through the loop-holes, into which they are then gradually withdrawn. Both the craspeda and the acontia are almost wholly com- posed of thread-capsules (cnidce), which contain a coiled WIRE (ecthorceum). This wire is shot out under particular stimulus, and is an efficient weapon of offence ; it is usually surrounded with one or more spiral bands composing the SCREW (strebla), each of which carries a series of barbs (pterygia) ; and the whole apparatus is a vehicle for the infusion of some highly venomous fluid. The different conditions assumed by the animal, may be distinguished as the FLOWER ( anthus ), when the disk with its tentacles is expanded ; the button (oncus) , when these are retracted and concealed by the closing over them of the summit of the column. 6 CLASS ZOOPHYTA. Animals of radiate structure; of gelatinous or fleshy substance ; more or less column-shaped ; having, in general, one end permanently attached or temporarily adherent to foreign bodies ; the other end forming a flat disk surrounded by one or more circles of tentacles, and pierced in the centre by a mouth opening into the digestive cavity ; furnished with offensive weapons in the form of capsules imbedded in the tissues, each of which encloses a projectile poisoning dart ; possessing no special organs of sense. ORDER ACTINOIDA. The visceral cavity inclosing the stomach, and divided into compartments by perpendicular partitions of membrane which support the reproductive organs ; germs ejected through the mouth. SUB- ORDER A GTINARIA. Tentacles twelve or upwards, rarely warty ; membranous partitions sometimes simple, sometimes depositing solid calcareous plates, which, with the surrounding walls, con- stitute the corallum. TRIBE I. — ASTR2EACEA. Tentacles many, in imperfect series, or scattered ; coral- lum (when present) calcareous, consisting of cells containing many radiating plates ; the plates prolonged outward beyond the cells which enclose them. (N.B. No known British species of this Tribe deposits a corallum.) TRIBE II.— CARYOPHYLLACEA. Tentacles many, in two or more series ; mostly increasing by lateral buds ; generally depositing a corallum , which is invariably calcareous, and many-rayed. b> ?- id frrt Bmehs i ! 7 ^ TRIBE III.— MADREPORACEA. Tentacles in a single series, twelve (rarely more), some- times obsolete : gemmiparons ; gemmation lateral : coral - ligenous ; corallum calcareous ; cells [ calyces ] quite small : rays {septa) six to twelve, or obsolete : interstitial surface not lamello-striate. {Not British.) TRIBE IV.— ANTIPATHACEA. Animals with six tentacles, forming at the base horny secretions (fleshy, enveloping a horny axis). {Not British.) TRIBE I. — ASTRiEACEA. ANALYSIS OF THE NON-CORALLIGENOUS FAMILIES. Base adherent at pleasure. Tentacles compound (Not British) Met idiadce. Tentacles simple. Column pierced with loop-holes Sagartiadce. Column imperforate. Column smooth. Margin simple Antheadaz. Margin beaded Actiniadce. Column warted Bunodidce. Base non-adherent. Lower extremity rounded, simple Ilyanthidce. Lower extremity inclosing an air-chamber (Not British) Minyadidce. 8 TRIBE I. — ASTRiEACEA. All the members of this Tribe with which we are fami- liar on the European shores are simple, and destitute of a corallum. But when those of all seas are taken into con- sideration, we find that the majority are compound and coralligenous. The increase of these is effected by the budding forth of new polypes from the single primary polype ; and it is in the manner of this gemmation that the tribe Astrceacea differs from the Caryophylliacea . In the former, increase invariably takes place by the extension of the summit, and not of the side or base. The process of widening, in budding polypes, may be confined to the parts exterior to the disk and visceral cavity below, or the disk and cavity may continuously enlarge ; in the latter case, the buds open in the disks, the process of budding being the cause of their enlargement (Dana). The greater part of the Astrceacea increase by disk-buds, and spontaneous subdivision ; the disk of the polype, and the cell of the corallum, gradually widening by growth, and finally separating into two portions, which become in- dependent. A few only widen exteriorly to the disk, or in the interstitial spaces between the cells of aggregate corals (Dana). The polypes in both this and the following tribe are many-tc" faded ; but, while this character distinguishes them from aie two other tribes, it °f 110 assistance in discriminating those species with which we have to do. Moreover, as our Astrceacea are all simple, it is difficult to apply the rule derived from the manner of gemmation. The spontaneous fission of some species, however, as Actinoloba diantliuSj partially, and Anthea cereus completely, may help us to assign their affinities ; and their general resemblance, inter se, and that of the whole to the polypes of the coralligenous Astrceacea , leave little room for un- certainty. 9 FAMILY I.— METRIDIADjE. (No European species .) FAMILY II. — SAGARTIADiE. I have thought fit to associate in this group those genera of the Tribe, which have the following characters : — They do not deposit a corallum. They have a broad base, capable, at the pleasure of the animal, of firmly adhering to foreign bodies, such as rocks, stones, and shells ; or of being used as a foot, on which to creep, somewhat in the manner of a snail. They have always simple, smooth tentacles, arranged in (generally) uninterrupted circles at the margin of the disk, but often encroaching far upon its surface. Their body is for the most part pulpy or fleshy, generally lubri- cated on the surface with copious mucus ; its exterior is often studded with sucking cavities, hich have the power of adhering to foreign bodies, by the formation of a vacuum within the cavity, its muscular edges being appressed by the weight of the superincumbent atmosphere and water. The margins of these cavities do not rise into conspicuous warts when inactive. The integument is pierced with loop-holes ( cinclides ), — special orifices, through which are emitted and retracted fleshy cords ( acontia ), which have their origin in the membranous partitions of the body- cavity. These are filled with capsules ( cnidce ), which are generally chambered , and which shoot a very short, but densely-armed wire ( ecthorceum ). * 10 ANALYSIS OF THE GENERA. Tentacles moderately long, slender. Disk perfectly retractile. Column destitute of suckers Column furnished with suckers Column clothed with a rough epidermis . . . Disk imperfectly retractile. Base annular ; parasitic on shells Base entire ; not parasitic Tentacles mere warts ; set in radiating bands (Not British) ... Aotinoloba. Sagartia. Phellia. Adamsia. Oregoria. Discosoma. 11 GENUS I. ACTINOLOBA (Blainv.). Actinia (Linn.). Cribrina (Ehrenberg). Sagartia (Gosse). Base considerably broader than the column ; its outline often undulate, but entire. Column pillar-like, in the expanded state ; the margin forming a thickened parapet, or low wall, separated from the tentacular disk by a groove or fosse. Surface perfectly smooth, without suckers, but pierced with loop-holes. Substance approaching to pulpy. Disk deeply frilled at the margin ; thinly mem- branous. Tentacles short, slender, not arranged in distin- guishable circles, scattered at their commencement about half-breadth, of the disk, becoming gradually smaller, more numerous and densely crowded as they approach the border. Mouth surrounded with a thick lip ; furnished with only a single gonidial groove, surmounted by a single pair of tubercles. Acontia emitted somewhat reluctantly, but copi- ously upon occasion. Only one British species. ASTRJBACEA. SAGARTIAD/E. THE PLUMOSE ANEMONE. Actinoloba dianthus. Plate I. Fig. 1. Specific Character. Body smooth, columnar when distended ; five inches and upwards in height : mouth strongly furrowed, rufous : tentacles marked with a ring of white. Actinia dianthus. senilis. judaica. pentapetala. plumosa. aurantiaca. Actinoloba dianthus. Sagartia dianthus. Ellis, Phil. Trans, lvii. 436; tab. xix. fig. 8. Johnston, Br. Zooph. Ed. 2. i. 232; pl.xliii. Dalyell, Anim. of Scotland, 235; pi. xlviii. figs. 6. 7 ; xlix. Gosse, Aquarium, Ed. 2. 182 ; pi. v. Tugwell, Manual of Sea Ane- mones, 56 ; pi. i. Linn. Syst. Nat. 1089. Ibid. Syst. Nat. 1088. Penn. Br. Zool. iv. 104. Muller, Zool. Dan. iii. 12 ; tab. lxxxviii. ; figs. 1, 2. Jordan, Annals. N. H. Ser. II. vol. xv. 85. ( juv .) Blainville, Actinologie, 322. Gosse, Man. Marine Zool. i. 28. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to shells and stones : expanded considerably beyond the diameter of the column. Column. Smooth, lubricated profusely with mucus ; destitute of suckers, warts, wrinkles, furrows, and corrugations. Substance fleshy, approaching to pulpy. Form cylindrical, terminating in a simple thickened parapet, which is separated from the outer tentacles by a fosse. Dislc. Widely expanded, thin, greatly overhanging the column, deeply frilled. Tentacles. Exceedingly numerous, moderately large and scattered at about the middle of the semi-diameter of the disk, but becoming smaller and closer outward, until they are excessively crowded, and very minute at the margin. In extreme youth they are comparatively few, and much longer in proportion. Mouth. Not raised on a cone ; lip thick, divided into lobes by strongly marked furrows. A single groove only at one of the mouth-angles, guarded by a pair of tubercles. PIRATE ACT I NO LOB A DIANTHUS. 3. SAC ART I A TROGLODYTES. 7. SACARTIA VENUSTA, SACARTI A B E LL.IS 4. 5.6. S. ROSEA. 8.9, S. S PHYRODETA , THE PLUMOSE ANEMONE. 13 Colour. Column. Olive, olive-brown, umber-brown, red-lead, pale-orange, salmon- red, flesh-colour, cream-white, pure white. [“ Lemon-yellow,” “peach- blossom.” — Dal yell.] Disk. Agrees with the column. Tentacles. Generally agree with the column, but in the olive and brown varieties, they are sometimes almost wholly pellucid- white, and in all cases they are marked with a single transverse bar of white, near their middle ; most conspicuous in youth. Lip. Always rufous, or orange-red ; whatever the hue of the body. Size. Specimens occasionally attain six inches in height, and three in thickness. Locality. All round the coasts of Europe, in deep water, and on dark rocks between tide-marks. Varieties. These might be made as numerous as the various shades of colour above- mentioned ; but for practical purposes it may be sufficient to distinguish the following : — a. Brunnea. Including the shades of brown, from dingy blackish olive, to warm umber, or fawn-colour. Sometimes, as in examples that have fallen under my own observation, the tentacles, in these brown specimens, are almost white, marked with the more opaque white bar. There is not the slightest reason to assign these, as has been suggested, to another species. )8. Rubida. The various tints of red, from the full minium-scarlet to the peach-blossom and flesh-colour, may be classed under this variety, which is perhaps the most abundant of all. 7. Flava. Sir John Dalyell enumerates “ lemon-yellow ” among the hues of this species ; but it must be a very rare variety. I have never seen it. 8. Sindonea. Perhaps this is the most elegant variety ; the animal being clad in translucent white — “ simplex munditiis ,” as if arrayed in the finest Coan vestments. It is not uncommon. This noblest of our native Sea- anemones seems to be entitled to generic separation from the Sagartice , with which I have hitherto associated it. Its form and habit, its puckered disk, its crowded and fringe-like tentacles, its thickened parapet and deep fosse, and the presence of only 14 SAGARTIADAL a single mouth-groove, are well-marked characters peculiar to it among our British species. This last peculiarity isolates the species from every other with which I am acquainted. The generic appellation Actinoloba , I have adopted from l)e Blainville, who formed the genus in his “ Actinologie” (1834). It is sufficiently expressive; but objectionable on account of its construction. It is a go<5d canon that no generic name ought to form a part of a second generic name. In this case the word is constructed out of Actinia , and \o/3o?, a lobe or flap : it means, therefore, “ the lobed Actinia.” If it had been formed of the element clktLv , a ray, the construction would have been unobjectionable, though the word would have been false in signification ; for what the French zoologist wished to express was “ a lobed Actinia,” not “ a creature with lobed rays (= tentacles).” The specific name, dianthus , is due to a pretty fancy of Ellis, the father of English Zoophytology. Observing the resemblance which the Actiniae bore to composite or many- petaled flowers, — -a resemblance which is perpetuated in the popular appellation, Sea- Anemones, — he named such as were known to him after those lovely objects ; bellis, the daisy ; mesembryantTiemum , the fig-marigold ; dianthus , the pink. I do not know that we are to seek for special resemblances to the particular flowers chosen ; one poly- petalous flower might have served as well as another : still less shall we find any etymological significance in the appropriation. For the latter we must go back to the flower. In the present case, the pink and carnation genus is named dianthus , some say, for its great beauty (8Zo, to bind ; and alludes, as I need scarcely say, to the line which, like a narrow ribbon, encircles the tentacle -foot. That the white disk marks a degenerated condition is rendered more probable by some facts that have come under Mr. Holdsworth’s observation, and, in part, also under my own. A specimen obtained by that gentleman at Dartmouth was at first of a rich chrome-yellow over the whole disk ; but after having been some time in captivity, it gradually faded to a sort of dull cream-white ; in this condition, my friend submitted it to my care for a few days, during which time it quickly resumed its brilliant face. Another individual, which I think Mr. Holds worth brought from Guernsey, fell into a like condition. Writing of this, he observes, “ The animal has been out of sorts, and I have been obliged to administer to it several draughts (of pure sea-water), which have nearly set it to rights again. The beautiful colour of the disk, however, has nearly vanished, but some traces of it are still to be seen around the mouth. When I first had it, the colour was very conspicuous.” The Sandalled Anemone is an interesting little captive. It expands its flower-face with great readiness ; rarely remaining long closed, provided the surrounding water be pure. The large conical tentacles stretch out hori- zontally to their utmost, like a star ; and though, on being touched, it will partially contract, it unfolds the instant THE SANDALLED ANEMONE. 77 the annoyance ceases, and is presently full-blown again. It is fond of floating at the surface of its prison, the base dilated at the top of the water, like a swimming Nudi- branch, the body hanging downwards, with the tentacles widely expanded. It cannot be considered a common species ; but where it does occur, it is usually in some numbers. It is easily obtained when discovered, as it does not inhabit holes or crevices, but adheres to the smooth rock; it does not appear to indue its body with gravel, or any extraneous substances. Mr. Holdsworth found it not uncommon at Guernsey, with the unexpected habit of lodging under stones on the beach, at low water. At Dartmouth the same observer records its occurrence on the roots of Laminaria , as well as on the rocks. In my original notice of the species, I have mentioned the readiness and profusion with which the acontia or armed filaments are shot forth from the body on the slightest provocation. Subsequent observation has abun- dantly confirmed this irritable habit. The character and armature of the cnidce are also there noted. The localities of the species are as yet but few, though they are widely scattered. Jersey, Guernsey, E. W. H. H. : Dartmouth, E. W.H.TL : Ilfracombe, P. H. G. : Hilbre Island, E. L. W. nivea. SPHYRODETA. pallida. ASTRAEACEA. SAGARTIADAE. THE PALLID ANEMONE. Sagartia pallida. Plate III. Figs. 4, 5. Specific Character. Tentacles numerous, slender, white, each rising between two bowed blue lines. Actinia pallida. Holdsworth, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1856, pl.v. fig. 4. Sagartia pallida. Gosse, Annals N. H. Ser. 3. vol. i. p. 415. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to rocks ; considerably wider than column ; outline undulate. Column. Smooth, without conspicuous suckers. Substance pulpy. Form cylindrical, pillar-like, about twice as high as wide, when extended, but very flat when contracted. Margin a low parapet. Disk. Flat or slightly concave ; the margin entire. Tentacles. Numerous, arranged in four rows; moderately long, slender, and slightly tapering to the tips, their length regularly diminishing from the first row outwards. They are commonly carried sub- erect, the external rows arching outwards. Mouth. ? Acontia. Emitted from the mouth in some abundance, but not very readily. Colour. Column. Pellucid whitish. White longitudinal lines are sometimes visible, but they are merely the edges of the septa, seen through the translucent skin, and not bands of surface-colour. Disk. Pellucid whitish. Tentacles. Pellucid whitish. The foot of each ten- tacle is embraced by two curved lines of dark blue, which approach each other without meeting ; and pass off in front towards the centre of the disk, and behind towards the margin, in the form represented in the accompanying figure. The general effect is to produce a bluish shade on that region of the disk from which the tentacles spring. ( viewed vertically). THE PALLID ANEMONE. 79 Size. Diameter of column about one-third of an inch ; height of column two- thirds ; expanse of flower nearly an inch. Locality. South-west coast of England ; rocks between tide-marks. Varieties. a. Cana. The colourless state above described. Plate iii. fig. 5. IB. Rufa. Column of a dull brownish-orange, paler or deeper in tint. Plate iii. fig. 4. I am indebted for my knowledge of this little form to Mr. Holdsworth, who discovered about a dozen specimens scattered about the rocks near the entrance to Dartmouth Harbour, u a part of our western coast, which, from its steep rugged character, and its luxuriant growth of sea- weeds, presents a fruitful hunting-ground for those in search of marine productions.” They were obtained in July, 1855, and were described by their discoverer, in a Memoir read before the Zoological Society of London in the following December, and subsequently published in their Proceedings. All of the individuals were of the variety cana , differing in no respect among themselves except in size. “ They were found on the exposed surface of perpendicular rocks at about half-tide mark ; and when out of the water and contracted, were very difficult to dis- tinguish, owing to their great transparency.” * Some time afterwards the same gentleman obtained several specimens of a little Anemone which agreed with his former captives in every respect, save that their column was of a rufous hue ; the tentacles, however, having the same characteristic foot-marks as before. He concluded * Proc. Zool. Soc. 1853. 80 SAGARTIADAS. that they were but varying phases of the same species ; and, as he kindly gave me an opportunity of forming a judgment by presenting me with a specimen of each colour, I concur with him in this opinion, and have accord- ingly so represented them. Some of my friend’s observations on this minute species, — made in the course of a correspondence concerning its claim to be so considered, — will be read with interest. “ Pallida is certainly not Candida [= sphyrodeta\. I have now seen, and know both well, and can readily point out the distinctions. Pallida may be easily taken for a young dianthus at first sight, having a smooth skin, with a rather erect body, and long pellucid filiform tentacles The basal rings on [? around] the arms of pallida are even narrower than in Candida , and have no direct communi- cation with the edge of the disk ; nor is there any appear- ance of a spot; their colour is almost black, but with a purplish tinge. The disk is quite transparent. The original specimens were almost colourless, but later captures were of a reddish buff, like some of dianthus ; and one of these, not more than half an inch in expanse, produced about a dozen young ones, about an eighth of an inch in height, — slender little things, with tentacles almost erect. They resembled their parent in form and colour, as far as could be seen in such minute creatures. There was no other Actinia besides the red pallida in the glass at the time, and the young ones adhered to the side of the glass vase, immediately surrounding the larger specimen, so that I had no doubt of their origin I have more than once suspected that pallida was merely the young of dianthus : but surely the latter would not breed when only half an inch high.” I may add that the characteristic lines of blue, though minute, are a sufficient distinction of the species. THE PALLID ANEMONE. 81 In my limited opportunities of investigating this Ane- mone, I found it impatient of light, and sufficiently loco- motive. A specimen, adhering to the upper surface of a flat stone, I put into a tea-saucer ; it immediately crawled to the edge of its stone, glided round, and passed under, till it was quite out of sight : it thus traversed about thrice its own length in a quarter of an hour. I then turned up the stone, and the animal presently crawled off to the bottom of the saucer : closed all the time, except that the tips of its tentacles were protruding. Its manner of crawling was somewhat curious. It gradu- ally distended a portion of its body, which then was swollen, and quite pellucid, having a strange appearance, owing to the white china shining through the tissues of the distended portion. Then this part, being raised from the bottom so as to be loose, was pushed out and took a fresh hold, and the other half was rapidly pulled up to it, when the ante- rior half began again to distend instantly, and proceeded as before. The progress could be easily watched with a lens, over the minute specks of the bottom. It was impos- sible to witness the methodical regularity of the process, and the fitness of the mode for attaining the end, .without being assured of the existence of both consciousness and will in this low animal form. At night I found it had marched about three inches, or twenty-four times its own diameter, in six hours : but its progress, while I watched it, was much more rapid than this. The only recognised habitat for Sagartia pallida is — Dartmouth, E. W. H. H. sphyrodeta. PALLIDA. dianthus. a ASTRAEACEA. SAGARTIADAE. THE TRANSLUCENT ANEMONE. Sagartia pur a, Plate III. Fig. 6. Specific Character. Wholly pellucid-white, without markings. Actinia pellucida. Alder, Catalogue of Zooph. of Northumb. and Durh., 43. Sagartia pellucida. Gosse, Annals N. H. Ser. 3, yoI. i. p. 415. pura. Alder, in litt. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to shells from deep water : somewhat exceeding the column. Column. Perfectly smooth, without visible suckers. Substance pulpy. Form cylindrical, a little higher than wide, when extended, but nearly flat when contracted. JDisJc. Slightly concave ; the margin entire. Tentacles. Thirty or upwards, arranged in about three rows ; the inner ones longest (about twice the diameter of the disk in length) ; diminish- ing regularly outwards, the outermost row being rather short. The inner ones are usually carried more or less erect, the outer arching downwards. Mouth. Set on a small cone. Colour. The animal is wholly without positive colour, except that the tentacles have sometimes a slight tendency to become sub-opaque at each extremity, when they assume a white appearance in these parts. Occasionally a few white lines occur on the column ; but these appear to be merely the edges of the septa, seen through the transparent integuments. Size. About a quarter of an inch in height, and one-sixth in diameter of column ; expanse nearly half an inch. Locality. The coast of Northumberland. On old shells from deep-water. THE TRANSLUCENT ANEMONE. 83 This species I know only by the descriptions and figures of Mr. Joshua Alder, who has kindly put into my hands, not only the published “ Catalogue of the Zoophytes of Northumberland and Durham,” in which it first received a name and place among our Anemones, but additional notes in MS., and several original drawings. All these I have used in my diagnosis and figure. The name “ 'pellucida g” originally applied to this little animal, having been preoccupied, Mr. Alder proposes that it should be called “ jpur a.” Little is known of its history. Its discoverer observes of it, — “ It has occurred to me two or three times at Cullercoats, on old shells, — crusted shells of Fusus anti - quus from deep water, — nestling among the Serpulse and Barnacles with which they were covered. It is so incon- spicuous, when contracted, as to elude observation ; and it was not till the shells had been some time in sea-water, and the Actinia became expanded, that its presence was detected. A specimen kept in a vase was very restless, shifting its place continually, and often changing form.” It seems to be somewhat rare. Mr. Alder has seen but three specimens. Mr. It. Howse has obtained it once or twice from the five-men boats, on the same coast. His specimens were slightly larger than Mr. Alder’s. sphyrodeta. PURA. pellucida. ASTBJ2ACEA. SAQARTJADjE. THE EYED ANEMONE. Sagartia coccinea. Plate V. fig. 4 : XII. fig. 4 {magnified). Specific Character. Body rufous, with white lines ; tentacles pellucid, ringed with white, marked at the foot with a black bar, and two triangular black spots below it. ' Actinia coccinea. Muller, Zool. Dan. Prod.; 231, No. 2792. Zool. Dan. ii. 30 ; pi. lxiii. figs. 1 — 3. Johnston, Brit. Zooph. 2d Ed. p. 215. Sagartia coccinea. Gosse, Annals N. H. Ser. 3. vol. i. p. 416. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to shells, in deep water : little exceeding the column. Outline irregularly cut and lobed. Column. Smooth, without visible suckers. Substance pulpy. Form cylindrical ; the height, when extended, twice the diameter ; the margin tentaculate. Dish. Flat; the margin entire. Outline circular, scarcely exceeding the diameter of column. Radii distinct, smooth. Tentacles. About sixty-four (in my largest specimen), arranged in three indistinct rows, of which the first and second contain each sixteen — the third, which is marginal, thirty-two. The inner rows are the largest, some of the outermost being minute points. Compared with the average of Anemones, they are short and thick, obtusely conical, and stand nearly erect. Mouth. Not raised on a cone. No distinct lip. Acontia. Protruded freely, both from column and mouth. Colour. Column. Light brownish orange, marked with many white or whitish longitudinal streaks from margin to base, more numerous below. These streaks are of varying width, but are in general equal or superior to the intermediate red spaces; their edges are irregularly jagged. They are THE EYED ANEMONE. 85 not formed by the edges of the septa, nor always correspondent with them. Disk. Light red. Each radius bears two white lines, — one parallel and close to each edge, but separated from its neighbour by a fine line of the ground colour : this gives an appearance as if every radius were divided from its fellow by a pair of white lines. Among the tentacles the colour of the disk becomes a rich and brilliant orange, which colour extends in short lines between the tentacles over the edge of the margin. Tentacles. Pellucid, colourless, with_ four broad rings of opaque white, and a white tip : the rings are obsolete on the hinder face. At the foot of the front, a band of dark brown divides the two lower white rings, the lowest of which is succeeded by two triangular clouds of dark brown. Mouth. The radial lines end suddenly at the edge of the mouth, which is sharp and abrupt. The upper part of the throat is orange, but pre- sently becomes a deep red-brown. Size. The largest I have seen is half an inch in height, by about one-third of an inch in diameter when expanded. TENTACLE (' viewed endwise and frontwise). Locality. The north-west coasts of Europe. Laminarian and coralline zones. I owe my acquaintance with this attractive little species to the kindness of Mr. Charles W. Peach, who forwarded to me, in April of the present year, four or five living specimens attached to an old pecten- valve from deep water off the Caithness coast. The same gentleman has since favoured me with sketches of manifestly the same species, which he made from the life, during his residence in Cornwall. It was first described by Muller, in 1777, and figured in his magnificent work on the animals of Den- mark. Dr. Johnston included it in his second edition of “ British Zoophytes,” on the authority of Edward Forbes, who found it on the coast of Ireland, “on rocks 86 SAGARTIADJE. %and sea-weeds;” but added no other information to the description of Muller, which he quoted in the original Latin. An expression in this, which had puzzled me not a little, became graphically descriptive when I saw the living animal. Muller says that the tentacles “ seem com- posed of an eye furnished with exceedingly slender rings crowded together,” — a comparison which at first seems little applicable to such organs. But, in fact, they are frequently contracted into very low cones or warts ; when, viewed from above, they present the appearance of a number of fine rings surrounding the central point, very much like the eye-spots in a butterfly’s wing. (See left- hand figure above.) The colony in my possession consists of one of the size and character that I have described above, and several minute ones around it, none of them so large as a small pea. Since I have had them, two or three more have been produced from the largest, from the size of a grain of sand to that of a poppy-seed. I believe all of these are the result of a spontaneous separation of fragments from the base, and not of a generative process. The most minute displays its circle of tiny tentacles. The outline of the base is exceedingly variable: it projects in ragged promontories and rounded points, which continually, though slowly, change their form and relative proportions. From some of these, minute fragments sepa- rate, which soon become independent animals. It is possible that the Actinia lacerata of Sir J. Dalyell may bp this species ; but I rather incline to identify it with our viduata. The sinuous outline on which he relied rather indicates a condition than a species. Though the short conical form of the tentacles is charac- teristic, yet occasionally they assume a lengthened slender shape, their markings becoming evanescent. Muller THE EYED ANEMONE. 87 describes the animal as “ changing place by the aid of its tentacles ; 33 I find it rather given to wandering, but not in this manner, which I have never seen an Actinia use (his phrase “ uti congeneres 33 notwithstanding), but by the extension and contraction of the base. Ireland, E.F. : Caithness, G. W.F.: Cornwall, C.W.R miniata. venusta. COCCINEA. viduata. ASTRAEACEA. SAGARTIADjE. THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. Sagartia troglodytes. Plate I. jig. 3 : II. jig. 5 : III. jigs. 1, 2 : Y.jig. 5. Specijic Character. Tentacles barred transversely ; marked at their foot with a black character resembling the Roman letter B. A ctinia viduata. troglodytes. ? elegans. ? explorator. Sagartia troglodytes. Scolanthus sphceroides. Johnston, Mag. Nat. Hist. viii. 82. fig. 13. E. Forbes, Ann. Nat. Hist. iii. 48. Couch, Corn. Fauna; iii. 75 (nec Muller). , var. j3. Johnston, Brit. Zooph. Ed. i. 211. Johnston (after Price), Brit. Zooph. Ed. 2. 216. fig. 47. Cocks, Rep. Cornw. Polyt. Soc. 1851. 6. pi. i. fig. 16. Dalyell, Anim. of Scotl. 226 ; pi. xlvii. fig. 9. Ibid. Ibid. 227 ; pi. xlvi. fig. 11. Gosse, Linn. Trans, xxi. 274 : Tenby, 365 : Manual Mar. Zool. i. 28 : Annals, N. H. Ser. 3. i. 416. Ibid. Ann. N. H. Ser. 2. xiv. 280 : Tenby, 356 (Frontispiece). Holdsworth, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1855. pi. v. figs. 1—3. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to holes in rocks, frequently detached : somewhat exceeding the column. Column. Smooth towards the base, but beset on the upper two-thirds with suckers, which have a strong power of adhesion. Substance firmly fleshy. Form cylindrical and much lengthened, in full extension, the height many times exceeding the diameter. Margin tentaculate. Dish. Flat or slightly concave : the margin rarely undulate. Outline circular. Radii strongly marked, and crossed by close-set transverse striae. Tentacles. Numerous (amounting to two hundred or upwards in some specimens), arranged in four or five rows ; the first row largest, and decreasing gradually to the outermost ; in extension about as long as the width of the disk, conical, bluntly pointed. The manner in which they are carried varies in the different varieties. Mouth. Generally elevated on a cone. THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. 89 Acontia. Long and very slender. Emitted reluctantly, and only on great irritation. Colour. Column. Olive, of a greener or browner tint in different specimens, marked with pale longitudinal stripes, widest and most conspicuous at the base, where the longer alternate with shorter ones, all generally vanishing towards the summit. The suckers for the most part pale. Dish. Varied with black, white, and grey, in a delicately pencilled pattern, that has justly been compared to the mottling of a snipe’s feather. The pattern, which is pretty constant, is produced by the following elements : — each primary radius is greyish-white from the Jj-mark of the tentacle-foot, about half-way to the mouth ; then there is a patch of black inclosing a spot of white (often very bright), and then a narrow line of pale yellow or drab, edged with black, brings the radius to the lip. The secondary radii have the same pattern, but more attenuated. Tentacles. Pellucid grey, crossed by three (or four) broad rings of pellucid white, of which the lowest is undefined, and is frequently tinged with buff or orange. At the foot of each tentacle is a black mark con- TENTACLE OF S. TROGLODYTES {front). sisting of a thick transverse bar, succeeded by two curves, the whole bearing the form of the Roman capital letter B- This mark is very con- stant and characteristic ; sometimes, though the form is preserved, the outline is wholly filled up with black ; and sometimes, but very rarely, the whole is nearly or even quite obliterated. Mouth. Generally whitish. Size. Large specimens attain a diameter of an inch in the column, and two inches in expanse of flower : the height is sometimes two inches and a half, but more commonly it does not exceed an inch.* * Mr. Holdsworth, in one of his letters, has drawn a pen-and-ink sketch of one which was protruding to a height of two inches from the sand at the bottom of his tank ; and states that, as the sand was full two inches thick, and that, to his belief, the troglodytes was attached, — it must have been four inches long. 90 SAGARTIAD^E. Locality. The coasts of England and Scotland. Hollows in rocks between tide- marks. Varieties. * With characteristic marks on disk and tentacles. a. Scolopacina. The condition above described. (Tenby : Torquay.) Plate II. jig. 5. (3. Hypoxantha. Disk and tentacles pinkish drab: the latter strongly barred, with the B indistinct; full (F. H. West in litt.) y. JBadifrons. Disk ground-colour pale umber-brown : tentacles wholly pellucid grey. (F. H. West in litt.) 5. Albicornis Disk, ground-colour French-grey ; tentacles wholly opaque white. (F. H. W. in litt.) ** With characteristic marks on tentacles only. e. Nigrifrons. Column greenish drab, duskier towards the summit. Disk uniform blackish-grey ; summits of mouth-angles orange-cream- colour. Tentacles pellucid, for the most part marked with an undefined long patch of opaque orange-cream-colour on the lowest third of the front; above this three remote spots of opaque white on the front face. The B distinct when searched for, but nearly merged in the dark hue of the disk. (Morecambe Bay.) £. Fulvicornis. Column drab, blackish at the summit. Disk dull umber; each radius with an undefined centre of black in the exterior half; the interior third wholly drab, separated by black lines. Lip narrow, orange. Tentacles short, remarkably blunt; numerous, in five rows ; uniform opaque pale orange ; the strong, and distinct. Between the bases of the tentacles black radial lines are continued on a fawn ground, which becomes orange marginally, with a pretty effect. (Morecambe Bay.) ij. Pallidicornis. Column dull grey, blackish above, becoming dull rusty immediately at the summit. Disk dull sepia-brown ; the radii sepa- rated by slender black lines : primary radii with a central white spot broadly margined writh black. Tentacles short, very blunt, set in five full rows ; opaque dull cream- white, the front with a line of faint orange, and a broad ill-defined stripe of blackish down each side; each tipped with a round dark spot. The 15 separated into its constituent halves, by a dividing line of whitish. (Morecambe Bay.) Plate I. jig. 3. 6. Aurora. Agrees with a in column and disk, and in the form and comparative fewness of the tentacles ; but the colour of these organs is brilliant orange, with the B rather ill-defined. (Tenby : Torquay ) Plate III. $7*. 1, 2. THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. 91 i. JRubicunda. Agrees with a in disk and tentacles (nearly) ; but ground- colour of tentacles rose-red : column dull buff. (Torquay.) k. Lilacina. Column greyish-drab with faint longitudinal bands of darker. Disk buff, the radii separated by delicate black lines. Tentacles an exquisite light lilac,* with a white cloud at the lower part, succeeded by a strongly-defined black (Boulogne.) A. Melanoleuca. Column greenish drab. Disk whitish, becoming orange on the central region. Tentacles divided 'into well-defined alter- nate groups of semi-pellucid white and bluish black ; about five groups of each colour, but not quite regular in extent : those of each hue are con- spicuously ringed with a darker tint, and have the B thick and strongly marked. (Morecambe Bay ; Boulogne.) Plate Y. fig. 5. /x. Prasina. Disk and tentacles transparent crown-glass-green ; primary radii with a white spot, secondary with a white line. Lip white. (Firth of Forth ? Dr. T. S. Wright in litt.) *** Without characteristic marks on disk or tentacles. (Column drab.) v. Flavicoma. Disk grey -buff, more positive on the lip ; tentacles warm orange-buff ; remarkably short, blunt, and stiffly set. (Boulogne.) |. Auricoma. Disk pale orange, with an undefined dash of white on some of the radii. Tentacles long, slender, pellucid rich orange. (More- cambe Bay.) o. Luna. Disk warm orange, with the central fourth white. Tentacles elongated, opaque white, with an unbroken line of pellucid white running down each side. (Boulogne. F. H. W. in litt.) 7 r. Nox. Disk and tentacles black : the latter much attenuated, with an unbroken line of grey running down each side. (Boulogne. F. H. W. in litt.) p. Eclipsis. Disk black. Tentacles opaque brilliant orange. (Morecambe Bay. F. H. W. in litt.) c r. Nycthamera. As p in every respect, except that the black of the disk ends abruptly at half-radius, the central portion being light grey. (More- cambe Bay. F. H. W. in litt.) r. Hesperus. Wholly pure white ; gradually acquiring colour in a con- finement of some months. (Lundy. W. Brodrick in litt.) v. Nobilis. Disk deep violet-blue. Tentacles rich orange. (Cheshire Coast. Lady Cust in litt.) From the above list it will be readily perceived that there is no species of our native Anemones that approaches * I describe it as I see it ; but Mr. West, to whose liberality I am indebted for this, as for so many specimens of this species, informs me that it is now in a deteriorated condition. Originally it was a very rich full lake or dark lilac. 92 SAGARTIAMh this in Protean variability. And yet there is, in general, no difficulty in determining the species ; the characteristic B is an excellent note of distinction wherever it is present ; and in those varieties in which it is obliterated in the evanescence of the markings, as in vars. ya, v, f, o, or merged in the abnormal spread of the 'dark hue of the disk, as in vars. 7 r, p, cr, v, the true character of the specimen will be betrayed by the form and substance of the body, the drab colouring of the column, or the tendency of the tentacles to assume the orange hue.* It is one of our most generally distributed species, rang- ing apparently all round our coasts, from east to west, and from north to south. It is also tolerably abundant, at least in many of its localities, though less liable than some to be seen by casual observers, from its habits of retirement. Mr. Price well characterised it, when he proposed for it the name of troglodytes (“ cave-dweller,” from rpcoyXrj, a cavern, and Svvco, to enter) ; for its favourite habit is to ensconce itself in holes and crevices of the solid rock, into which it retreats on alarm. In the shallow pools that floor the largest of the caves at St. Catherine’s, Tenby, the vars. scolojpacina and aurora are abundant, especially the former, spreading their pretty blossom-faces at the bottom of the clear water. And yet it is not easy to discover them even when scores are thus exposed ; for the mottled colouring of the disk and tentacles is so like that of the sand and mud of the pools, that even a practised eye may overlook them without the closest searching. They often protrude the tentacles only, clustered perpendicularly, through the mud, and sometimes only the tips of these organs. Their concealment is aided by the fragments of sand, gravel, and broken shells, that * “ In addition to these characteristics, I think the stout firm texture of the base a fair mark, as it is not so readily injured as in most species. Also the comparatively slight adhesion, at least when you can get fairly down to it : I think it generally yields to careful fingering.” (F. H. W. in litt.) THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. 93 adhere to the suckers of the column ; these foreign bodies are often present in considerable quantity, and are pertinaciously retained for a long time, even in captivity. Its general resort is not very low; from ebb neap-tide downward may be considered its range : but the var. aurora affects a much higher level, habitually dwelling near high-water mark, but then it is invariably in some little hollow of the rock in which the water stands. Several of the varieties have been found at Morecambe Bay, by my friend Mr. F. H. West. He describes the locality as “a low, flat, sandy shore, remarkably dreary and uninviting for the sea-coast, and without so much as a rock in sight. The tide goes out a considerable distance ; perhaps three-quarters of a mile, or even more, laying bare an almost unbroken expanse of what is rather mud than sand, very soft and tenacious. Towards the south side of the Bay is a spit of firmer ground where a few stones are uncovered, which can hardly be dignified with the name of boulders, since any of them may be turned over without assistance. Attached to these we find A. dianthus , both the pure white and orange varieties, mostly young. In the course of an hour we found numerous specimens of these, several varieties of troglodytes , some rather pretty pied sorts of crassicornis , and of course the common mesembryanthemum. Several kinds of Eolis , as coronata , papillosa , Drummondi , and jpellucida , are found here : — Sabellce in abundance ; and Sertularice , various. There are no rock-pools ; but in the sandy hollows are Gobies, Blennies, Fifteen-spined Sticklebacks, and Pipefishes ; not to mention young Con- gers, that flop and flounder about when disturbed with most unpleasant energy. . . . All the troglodytes , including the orange-disked, present themselves through the sand, much elongated, —the point of attachment being 94 SAGARTIADiE. sometimes three or four inches below the surface. They are all equally sensitive, shrinking on the slightest alarm.” Mr. Holdsworth found the species under circumstances which deceived him into the belief that it was a per- manently free form, and he accordingly named it Scolcmthus sphceroides .* The specimens were found near low- water mark, imbedded in the fine chalky mud which fills the crevices of the rocks at Seaford, their expanded disks being just level with the surface, but so nearly covered that only a faint star-like outline was visible ; on being touched they instantly disappeared; and so great was their power of inversion and contraction, that on digging carefully, they were generally found about one-and-a-half inch deep, and having that peculiar bead-like form which has suggested the specific name of sjihceroides. There was usually a depth of six or seven inches of mud below them ; so that they could not have been fastened to the rock ; and since I have had them at home, now nearly five weeks, they have not shown the least inclination to attach themselves to the gravel, or glass sides of the tank in which they are living ; three of them have burrowed into some sand on which they were placed, but the others remain on the sur- face and are but rarely contracted. Soft mud is probably their natural habitat, being the most easily penetrated; and I could find no traces of any of these animals in a con- siderable tract of sand only a few yards from the locality whence these were obtained.” My friend was subsequently convinced that he had been misled by the appearance of the specimens : he examined them with me, and kindly gave me one of his original specimens, and we were both convinced that they were of this species. The apparent perforation at the rounded pos- terior extremity could have been nothing more than the * Proc. Zool. Soc. ; May, 1855. THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. 95 contraction and approximation of the column around the retracted base ; and we proved its power of basal adhesion in the specimen which came into my possession ; for it not only attached itself by the entire broad base to the saucer — and that repeatedly after having been removed — but during the night marched several inches to seek shelter under a shell. What had appeared to be an epidermis was nothing but a ring of exuviated mucus, which was readily removed, bringing away all the dirt, and leaving a clean smooth Sagartia. The tentacle-feet displayed the B-mark, and there seemed little to distinguish it from the normal colouring, except the dingy drab hue of the column. A specimen of the var. fulvicornis , in my possession, when disturbed, assumed a' globular form, with the base contracted to one-sixth of an inch in diameter, and became very buoyant. It thus strongly reminded me of Mr. Holdsworth’s sphceroides . It seems the habit of the species to be very free ; and this tendency more especially marks the mud-loving kinds with a pale drab exterior. It is a common thing for one of these to lie for weeks in a tank rolling loosely about the bottom, alternately contracting and stretching its column, and folding or expanding its tentacles at pleasure, apparently quite healthy, and yet showing no inclination to choose a settled residence. I have had many examples with this habit, which, by and by, having sown their wild oats, suddenly fix themselves, give up their vagrant ways, and become sober housekeepers. Mr. Holdsworth writes me of one which, after six months’ captivity, “ has not yet attached itself, but wanders about, like a restless spirit without a home.” The suckers are in this species very adhesive ; and in this vagabond condition it is not rare for the Anemone to moor itself temporarily, not by the base, but by these 96 SAGARTIADJ3. organs ; sometimes by a few of the most anterior ones, when the base is thrown up at an angle, in a somewhat undignified fashion. Occasionally I have seen a specimen which had attached itself thus to a stone, or the side of a vessel, and had, by its own weight or other cause, removed a little from its attachment, — still fastened by two or three suckers, which were unnaturally stretched out to a length of the sixth of an inch, and a proportionate tenuity, resem- bling the suckers of a Holothuria. Some observed facts indicate a considerable tenacity of life in this species. On the 5th of October last Mr. West inclosed in a small tin canister three specimens with a little damp weed, but without water. The box was then addressed to me, and committed on the same day to the post-office at Leeds ; where, however, owing to the oozing forth of a slight wetness, it was detained. In the course of a few days I informed him that it had not arrived ; but my friend residing out of the town, and my letter arriving on Saturday evening, he was not able to obtain from the over-scrupulous postmaster the suspicious missive, until Monday morning, the 12th — a week (within five hours) of the animals' imprisonment . Of course he expected to find them in a pretty advanced state of decomposition ; but, on removing the lid, saw at once that the case was not hopeless. They were immediately treated to the long- foregone luxury of a bath of sea-water ; and though one of them was hors de combat , the other two recovered, and lived to bear the journey to Devonshire under better auspices. To the same kind friend I owe the possession of the lovely var. lilacina , and the following playful note of its endurings : — “ It is one of the French consignment, and has led almost a charmed life. Soon after my letter to you [dated Jan. 27], written after their arrival, I fancied the water in one of the vases was becoming foul, and therefore THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. 97 removed all the animals save one — the most valuable, — which could not be found, and which I concluded was the source of the mischief. The vase stood, however, in an empty room till last Tuesday [April 20], — so you may guess the strength of the pickle, — when I emptied out the whole kettle of fish, and found Monsieur at the bottom. He is only the shadow of himself, and looks uncommonly seedy ; but is a character, nevertheless.” While writing this article, I have had an opportunity, for the first time, of seeing the discharge of true ova from an Anemone. In a saucer, containing a Corynactis and some varieties of troglodytes , that was standing on my library table, I found, on the morning of the 28th of April, that there had been deposited during the night an even layer of pale brown substance on the bottom, so placed as to make it uncertain whether it had proceeded from the Corynactis or from one of the troglodytes . The mass was about as large as a fourpenny-piece. A little taken up with a pipette, and examined under a power of 500 diam., proved to be composed of ova, opaque, perfectly globular, varying from .0043 to .0051 inch (but the former was an unusually small one) : they were mostly very uniform in size, viz. .0050 inch. They had a clear well-defined edge, and not the slightest appearance of cilia. I removed the troglodytes to a clean part of the saucer (it was the beautiful orange var. auricoma ), and after a few hours perceived that it was discharging more ova, which were streaming over its lower tentacles, as it lay on its side, but fully expanded. I therefore immediately transferred it to a straight-sided glass box for closer examination. As soon as it had expanded again after the shock of removal, which it did in a few minutes, I began to watch it. It was lying on its side, with its disk and expanded tentacles near the glass side, and facing my eye. Many of H 98 SAGARTIADiE. the tentacles, especially those which were on the in- ferior side, were occupied with more or fewer ova, some having fifty or more, others half-a-dozen, others one or two. In each case they were rolling up the interior of the ten- tacle from the general cavity, and coursing to and fro under the influence of the lining cilia, sometimes accumulating temporarily at the tip, but never, so far as I saw, discharged there. On looking at the mouth, I perceived that the gonidial tubercles of one angle were brought into contact with those of the opposite angle, dividing the mouth into three tem- porary orifices, two lateral and one central. The lateral orifices, however, were at right angles to the ordinary line of extension. Through each of these lateral orifices ova were issuing, somewhat slowly, with an even motion evi- dently ciliary, for the most part not in contact with the sides of the tube, but coming up through its dark centre. As each came into view, and deliberately rolled over the edge of the orifice, it streamed across the disk, and over the face of the expanded tentacles, carried clear of all by means of the ciliary currents of these parts. The ova closely fol- lowed each other, generally in single file ; but occasionally two, or even three, were slightly agglutinated together. Perhaps on an average about three or four in a minute issued, but with many lengthened interruptions of the continuity. The process of egg-discharge did not continue long after I began to watch it ; though the accumulations remained in the tentacles. The next morning, those that had been deposited were for the most part disintegrated, resolving into an undefined mass of minute cells. A few only here and there retained their outline. During the next day or two, especially in the night, a few more were discharged, which were a little larger than the former, averaging .0060 THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. 99 inch. No result, however, followed the discharge, and they soon decomposed. Dr. Byerly, however, has succeeded in rearing the young of this species ; hut from ciliated germs, not from ova. Some specimens which he found numerous on the Leasowe shore of the Mersey, threw off many germs, which could he plainly seen through the skin at the hase. These made their exit through “ breaches of continuity in the outer envelope near its junction with the hasal disk, and some- times through ragged apertures in the hase itself.” The germs were about as large as a pin’s head, perfectly globular, and had a very sluggish motion. Three or four were put into a wide-mouthed bottle and stopped : after two months, one had developed a perfect Actinia, the ten- tacles being fully expanded. At the time of the record it had lived six months ; but having never been fed, it had not visibly grown.* Since the former observations were made, I have proved this species (contrary to what has been asserted of the Actinoids) to be hermaphrodite. The variety in this case was the exquisite one I have named melanoleuca (see Pl. Y. fig. 5), a large specimen received about a week before from Morecambe. On the 26th of May, this individual, on being put into fresh sea- water, instantly made it turbid. I took it out in the course of the day, and isolated it in a small glass tank of clear water. Presently this also became quite turbid, as if milk had been mixed with it, while clouds of the white fluid were seen floating about the animal. On the vessel being shaken, and again on my touching the Anemone, it contracted ; and, on each occasion, a stream of white fluid, almost as opaque as milk, shot up from the mouth, and slowly diffused itself in the surrounding water. * Edin. New Phil. Journ.; Jan. 1855. H 2 100 SAGARTIADiE. With a pipette I took up a drop from one of the diffusing clouds, and submitted it to the microscope. It was filled with millions of excessively minute, but vigorously motile atoms, clear and colourless, having an ovate body, and a slender tail, which wriggled their little tails, and rapidly oscillated from side to side, from the tail-tip as a 'point (Tappui. This was the first time I had ever seen the sper- matozoa (for such they assuredly were) of the Anemones. The next morning, the water still continuing turbid, I was about to pour it away, when I saw beneath the spot where the Anemone had lain, a thick layer of cream- coloured soft substance, well-defined in its outline. I took up a little of this and examined it. It proved to be a mass of ova. They agreed with those above described, being mostly quite globular (though a few were distorted) ; the majority closely alike in size, viz. .0058 inch ; but a few were manifestly smaller, and measured from .0046 to .0048 inch. They were perfectly defined, with a distinct clear wall, and olive granular contents. When crushed with a graduated pressure to rupture, the whole contents of each ovum were seen to consist of a vitelline mass of minute oil-particles in an albuminous fluid, inclosed in a very thin vitelline membrane. In a few instances I detected the germinal vesicle with its germinal spot, some- times by its clearness when the ovum was flattened, some- times by its escape as a clear bladder from the ruptured membrane : but in many examples I could not find it at all. I removed the Anemone from the vase, leaving the ova alone, in hope that they would develop, but they all decomposed. I may add, that since then I have seen the like discharge of spermatozoa from a specimen of viduata. I refer with hesitation the Actinia elegans and A . ex- plorator of Sir John Dalyell to this species. The former THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. 101 he describes as of a reddish-brown or orange hue, with white (suctorial) spots, and well-barred tentacles ; the disk generally crossed with a white line. The latter has more of the ordinary aspect of a troglodytes. Sir John Daly ell observed in the latter (which he named explorator from the circumstance) the occasional elonga- tion of one or two tentacles, which we have seen to be a not uncommon phenomenon in this family. A specimen, not half an inch in diameter, exhibited two tentacles together, each of the length of an inch and three quarters. In general, the elongation took place at night. From its ordinary length of half an inch, each tentacle gradually became two inches long, thickened and distended to transparency. “It is then seen rising from among the rest, curving over to the opposite side of the disk, and as if searching around.” After a while, it shrank back to its former state. Both of these (supposed) species were prolific. The latter produced sixty young in one night ; which were pure white, and large in proportion. Of the former, three indi- viduals, in October, produced infusorium-like germs, which were ovoid, and yellow-green in hue : some showed a long transparent horn in front, visible as the animalcule pur- sued a steady course ; behind it was open like a cap. They presented much disparity both in form and size. They swam actively by means of cilia. These germs continued visible throughout October, but, though carefully preserved, they led to no ultimate results.* Since the earlier pages of this article were issued, I have been favoured with an interesting letter from Miss Gloag, of Queensferry, Fifeshire, who has long been a successful cultivator of Anemones. I regret that limited space forbids my giving her communication in extenso : I am compelled * Rem. Anim. of Scotl. ; 226, 227. 102 SAGrAKTIADiE. to select and abridge. This lady finds troglodytes abund- ant on the Fife coast, in several varieties. Of these she specially enumerates lilacina , of which eight specimens have from time to time occurred ; Hesperus, two specimens, and a third well-marked variety. One of the var. Hesperus has been in Miss Gloag’s possession fifteen months : “ the disk and tentacles are, if possible, whiter than snow ; only at the extreme tip of each tentacle is it quite black. It is a little gem of beauty.” This variety frequently elongates two of its tentacles to the length of an inch ; when they lose their opaque white colour, and become transparent, the tip, however, retaining its black hue. The new variety is very showy : it has a bright orange disk, and perfectly black tentacles : thus reversing the colours of Eclipsis . It may be added to the catalogue, as var. cj). Pyromela. Some of my lady-readers may be glad to avail themselves of Miss Gloag’s experience in collecting. “ I find no diffi- culty in digging the troglodytes out of the rocks or mud. The instruments I use are long, thick hair-pins [of iron- wire, -fg-th of an inch thick]. I am obliged to have them made for the purpose ; but they are splendid, and seldom fail to bring out the treasure unhurt. After getting my fingers nearly skinned, I bethought me of hair-pins . When I see a troglodytes that I wdsh to possess, I take one of these strong pins in each hand, and as quickly as I can I put the bent ends down the fissure as close as I dare to the creature : when I think I have reached its base, I work them gently but firmly towards each other, till I feel I have detached the Anemone, when it is easily lifted out either with the fingers or with the pins.” More recently still, Mr. D. Kobertson has sent me from Cumbrae an exquisite variety, of which I was at first inclined to make a distinct species. It has the charac- THE CAVE-DWELLING ANEMONE. 103 teristic marks of troglodytes, however, on disk and tentacles. Column marked with longitudinal green bands on a pellucid olive ground. Tentacles very short and conical, pellucid, with three transverse white bars, and three longitudinal streaks of fine grass-green, reaching from the middle to the tip ; one frontal, broad, the others lateral, narrower. Disk pellucid olive, with a white lip. This variety I enumerate as x- Prasinopicta. All the varieties of this species are hardy in confinement, and accommodate themselves readily to almost any kind of bottom. Many observations (some of which have been already mentioned) concur in showing its tenacity of life under circumstances, such as long imprisonment in a box, foul water, &c., that would prove fatal to other species. It requires attention, however, in the aquarium, to preserve it in condition. The more beautiful varieties, at least, speedily degenerate both in size and colour, if they be not frequently and regularly fed. They possess a healthy appetite, and will greedily devour fragments of raw fish or flesh, or of univalve or bivalve mollusca. Perhaps the best food for all Anemones, and one that can generally be com- manded, is the uncooked flesh of the oyster or the mussel. It should be cut into small pieces, and guided gently to the disk or tentacles of the Anemone, when fully expanded. If the animal shrink from the food, and contract ; or if it be allowed to lie on the disk ungrasped, it will be of little use to allow it to remain: remove the fragment, and wait a hungrier moment. If the food be gradually sucked in, its remains will be disgorged in the course of a period varying from a few hours to several days. Often it will appear little changed ; but it has performed its part, and must be carefully removed, or its decomposition will be likely to spoil the water, and kill, or at least render sickly, the living tenants. The frag- 104 SAGARTIADiE. ments may be removed by means of a bent spoon at the end of a stick, by boxwood pliers sold for the purpose, or by a glass tube closed at one end by the finger. The following somewhat extensive list includes all the British localities of this species that have come to my knowledge : — Wick, C. W. P. : Moray Frith, A. Robertson: Coast of Fife, Miss (< J . C.) Gloag : Frith of Forth, T. S. W. : Berwick Bay, G. J. : Cullercoats, R. Howse : Guern- sey, E. W. H. H. : Dover, J. R. Mummery : Hastings, G K.; E. C. Holwell: Seaford, E. W. II. H. : Selsey, G. G. ; Weymouth, W. Thompson : Teignmouth, R . C. J.: Torquay, P. H. G. : Falmouth, W. P. G.: Ilfra- combe, G. T. : Tenby, P. H. G. : St. Bride’s Bay, H. Owen : Menai Strait, TV. A. L. : Mersey Estuary, Hilbre Island, E. L. W. : Birkenhead, J. Price : Morecambe Bay, F. H. W.: Man, E. Forbes ; F. H. W. : Frith of Clyde, A. B. C. : Cumbrae, D. R. : Belfast, E. P. W. coccinea. TROGLODYTES. viduata. ASTRASACBA. SAGARTIADjE THE SNAKE-LOCKED ANEMONE. Scigartia viduata . Plate III. fig . 3 ; VI. fig. 11. Specific Character. Tentacles very extensile, very flexuous, indistinctly barred ; marked with an uninterrupted dark line down each side. Actinia viduata. ? undata, anguicoma. ? lacerata. Isacmcea viduata. Sagartia viduata. Muller, Zool. Dan. Prod. 281. No. 2799. Zool. Dan. ii. 31 ; pi. lxiii. figs. 6 — 8. Ibid. Zool. Dan. ii. 30 ; pi. lxiii. figs. 4, 5. Price in Johnst. Brit. Zooph. 2nd Ed. p. 218 ; fig. 48. Gosse, Devon. Coast, 96 ; pi. i. figs. 9, 10. Dalyell, Rem. Anim. Scotl. 228 ; pi. xlvii. figs. 12—17. Ehrenberg, Corall. 34. Gosse, Linn. Trans, xxi. 274 ; Tenby 363 ; Man. Mar. Zool. i. 28 ; Ann. N. H. Ser. 3. i. 416. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to rocks, but readily detached. Considerably exceeding the column. Column. Smooth, slightly corrugated in contraction ; with distinct suckers on the upper half. Substance fleshy. Form cylindrical; capable of great elongation, in the shape of a tall and slender pillar. Margin tentaculate. Bisk. Flat ; the margin plane. Outline circular. Radii distinct; crossed by fine striae. Tentacles. About two hundred, arranged in five rows ; of which the first and second contain each twelve, the third twenty-four, the fourth forty- eight, the fifth ninety-six. Those of the first row are longest ; but there is not so much difference between the rows in this respect as is the case with the preceding species : those of the first row, when fully extended, are longer than the width of the disk ; all are slender, tapered to a fine point, and very flexuous. They are usually carried either arching downwards on every side or sub-erect, and thrown into many irregular snaky curves. Mouth. Set on a low cone. Lip thin ; slightly furrowed. Acontia. Emitted from various parts of the body, from the base to the summit, occasionally ; but very reluctantly, and in small quantity : short and slender. 106 SAGARTIADjE. Colour. Column. Ground tint a light buff, sometimes merging into a warm fawn, or wood-brown, at others into a flesh-hue, or even pale scarlet. This is marked with longitudinal bands of paler hue, sometimes almost white ; the bands being equal to the interspaces. As these bands approach the base they become more defined, and the contrast between the alternate dark and light hues is beautifully distinct, especially as they are separated by slender jagged lines of very dark brown. The whole upper parts are freckled with numerous brown dots ; and the suckers are generally inclosed each in a little olive blotch. Disk. Ground tint a dull whitish-grey, covered with a regular speckled pattern, formed of the following elements. At the point where each tentacle springs from the disk, the radius is marked by a long dash of deep brown, or blackish, at each edge; the intervening space between the dashes is occupied by a transverse band of pellucid greyish-brown ; two other similar bands cross the radius at equal distances, but without the bounding dashes. As the markings of the secondary radii do not coincide in posi- tion with those of the primary, the result is the minutely chequered or dotted pattern above spoken of. Go- nidial radii often opaque white. Tentacles. Translucent grey, marked on each side with a line of dark brown running through the whole length. Occasionally a very faint ring of pel- lucid white surrounds the tentacle near its middle, and a second just above its foot : the lateral lines are lightened at these places, but their continuity is not interrupted. They end abruptly just above the junction with the disk. Mouth. Greyish white ; with darker {right side). furrows. Size. Average specimens in the button state are about five-eighths of an inch in height, and the same in width of column ; the base covering an area of nearly an inch in diameter. Such a specimen in ordinary expansion would spread an inch and a half from tip to tip of the tentacles. But specimens an inch and a quarter in height and width in the button are not rarely met with. Locality. It is widely scattered over the European coasts. Where found it is generally common, adhering to rocks and loose stones, between tide-marks ; PLAT JS. in . 1.2. SAC ART 1 A TROGLODYTES. 3 . S . VIDUATA . 7.8. ADAMSIA 4.5 • 6 . PALL1ATA . PALLI DA PURA . THE SNAKE -LOCKED ANEMONE. 107 and is especially abundant on a sandy bottom in the laminarian zone, where it appears to be nearly or quite free, since it is washed ashore by hundreds after a gale. Variety. The only distinctly marked variety that I have noticed besides those diversities of the general tint that I include in a. Aleurops,* — the mealy-faced condition above described, — is (3. Melanops ;f which has a broad well-defined band of deep black, crossing the disk and tentacles ; just as if a dash of ink had been struck across the whole flower ; including in its breadth three or four tentacles of each row on each side. The band crosses at right-angles to the line of the mouth ; the gonidial radii of which are white. Sagartia viduata is somewhat liable to be confounded with troglodytes ; and some varieties of the latter approach it very nearly, especially when closed. But an experienced eye will seldom be deceived ; the tint of viduata is a warmer brown, generally mealy, or speckled ; that of troglodytes tends to drab, smoky brown, or olive, and is not speckled : the stripes of troglodytes , when present, are closer, generally narrower, and rarely extend far from the base ; the suckers, too, which are so obvious and so constantly used in troglo- dytes, are inconspicuous in viduata, and rarely used for attachment. Then, when expanded, the peculiar pattern of each disk respectively does not merge into the other, though in troglodytes it is apt to become evanescent : the tentacles in this latter very rarely show obscure lateral lines; in viduata these marks are constant and conspicuous: the more slender form of these organs, and their tendency to assume irregular curves, in viduata, are also a very good distinction. I have no hesitation in identifying the species which we get so abundantly in Torbay, and which I have described above, with Mr. Price’s anguicoma ; though that gentleman has not noticed the characteristic tentacle-lines. Its re- * yA Xevpov, meal ; city, the face. + M 4\as, black ; city, the face. 108 SAGARTIADiE. markable power of elongation in the dark, alluded to by him, I have often noticed. The finest specimen I have ever seen used to stretch up at night in the form of a perpendicular column, five inches in height, with a thickness of about two-thirds of an inch ; from the summit of which the numerous slender tentacles, arching outward on all sides, and extended to extreme tenuity and translucency, gave to the whole animal somewhat of the appearance of an elegant palm-tree. This form I have endeavoured to imitate in Plate III. fig. 3 ; though the engraver has not succeeded in conveying an adequate idea of the shadowy character of the tentacles, which look like a thin light blue cloud when seen against a dark background. The more ordinary appearance I have given in Plate YI. fig. 11. But as little doubt exists in my mind that the species is the viduata of the “ Zoologia Danica.” I have before me at this moment specimens, which answer almost precisely to Muller’s description, even in such minute characters as the number of the white bands (twenty-six in mine, “ viginti-quatuor ” in his); the dark brown speck, with a white dot in its centre — “ puncto pertuso ” — at the summit of each main band; the slender evanescent line between the bands — “ inter has strigas alia tenuior et pallidior ;” the longitudinal dark lines of the tentacles — “ lineola duplici longitudinali obscura ;” and even the minute depression in the middle of each tentacle at its foot — “ foveola versus basin all these points I trace readily ; and while they do honour to the precision of the great Danish zoologist, they abundantly prove the identity of our species with his. Whether his undata is not a variety of the same, I am not sure. The Actinia lacerata of Dalyell I also incline to identify with the present, — from what he says of the colour, the length, form, and contour of the tentacles, the card-like, THE SNAKE-LOCKED ANEMONE. 109 abject flatness of the body in contraction, and the elonga- tion at night.* The name viduata (“ widowed ”) probably alluded to the white and black lines, which seem to have been remarkably contrasted in Muller’s specimen. Mr. Price’s name— anguicoma (“ snake-locked ”) — is far more suggestive and significant ; and I regret that the law of priority forbids me to adopt it. Mr. Holdsworth has found some curious anomalies in the tentacles of a specimen in his possession. He first observed that all these organs assumed a nodulous appear- ance, being abruptly thickened into knobs at regular inter- vals in their length. The phenomenon disappeared and recurred several times, sometimes lasting two or three days. About a fortnight after my friend had favoured me with a record of this fact, he wrote me again as follows : — “ The viduata that had the knobbed arms has taken a new freak, and not being content with a normal number of tentacles, must needs throw out branches from some of them. I inclose a sketch of the most conspicuous.” From the drawing it appeared, that while some of these organs were but slightly notched at the tip, others were divided nearly half-way down, the branches diverging in various degrees ; while one bifurcate tentacle had one of its branches cleft. A similar phenomenon has occurred to my own observation in Aijotasia , and in Anthea . It is by no means common for either viduata or troglodytes to emit the filaments, which I call acontia , from the loop- holes of the column; but I have witnessed the fact on several occasions. From the mouth they are protruded much more readily. In both species they are crowded with long oval cnidce about .002 inch in length, and Rem. Anim. of Scotland, p. 228. 110 S AG ARTI ADiE . under ; which discharge an ecthorceum about one and a half times the length of the cnida , and densely bearded. Of the increase of this species I have no information, unless the lacerata of Sir J. Dalyell be truly identical with it. He observed that this increases by spontaneous sepa- rations of portions of its base. The outline becomes irregu- larly sinuous, and the prominences gradually (in the course of a week or two) become pinched off, maintaining their connexion only by a very slender lengthened filament, not in contact with the glass , but free above it. Rupture of the connecting thread at length takes place, and the independent fragment w develops itself into a young Anemone. The laceration of the outline of the parent was always very irregular and ragged. Above seventy were thus produced in a year from a single adult.* Sir John Dalyell could never detect any embryo or germ inclosed in the portion of margin about to be separated : and the careful experiments of Dr. T. S. Wright appear conclusively to negative that hypothesis which would thus explain the mode of increase by fission of the base. From an attached individual of Actinoloba dianthus , Dr. Wright cut a minute piece of the base, having first ascertained, by careful examination of the part, which was perfectly trans- parent, that no ovum or germ existed there. The part immediately receded from the parent, and in three weeks had become a perfect Anemone, with long tentacles. From this small one he cut two other minute slips, which also assumed the perfect condition ; and from the base of the original adult fourteen other slips yielded the same results. From these experiments it appears that all that is essential to the process is the existence of a portion of each of the three elementary tissues of the animal — the tegumentary, Op. cit. p. 228. THE SNAKE-LOCKED ANEMONE. Ill the muscular, and the epithelial or ciliated lining-membrane of the cavity.* S. viduata is hardy in an aquarium, and needs no special care or peculiar treatment. It expands principally during the hours of darkness ; a shaded angle suits it best. The following are the British localities in which it has been recognised Felixstowe, Miss M. E. Guille: Dover (rare), E. L. W.: Guernsey, E. TV. H. H. : Bournemouth, Rev . J. Guille - mard: Torquay (abundant), P. H. G. : Dartmouth, E. W. IRE: Falmouth, W. P. C.: Ilfracombe, P. II. G.: Tenby, P. H. G. : Menai Strait, J. P./ (abundant) W. A. L. : Puffin Island, E. L. W. : Mouth of the Dee, F. E W. : Dublin Bay, J. R. Greene ; E. P. W. : Belfast Lough, W. T.: Lahinch (Co. Clare), E. F. troglodytes. bellis. yiduata. [impatiens.] coccinea. parasitica. A. amacha. A. cereus. Edin. Phil. Journal, for 1856. ASTR^EACEA. SAGARTIAD JR. THE PARASITIC ANEMONE. Sagartia 'parasitica . Plate II. fig. 6. Specific Character. Large, pillar-like ; skin coriaceous ; tentacles in seven rows, marked with a many-broken line down each side. Actinia effceta. Rapp, Polyp. 54 ; pi. ii. fig. 2 (An Linnaei ?). parasitica. Couch, Zooph. Cornw. 34 ; Corn. Fauna, iii. 80 ; pi. xv. figs. 1, 2. Johnst. Brit. Zooph. Ed. 2. 228, pi. xli. Cocks, Rep. Cornw. Pol. Soc. 1851, 8, pi. ii. fig. 11. Gosse, Aquarium, 144, pi. iv. Tugwell, Manual, pi. vi. Sagartia parasitica. Gosse, Tr. Linn. Soc. xxi. 274; Ann. N. H. Ser. 3. i. 416. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent, generally to shells. Little exceeding the column. Column. Minutely corrugated on the upper parts, but studded on the lower half with numerous warts, mostly small, but a few among the rest large and prominent. No apparent suckers. Substance firm, somewhat coriaceous. Form, that of a thick pillar ; the height twice or thrice as great as the diameter ; plump and rounded. Margin forming a slightly thickened rim, minutely notched, scarcely rising above the level of the disk, and obliterated when the disk is fully expanded. Disk. Nearly flat, or slightly concave ; the margin somewhat mem- branous, wider than the column, which it overarches; occasionally it is thrown into puckered undulations, but only to a small extent. Radii not prominent. Tentacles. Five hundred or upwards ; arranged in about seven rows, of which the first contains about twenty, the second twenty-four, the third forty-eight, the fourth ninety-six ; those of the other rows are too numerous and too closely set to be enumerated. The first row springs from the disk at about half-radius, — that is, midway between the lips and the margin they occasionally stand erect, but more frequently arch outwards in elegant overhanging curves. When distended, those of the first row are often an inch in length, and one-eighth of an inch in thickness : the others diminish in regular gradation, until those of the margin do not exceed a line in length. Their form varies in different individuals, and perhaps at THE PARASITIC ANEMONE. 113 different times, sometimes being blunt and nearly cylindrical, at others tapering to a fine point. Mouth. The centre of the disk gradually swells into a stout low cone, in the centre of which is the mouth, edged with a thick furrowed lip. Acontia. White, long, and as thick as sewing-cotton ; projected on the slightest irritation, and in the most copious profusion, both from the mouth and from the loop-holes of the column. Colour. Column. Ground-colour, a dirty white or drab ; often slightly tinged with pale yellow : longitudinal bands of dark wood-brown, reddish- or purplish-brown, run down the body, sometimes very regularly, and set so closely as to leave the intermediate bands of ground-colour much narrower than themselves : at other times these bands are narrower, more separated, or broken into chains of dark spots. Immediately around the base the bands usually sub-divide, and are varied by a single series of upright oblong spots of rich yellow, which are commonly margined with a deeper brown than that of the bands. The whole column is surrounded by close-set faint transverse lines of pale hue, sometimes scarcely distinguishable, except near the summit, where they cut the bands in such a manner as to form, with other similar lines which there run lengthwise, a reticulated pattern. Disk. Pellucid yellowish-white, often tinged with faint purple about the half-radial region, and marked with a circle of six squarish patches of opaque white. Tentacles. Pellucid, faintly tinged with flesh-colour, cream- yellow, or purplish; each marked with a dark purplish or brown line down each side, which is broken into about five dashes. The sub-marginal rows, which from their minuteness may be compared to a fringe, are frequently divided into alter- nate patches of colour ; — a patch of pale tentacles, then one of purplish, — six groups of each colour completing the circle. These alternations do not conceal the lateral lines of the ten- tacles ; and though sometimes beautifully distinct, they are at others scarcely perceptible. The pale patches correspond to the square spots of white on the disk. Mouth. Opaque white, or cream -white. Size. It frequently attains a height of four inches, with a diameter a half in column, and three and a half in flower. Locality. The shores of the British Channel, the Mediterranean and in the coralline zone. For the most part adhering to such shells as are inhabited by the Soldier-crab. I TENTACLE • {front). of two and Red Seas ; 114 SAGARTIADiE. Varieties. Though subject to considerable diversity in colouring, I am scarcely able to select any pattern sufficiently distinct, or sufficiently stable to warrant its registration as a named variety. I have above defined the limits within which, so far as my experience goes, the divergence extends ; it seems mainly to consist in the relative proportions and arrangements of the dark and light bands of the columns. One mentioned to me by Dr. Hilton, of Guernsey, as having been found by him at Herm, seems more worthy than any other of being considered as a distinct variety. It “had a very light coloured body, and was beautifully marked with lilac spots.” Perhaps I may venture to call it Amethystina. I have seen a specimen at Torquay, in which the stripes of the column were dark crimson. The keen eye and scientific zeal of old Ellis failed to discover this species, notwithstanding its large size and commanding appearance. Common as it is in some locali- ties, it seems, however, to be quite unknown along the eastern coasts of great Britain and Ireland, whence Ellis’s zoophytic treasures were principally gathered. It was left for Mr. It. Q. Couch, of Penzance, to indicate it as a British species, though it had long been known in the Adriatic and Mediterranean seas.* I have found it exceedingly abundant in Weymouth Bay, — extending from the deep water of the offing even into the narrow harbour, — but have never heard of its being found within tide-marks, except in the instance of the var. amethystina , above mentioned, which was found attached to a stone at low- water mark. It is, as its name imports, normally parasitic in its habits ; though not so strictly but that we frequently dredge specimens adhering to stones ; and in captivity it is by no means uncommon for an individual to detach itself from its native site and adhere to the bottom of the vessel, or even to crawl up the perpendicular side. Generally, however, it is found seated * With Dr. Johnston I utterly and indignantly reject Linnaeus’s specific names in the Actinoida, and with reluctance even cite them. THE PARASITIC ANEMONE. 115 on some univalve shell, which is tenanted by a Soldier-crab: young specimens on Turritella terebra , Trochus magus, T. ziziphinus, &c. ; but adults, which are much more frequently met with than the young, almost invariably on the great Whelk ( Buccinum undatum). The dredge, indeed, often brings up shells invested by this Anemone, which are empty ; but I believe that in every such case the shell has recently been vacated by the Soldier, and that the Sagartia never voluntarily selects either an empty shell, or one tenanted by the living Mollusk, for his residence. My friend, Dr. E. Percival Wright of Dublin, has favoured me with a humorous sketch of the ways of this loving pair, — Crab and Zoophyte, Arcades ambo , — which bears on the matter before us. “ The following scene,” he observes, “ was witnessed by my much lamented friend Dr. B,. Ball. One of the specimens referred to, attached to the shell of a Buccinum undatum , which had from its appearance been, in all probability, just deserted by a Pagurus , was placed in a glass aquarium : in a short time the Anemone left the Buccinum , and attached itself to the side of the tank ; it next deserted this position and fixed itself on the side of a large stone that filled the centre part of the aquarium. After the lapse of some weeks, a Hermit Crab was dropped into the tank (I think Pag. bernhardus). Well, if these Hermits can’t live without hiding themselves in the deserted shell of some poor Mol- lusk, I think it is equally true that they can’t live happy until they hide both themselves and their shells in some quiet little hole in the rock -work of our aquaria, from whence they can look out ; and, thinking that the super- imposed stone-work adds vastly to the strength of their fortifications, experience sundry intense feelings of safety. Be this as it may, the Hermit in question was not long ere he walked up to a little grotto that was in the rock-work i 2 116 SAGARTIADiE. of the aquarium (quite close to the Sag. parasitica) ; and after a slight survey to see that all was right, he turned his left shoulder forward and 6 backed in : ’ then he began to whisk his antennas and foot-jaws in a dreadful manner, and looked evidently quite content. I suppose this was a state of things the parasite perched on the rock above had long been waiting for ; for it was not long in moving its disk over the top of the small whelk ; and before the Crab knew where he was, the big Sagartia had pitched his tent on the roof of the Hermit’s house. Where the Hermit Crab goes, there goes the Sagartia: a quiet life it led before; a restless one it has to lead now. But doubtless it knows what’s best for it.” The crab who sustains the honourable office of porter to this species is invariably the brawny-limbed Pagurus bern - Tiardus , as P. Prideauxii is favoured with the support of Adamsia palliata. In the rude and blundering manner in which the bearer performs his office, it cannot be but that the poor Anemone sustains many a hard knock and many a rough squeeze among the rocks and stones over which his servant travels ; but he appears to bear these mis- chances with great philosophy : I know of no species which lives so constantly exposed. A rude shock will, indeed, cause it to withdraw its tentacles, and contract its disk into that button-like shape which is common to the tribe ; but this is only for a moment ; it instantly expands again, and remains full blown in spite of all its draggings hither and thither. Its skin is peculiarly tough and leathery ; a provision, doubtless, against the accidents to which its vagrant life exposes it. Mr. B. Q. Couch says that the favourite site for this Anemone (in the neighbourhood of Penzance ?) is on the claw of the Corwich Crab (Maia squinado ). Mr. Cocks, however, says that in the neighbourhood of Falmouth it is THE PARASITIC ANEMONE. 117 never found on tliis Grab, nor on Pinna ingens , but fre- quently on Pecten maxinnus , as well as on Buccinum un- datum,, and on stones.* I do not remember myself to have ever seen it on a bivalve. We have no species of Sea- Anemone which, to such an extent as this, shoots forth those filaments which I have called acontia , and which are undoubted weapons of offence. On being rudely handled, or otherwise alarmed, from vari- ous points of the body, particularly from the larger warts, the loop-holes ( cinclides ) give issue to these threads, which exactly resemble in appearance white sewing-cotton. They are often shot forth with force to the length of four or even six inches ; and under circumstances of great irritation an immense bundle of such threads is projected from the mouth. Their interior end remains, however, attached to the cavity whence they issued, and they are soon withdrawn again. Most species of Anemones give out a rank penetrating odour, but it is more than usually offensive in S, parasitica. It is communicated to the fingers on handling the animal ; and repeated washings with soap, and even scrubbings with a brush, scarcely avail to remove it. It is insufferably nauseous. S. parasitica , like its congeners, is by turns oviparous and viviparous. To the former mode of increase Mr. Gr. H. Lewes bears witness. “In the water of a pan con- taining, among other animals, specimens of Actinia para- sitica, I twice noticed abundance of light-purple ova floating at the surface. Some of these were placed in a vase by themselves, and others left in the pan; but no further development took place. One day, dissecting a parasitica, I found in its ovaries these very purple ova which had attracted my attention. ”f Mr. Lewes doubts, however, that it is viviparous. This point has been settled by my friend, Mr. F. H. West. “ A * Johnston, Br. Zooph. 228. f Sea-side Studies, 141, 118 SAGARTIADiE. specimen,” he writes, “ which I received in December from Weymouth, produced a young one on the 1st of March following; it was most beautifully and distinctly marked, and as dark-coloured as the parent, which was of the dark reddish-brown variety. It was a pretty little creature, and lived for five or six weeks, when I lost sight of it.” Mr. Holds worth also has met with the young of this species, not more than a line in height, yet distinctly marked like the adult. As a proof of the tenacity of life of Anemones under the privation of sea-water, provided the skin be preserved from becoming dry by evaporation, I may mention the following fact, which is valuable as bearing on the trans- mission of these animals from distant localities. I inclosed two large specimens of S. parasitica, two of T. crassicornis, and one of A. dianthus , in a large jar, containing one or two tufts of Chondrus crispus , but no water. The jar was closed with a bung, but was not air-tight. The Anemones remained thus imprisoned for ten days, wallowing in their mucus and discharged water, which from time to time I poured off. At the end of that time they were quite well, and I restored them to the aquarium. Might not the species from North America, or those from the Mediter- ranean, be transmitted to us thus inclosed ? I should add that the experiment was performed in December. The following are the known British habitats of this species. Guernsey, Herm, J. D. H.: Jersey, G. H. Lewes: Weymouth, P. H. G. : Teignmouth, R, C. J. : Torquay, P. H. G. : Falmouth, W. P. C. : Penzance, P. Q. Couch : Bantry Bay, E. P. W. viduata. bellis. parasitica. A. palliata. B. coronata. AST R^, ACE A. SAGARTIADAE. THE GOLD-SPANGLED ANEMONE. Sagartia (?) chrysosp lenium . Plate YI. fig. 8. Specific Character. Column green, with lines of golden-yellow dots : tentacles pellucid, with green bars. Actinia chrysosjplenium. Cocks, Rep. Cornw. Polyt. Soc. 1851, 5 ; pi. i. fig. 17. Johnston, Brit. Zooph. Ed. 2, 214 ; pi. xxxvii. figs. 1 — 3. Sagartia (?) chrysosplenium. Gosse, Annals N. H. Ser. 3. i. 41 6. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to stones : slightly exceeding the column. Column. Smooth, studded with numerous scattered suckers (or loop- holes), resembling punctures. Form shortly cylindrical, becoming conoid in contraction. Dish. Smooth. Tentacles. Few, nearly equal in size, rather short, stout, and obtusely pointed. Mouth. Set on a roundish cone. Lips slightly puckered or imperfectly furrowed. Acontia. None have been observed. Colour. Column. Green, varying in tint from a bright pea-green, to that of a dark holly-leaf ; marked with longitudinal bands of spots of a rich golden yellow ; a line of the same golden hue margins the base. Dish. Yellowish-brown ; gonidial tubercles bright golden yellow. Tentacles. Pellucid, sometimes nearly white, crossed by transparent green bars. Size. About an inch in height ; the diameter of the base and of the flower three-quarters of an inch ; that of the column five-eighths of an inch. Locality. The coast of Cornwall. Under-surfaces of stones at extreme low water, and rock-pools. 120 SAGARTIADiE. To Mr. W. P. Cocks, of Falmouth, to whose scientific research our zoology is largely indebted, Dr. Johnston owed the admission of this species into his “ History of British Zoophytes.” I am under obligations to the kind- ness of the same gentleman, who has favoured me with some additional notes on the species, and a beautiful coloured sketch, which I have copied in Plate VI. The generic position of this beautiful form I indicate not without doubt. The short conical tentacles, crossed with bars, suggest a relationship with Tealia ; and this affinity had occurred to its discoverer, who in one of his MS. notes has added the words, — “ allied to crassicornis .” On the other hand, the marginal line around the base, and the gonidial tubercles being distinguished by a different colour from the rest of the animal, while agreeing inter se, suggest Actinia, of which these peculiarities are characteristic. There is, too, a well-known variety of A. mesembryan- themurn, which is green, marked with lines of yellow dots, and of this circumstance I ventured to remind Mr. Cocks. His reply was as follows : “ In the A. mesembr. var. the stripes and spots are as in chrysosplenium , but several shades lighter, and the labial tubercles, as well as the edging of the base, are bright blue ; the tentacles are uniformly of one colour, and are much more numerous, slender, and tapering.” The character of the surface, however, decidedly separates it from both the Actiniadce and Bunodidce. My friend had at first written, — “ Suctoreals numerous, scattered, embedded ;” but he afterwards added the following particulars : — “ When I examined the body of the chrysosplenium with a lens of two inches’ focus, the surface appeared to be pierced or punctured, and in appearance resembled a piece of smooth India-rubber when pierced with a pin ; not the slightest trace of tubercles apparent. The body when contracted THE GOLD-SPANGLED ANEMONE. 121 was as smooth as before ; not papillated ; and the apertures were nearly obliterated.” Until I have an opportunity of personal examination, I therefore assign to the species a place in the genus Sagartia ; but I consider that it is one of the links which connect this with the neighbouring families. On the history of this lovely little Anemone I can only quote what has already been published. “ The old ones are solitary, not more than one on a stone : but there are two or sometimes four growing on the same stone. . . . I have had some in my possession for weeks, well supplied with water and air daily ; yet the tubercles and edging were obdurate, determined to keep to their original colour.” I must hope that the zeal of our Cornish zoophytologists will before long make me personally acquainted with the pretty Gold-spangle. The following localities are enumerated for it by Mr. W. P. Cocks: — Gwyllyn-Vase, Pennance, Helford, St. Ives. ? mesembryanthemum. chrysosplenium. crassicornis. ? ON THE SUBDIVISION OF THE GENUS SAGARTIA. Fifteen species of the genus Sagartia have been described in the preceding pages ; and I possess information more or less definite concerning some five or six others, which I have not seen ; whose history therefore, in hope of a fuller acquaintance with them, I defer writing for the present, but expect to be able to give some account of them in an Appendix to this Volume. 122 SAGrARTIADiE. The species already described appear to me to be divi- sible into four or five groups, which cannot, however, be properly considered as higher than sub-genera, the charac- ters by which they are distinguished being too vague to afford a basis for generic rank. The most typical group, and that for which, should the genus be broken up, I would retain the name Sagartia , includes the following species : — miniata , rosea , ornata, ichthystoma , coccinea , venusta , nivea. These have conspi- cuous suckers, discharge acontia freely, attain only a mode- rate elevation, expand the disk only a little beyond the column, are for the most part painted with gay colours, often in striking patterns, and in particular have the column usually of a rich warm brown hue. A group rather less typical than this, I consider to be formed by the following species: — sphyrodeta, pallida, pur a ; to which will probably be added most of the species which I defer to the Appendix. These have no con- spicuous suckers ; discharge acontia less and less abun- dantly ; are in general destitute of positive colour, and have a tendency to a colourless transparency. Nivea and sphyrodeta are the links which unite these two groups. Should a generic name ever be required for this group, I propose for it that of Thoe , one of the sea-nymphs. (Hies. Th. 245.) Troglodytes , viduata , and parasitica may be associated as a group departing still more widely from the typical form. Their suckers are distinct, but minute ; their power of emitting acontia varying (feeble in trog. and vid., strong in paras.) ; their tentacles are generally streaked (only occasionally in trog.) with lateral longitudinal lines ; their column is marked with longitudinal bands of lighter and darker colour ; they have the power and habit of greatly elongating the column ; and manifest a proneness to become SAGrARTIADAE. 123 and to continue detached. In these last two particulars they approach the IlyanthidcB. Coccinea and parasitica are the links of connexion between the first group and this, though not inter se. In the event of re-distribution, this group might receive the name of Cylista, from kvXlco, to wallow about. Beilis will probably be considered by many as worthy of generic separation. The slenderness and elongation of its column when fully expanded, the salver-like expanse of its disk, the small size, great number, and crowded arrange- ment of its tentacles, the undulation of its margin, as well as the peculiarities of its colouring, isolate it strongly from its fellows. Miniata , from the undulation of its margin, and parasitica, from the craterine form of its disk, and the multitude of its tentacles, are connecting links with it in their respective groups ; while bellis looks, as has been already intimated, towards other genera, as Actinoloba , Aiptasia , &c. It might be called Scyphia , from . Sulphurea. As the preceding, except that the tentacles are pale delicate lemon-yellow, with the slightest shade of green ; lilac-tipped. (Herm : S. W. Yentnor.) In the Herm specimen, the tentacles were scarlet at the foot. 7. Alabastrina. Column and disk light translucent olive ; tentacles wholly clear waxy white. (Yentnor. Torquay.) 5. Hustica. Column and disk dull brown ; tentacles ash-grey, generally with a paler line down the back. e. Punicea. Tentacles mahogany-red. ( Gaertner .) Anthea cereus is one of our most abundant species, at least on the south and west coasts of England and Scot- land, and probably all round Ireland. Rapp and Grube indicate it as common in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas ; but the omission of any allusion to it by Muller or by Sars implies that it is unknown in the North Sea. Its abundance where it occurs, its habit of congregating in numbers, and its favourite resort, — shallow pools within tide-marks, protected only by a few inches of water from the full glare of the sun, as well as its size and conspicuous colours, — all conspire to make it familiar to the most cur- sory observer. It would, probably, be one of the first species of the whole race to become popularly known ; and hence it is not surprising that old Rondeletius should take notice of it in the middle of the sixteenth century, includ- ing it in his “ Libri de Piscibus Marinis,” by the descrip- tive epithet of Urtica cinerea. The late Dr. Johnston separated the genus from Actinia in his “ Brit. Zooph.” Ed. 1 ; giving it the name of Antheay from avdos, a flower. The specific name of cereus seems to have been appropriated to it in accordance with a fancy which Ellis had of naming the Actinioids after many- petaled flowers, — cereus being the name of one of the Cacti , now a genus. The waxy appearance of the tentacles in some of the varieties may have influenced him in the selection. The English name I have formed for it alludes to the habitually open condition of the disk. THE OPELET. 163 This is the species, doubtless, which attracted the notice of the poet Southey, when, in the retirement of our wild western shores, he was meditating his oriental poems, and which he has interwoven into their beautiful imagery. “ Meantime, with fuller reach and stronger swell. Wave after wave advanced; Each following billow lifted the last foam That trembled on the sand with rainbow-hues : The living flower, that, rooted to the rock. Late from the thinner element Shrank down within its purple stem to sleep, Now feels the water, and, again Awakening, blossoms out All its green anther-necks.” * Whether in its native freedom, fringing the edges of some shallow basin in the red sandstone of the Devon coast, or waving its silky tentacles “ like streamers wide outflowing,” now exposed, now concealed among the black fronds of some undulating Fucus to which it is clinging ; or throwing them into fitful snake-like contortions as it hangs from the rock-work of a well-kept aquarium, — the Anthea , especially the emerald variety, is an exquisitely beautiful object. Its unwonted liveliness also makes it more than usually interesting in the last-named condition ; for not only are its tentacles continually in motion, but the animal itself is very restless, frequently changing its place, and that with so much activity that the process can be readily watched by the eye. For the following graphic note I am indebted to Mr. Robert Patterson, of Belfast. I also have often marked the beauty of Anthea under similar conditions, but never in such numbers as he describes : — “ I had on one occasion the pleasure of seeing the Anthea under circumstances that I shall not readily forget. Out- * Thalaba, xii. 3. M 2 ANTHEADiE. 164 side the belt of sand and rocks that is left uncovered at every tide [on the south side of Belfast Lough], is another, where the large sea- weeds, such as the tangle and sea- furbelows ( Laminaria sp.), flourish. ... As our boat drew nigh to the shore, the large spreading fronds of the sea- weed became more and more distinct, until each was per- fectly revealed to us, below the unruffled surface of the sea. We had come at the time of low water; and, as we floated onward, could mark the glorious submarine forest which was beneath our boat. It rose and fell, it heaved and sank, as gracefully as the meadow yields to the breeze, or as the willows bow to the breath of April. As we came into shallower water, the broad outspread fronds of the sea- weed seemed studded with blossoms. What could they be? A few moments more disclosed the mystery: each blossom was endued with life and motion — it was a living Anthea ■./” The power exercised by this species, pre-eminently, of inflating portions of its body, swelling them out in large tumid lobes separated by deep sulci from the rest of the circumference, assists it in crawling. We will suppose the Anthea resting on the bottom of the vessel, when it feels a desire to mount the sides of the glass. Pushing out a great inflated lobe towards that side, the sole of which is free from the surface, it takes hold of the glass with the edge of the lobe ; and when the contact is firm, relaxing its former hold, it slowly drags forward the body, until the lobe is again lost in the general circumference, or even till the body projects in two smaller lobes, one on each side of the principal one. The base being now made firmly to adhere, again the lobe is freed, and again protruded, and the same process is repeated until the animal is satisfied with the position it has gained. Sometimes this is at mid- height, the intertwined tentacles streaming loosely down THE OPELET. 165 by their own -weight. At other times it rises to the very water’s edge, and even thrusts out its base in an inverted position upon the surface of the water, as if it would float by the mere contact of the dry base with the air, just as the Limnece and many other Mollusca do. And not seldom does it boldly break the tie that connects it with the side of the vessel, and actually swim, or at least passively float, with its base in contact with the inferior surface of the superincumbent stratum of air. A little shaking of the vessel, however, causes the water to overflow the frail boat, which had been hitherto dry, when the animal instantly falls prone to the bottom. No very special care is required to maintain the health and vigour of the Opelet in captivity : as to situation, it will select for itself the position its wayward will may most fancy ; and if the water be kept in purity, the lovely crea- ture will survive an indefinite period. It needs to be fed at frequent intervals, or it will droop and die ; for it is one of the most voracious of its class. Nothing in the way of flesh or fish comes amiss to it : a day or two ago I had an instructive example of its gluttony. I had just dropped two large ones of the variety Smaragdina into my col- lecting-jar, when I succeeded in capturing a young Conger Eel, about six inches in length and half an inch in thick- ness. I wish that the sciolists who deny a poisoning power to the organs of the Actinioids had seen the c result of the introduction of the lithe and vigorous fish to the expectant Anthece. Before it could reach the bottom of the jar , the green tentacles of one of the Opelets had entwined themselves around its head, and, wrapping the wretch around as if with a cloth, almost in an instant had dragged it to the cavernous mouth, in which it was partially engulphed. My little son, who was with me, begged for the life of the fish ; and I drew it by force from the green 166 ANTHEADA3. embrace, in less than five minutes after its capture. But — de eo actum est ! it was all up with the poor Eel ; its eyes were already dimmed in death, and it lay in my hand flaccid and helpless, with only a momentary convulsion or two ; — the fatal cnidce of the tentacles had done their work : and when I restored it to the offended gourmand, it was speedily lost to view, coiled up in the capacious maw. Numerous witnesses vouch for the fact, — though others, myself included, are insensible to it, — that the contact of Aniheds tentacles has a perceptible morbific power on the human skin. One of the most distinct statements of the fact that I have met with is contained in the following communication, for which I am indebted to Miss Pinchard, an accomplished naturalist of Torquay : — “ I have myself been repeatedly so affected by their clinging to the back of my hand as to have the skin mottled, and so tender as to induce me to refrain from willingly coming in contact with them. On one occasion the whole of the back of the hand and fingers was covered with white blisters, as if I had thrust it into a bed of nettles, and nearly as painful. The affection did not last above an hour or two, and only occurred when the Antheas had become flaccid and feeble, as they often do after a short captivity. I have never found any effect arise from handling them when they were in an active and healthy state.” Mr. Dana attributes to the kindred species, A. flagelli- fera , a power of making its terrors known even at a distance. “ Having a number of Monodontas [a genus of univalve Mollusca allied to our Trochi ] too much crowded in a large jar of water, I took out half-a-dozen and placed them in a jar with the Actinia . On looking at them about three hours after, I found that, instead of climbing like the others to the top of the water, they remained just where THE OPELET. 167 they had fallen, closely withdrawn into their shells. Sup- posing them dead, they were taken out, when they directly began to emerge ; and when returned to the jar with the other Monodontas , they were all in less than five minutes clustered round its mouth. On placing them again in the jar with the Actinia , though kept there for two hours, they did not once show themselves out of the shell. Once more placing them along with the other shells, they exhibited their former signs of life and activity. The experiment was repeated several times with a large Littorina , with the same result, evincing fear of the Actinia on the part of the Mollusks”* I can only say that Trochus umbilicatus, Littorina littorea , and Chiton fasciculatus have no such fear of Anthea cereus ; for I have just seen these crawl without hesitation by the side of a full-grown and vigorous specimen. Though sensible pain or irritation does not invariably follow the contact of the human skin with the tentacles of Anthea, yet their strong power of adhesion is never lacking. Dissection reveals the cause of both, in the unwonted pro- fusion with which these organs are furnished with cnidat. In the outer of the two layers of which the tentacle- wall is composed reside the cnidce, excessively numerous and thickly crowded ; of two kinds, chambered and spiral. But it is in the crimson tips that the cnidce exist in the most prodigious profusion. They completely fill the field of the microscope, when a portion of the wall, flattened by the compressorium, is under view, without the least space free of them, not even a line or a point ; but overlying each other like herrings in a barrel, yet maintaining a general uniformity of direction. Within the cnidiferous layer, there is another of pig- ment cells, visible to the naked eye as a dark brown or * Zoophytes, p. 126. 168 ANTHEADiE. nearly black lining, which can be readily pressed out from a wound in the tentacle. These granules are very regu- larly globular, of a translucent golden-brown hue by trans- mitted light, varying in diameter from *0003 to *0004 inch, and are arranged in bead-like rows running transversely. This pigment-layer does not give the green hue to the tentacle ; for it may be entirely scraped away, leaving the interior surface of the tentacle-wall of the same opaque emerald-green hue as the exterior. This green tint does not appear to be dependent on pigment, but on the arrangement of the primary molecules of the sarcode ; for when pressed to flatness, it yields no transmitted colour, except a very slight yellowish tinge which has no distinct location. It presses to a viscid glaire, full of amorphous refracting granules, and cnidce. The tip exhibits similar phenomena, but the diffused tinge is faintly purple. The larger Eolides tear away and devour the tentacles of Anthea : but I know not of any other animal that can venture on attacking it with impunity. I one day saw an amusing example of its power of passive resistance. A beautiful little specimen of the variety Alabastrina , which had been sent me by Mr. Gatehouse, I had occasion to remove from one tank to another. There was a half-grown Bullhead ( Cottus bubalis) at the bottom, which had been in captivity rather more than a fortnight. As he had not been fed during that time, I presume he was somewhat sharp-set. He marked the Anthea falling, and before it could reach the bottom, opened his cavern of a mouth and sucked in the bonne bouche. It was not to his taste, how- ever; for as instantly he shot it out again. Not discou- raged, he returned to the attack, and once more sucked it in, but with no better success ; for, after a moment’s rolling of the morsel around his mouth, out it shot once more; THE OPELET. 169 and now the Bullhead, acknowledging his master, turned tail, and darted into a hole on the opposite side of the tank in manifest discomfiture. But if you, my gentle reader, be disposed for exploits in gastronomy, do not be alarmed at the Bullhead’s failure : only take the precaution to “ cook your hare.” Risso calls this species “ edulis ,” and says of it, — “ On le mange en friture ,” and I can say 11 jorobatum est .” No squeamishness of stomach prevents our volatile friends, the French, from appreciating its excellence; for the dish called Rastegna , which is a great favourite in Provence, is mainly prepared from Anthea cereus . I would not dare to say that an Opelet is as good as an Omelet ; but chacun a son gout ; try for yourselves. The dish is readily achieved. The species not unfrequently increases by spontaneous division. I have elsewhere* given the details of a case of this sort; since the publication of which I have received from various correspondents accounts of the same pheno- menon. The fission begins at the margin of the disk, and gradually extends across and downward, until the separa- tion is complete, when each moiety soon closes and forms a perfect animal. It is, perhaps, only another phase of the same tendency, that the tentacles are frequently forked. Anthea cereus has been observed in the following British localities : — Jersey, G. G. : Guernsey, E. W. H. H. : Herm, S. W. : Ventnor, G. G.: Weymouth, P.H. G. : Lyme Regis, J. G. : Dawlish, R. C. J. : Teignmouth, R. C. J. : Torquay, P. H. G. : F almouth, W. P. C. : F owey, G. W. P. : Pen- zance, R. Q. C. : Scilly, G. H. L. : Ilfracombe, P. H. G. : Tenby, P. H. G. : Holyhead, E. L. W. : Man, E If. W. : Cumbrae, D. R. : Oban, J. C. G. : Ballyholme Bay, W. T. : Newcastle (Co^Hown), W. T. : Portrush, E. P. W. : Dublin * Tenby, a Seaside Holiday, p. 373. 170 ANTHEADJE. Bay, E. P . W. : Carnsore Point, E . P. W. : Clew Bay, w. t : A. Coucliii. A. dianthus. cereus. A. mesembryanthemum. [flagellifera.] [A. flay a.] B. Tuedise. [ — ? pustulata,] The curious little Actinopsis flava of MM. Danielssen and Koren,* which appears to be a near ally of this genus, is remarkable for having the two gonidial tubercles greatly prolonged into semicylinders, and terminating in two points. It closely resembles in other respects a small Anthea , and is of a yellow hue. As it has occurred in deep water (250 fathoms) off the southern end of Norway, it may reason- ably be looked for on the opposite coast of Scotland, and in the Shetland Seas. * Fauna Litt. Norveg. ii. 89. 171 FAMILY IV.— ACTINIAD^E. The species of this family, though very few in number, are well marked by the single character of being furnished with those peculiar organs which M. Milne-Edwards calls (not very felicitously) bourses chromatojphores , or tuber cules calicinaux , and which I have named marginal spherules. These are hollow spherical vesicles, with thin walls, situ- ated near the edge of the disk, on the inner side of a sharp margin, and outside the exterior row of tentacles. For the most part, if not always, these organs are of bright or vivid colours, generally differing from those of the other parts ; and hence they are conspicuous, and impart a peculiar aspect to the physiognomy. What function in the economy of the animal is per- formed by these bead-like spherules is as yet unknown, though that they play some important part can scarcely be doubted. In our Actinia mesembryanthemum , I have ascer- tained that the walls are almost wholly composed of cnidce , of nearly linear form, and about *0025 inch in length. The inclosed thread is with difficulty seen, both before and after extrusion ; it is, however, of considerable length. From this structure I have conjectured that the marginal spherules in this family may represent — functionally, not homo- logically— the acontia of the Sagartiadce , which are here wanting. Sir John Daly ell has an extraordinary observation to the effect that each of these spherules “ is pierced by 172 ACTINIADiE. an orifice, which opens and dilates occasionally, some time after the animal has fed.” * This fact, however, if fact it be, is confirmed by no other observer that I am aware of. The integuments of the column seem to be imperforate : this is certainly the case in the genus Actinia ; and in Phymactis , though the evidence is of a negative character, there is no reason to believe that it is otherwise. The character of the surface varies according to two very dis- tinct types. In Actinia it is remarkably smooth, soft, and fine ; in Phymactis it is roughened with strong and coarse warts. These diversities manifest the osculant position of the group; for while the former genus shows a close affinity with the Antheadce , the latter takes no less firm a hold upon the Bunodidce. It is interesting to find an exotic species (the A. primula of Drayton f) with marginal spherules and a smooth skin, which emits long filaments from the mouth . Here, then, we have the representative of the Sagartiadce. As regards Geographical Distribution, the Family is extensively spread ; the two principal genera representing it respectively in the northern and southern hemispheres. Actinia ranges from the Fed Sea, through the Mediter- ranean, over the western coasts of Europe, and the isles of the North Atlantic. Phymactis is widely distributed over the shores of both sides of the South Pacific, and of the South Atlantic, reaching a little way north of the Equator, being represented by no less than three species at the Cape de Verd Isles, where, it is curious to observe, it meets * Rare Anim. of Scotl. ; 203. + Dana, Zooph. 134 : pi. ii. figs. 12 — 15. At least it is tlius represented in one of Mr. Dana’s beautiful figures, though no allusion is made to the peculiarity in the text. M. Milne-Edwards has made of it his genus Nemactis, hut with a wholly gratuitous assumption of characters. ACTINIADiE. 173 with the beautiful representatives of the northern form, — • Actinia tabella , and A. graminea of Dana. ANALYSIS OF THE GENERA. Skin smooth. Possessing acontia {Not British) Nemactis. Destitute of acontia Actinia. Skin warted {Not British) Phymactis. 174 GENUS I. ACTINIA (Linn.). Entacmcea (Ehrenberg). Base adhering to rocks ; considerably exceeding diameter of column. Column pillar-shaped, usually much wider than high ; margin greatly developed, smooth, separated by a broad, but shallow fosse from the outer tentacles ; a circle of vividly coloured spherules projecting from the inner surface of the wall of the fosse ; surface delicately smooth, imperforate, non-adhesive ; sub- stance fleshy. Disk greatly expanded and overarching ; concave. Tentacles in several rows ; moderately long ; nearly equal ; unicolorous ; wholly retractile. Mouth set on a protrusile cone ; two pairs of goni- dial tubercles, brightly coloured. We possess but a single British species, A . mesem- bryanthemum . A STRJUA CEA . A GTINIA DAE. THE BEADLET. Actinia mesembryanthemum . Plate VI. figs. 1—7. Specific Character. Colours of column not arranged in transverse zones. A ctinia equina. Linn., Syst. Nat. 1088. Muller, Zool. Dan. Prod. 231. Milne-Edw., Corall. i. 238. mesembryanthemum. Ellis and Sol., Zooph. 4. Rapp, Polyp. 52 ; pi. ii. fig. 1. Grube, Actin. 10. Couch, Corn. Faun. iii. 74 ; pi. xiv. fig. 1. Johnston, Brit. Zooph. Ed. 2. i. 210 ; pi. xxxvi. figs. 1 — 3. Dalyell, Rare Anim. of Scotl. ii. 203 ; pi. xliii. and xlvii. fig. 1. Cocks, Rep. Cornw. Pol. Soc. 1851. 5. pi. i. figs. 7 — 11, 15. Gosse, Aquarium, pi. ii. : Tenhy, 370 : Linn. Trans, xxi. 274 : Manual Mar. Zool. i. 30 ; fig. 43. Tugwell, Man. Sea-Anem. 52. hemisphcerica. Pennant, Brit. Zool. iv. 104. rufa. Ibid. Ibid. iv. 105. Muller, Zool. Dan. i. 23 ; pi. xxiii. figs. 1 — 3. Lamarck, Anim. s. vert, iii. 67. Roget, Bridgew. Tr. i. 198 ; figs. 86, 87. purpurea. Cuvier, Tabl. 61£m. 653. corallina. Risso, L’Eur. M£r. v. 285. margaritifera. Templeton, Mag. Nat. Hist. ix. 304 ; fig. 50. Johnst. Br. Zooph. i. 213 ; fig. 46. Cocks, Rep. Cornw. Soc. 1851. 5. Forskalli. M-Edwards, Corail. 241. cerasum. Dalyell, Rare Anim. Scotl. ii. 219; pi. xlvi. fig. 1. chiococca. Cocks, Rep. Cornw. Soc. 1851. 5. pi. i. fig. 14. Johnst. Br. Zooph. i. 214; pi. xxxvi. figs. 4—6. ? tabella. fragacea. ? graminea. Entacmcea mesembryan- ) tliemum et E. rufa. ) Dana, Zoophytes, 132 ; pi. ii. fig. 9. Tug well, Man. Sea-Anem. 53 ; pi. 5. Dana, Zooph. 132 ; pi. ii. fig. 10. Ehrenb. Corail. Roth. Meeres, 36. 176 ACTINIADiE. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to rocks ; considerably exceeding the column, outline often long-oval. Column. Delicately smooth, without much excretion of mucus, wholly imperforate, and non-adhesive. Substance fleshy, approaching to pulpy. F orm hemispheric in button, a low column in flower, much expanded at the summit. Margin strongly developed, with a smooth, sharp edge, bounding a wide but shallow fosse, within which are seated a single series of numerous spherules. Disk. Slightly concave, smooth ; the radii faintly marked. Tentacles. About two hundred in full-grown individuals, arranged in six rows thus 6, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96 = 192 ; moderately slender, shorter than the diameter of the disk, sub-equal ; flexuous, usually carried arching over the margin. Mouth. Elevated on a blunt cone. Colour. Base. Edged wit h a narrow line of bright blue. Column. Liver-brown. Marginal Spherules. Brilliant azure. Disk and Tentacles. Dull pellucid crimson. Mouth. Rich crimson. Gonidial Tubercles. Blue. Size. Large specimens sometimes cover with their Jbase an area four inches long by two wide, attain a height of about an inch, and expand to a flower of three inches in diameter. Locality. The Mediterranean and Atlantic shores of Europe, universally distri- buted, on exposed rocks, from half-tide, or even a higher level, to low- water mark. Varieties. The characteristic colours of the species are crimson and green. The extreme of variation on either hand is produced by either of these two colours prevailing so as to exclude the other. But many intermediate grades are found, either by the blending of the two hues into some inter- mediate tint of olive, brown, or liver-colour, or else by the separation of the two into a pattern of spots on a different ground, or, where the green THE BEADLET. 177 hue exists alone, by a separation of its constituent elements, blue and yellow. We may distinguish the following varieties : — o Hepatica. The liver-brown condition above described, which is the most common (fig. 2). * Approaching the red. Rubra. Column dark crimson ; disk and tentacles as before. In youth this and the following variety are of a pellucid light crimson (fig. 5). 7- Chiococca. Column rich scarlet; basal line flesh-colour or non- apparent ; disk and tentacles full crimson ; spherules pure white (fig. 7, labelled A. chiococca). The A. Forskdlli of the Red Sea, the A. cerasum of the Scottish Coast, the A. chiococca of St. Ives and other parts of Corn- wall, must be considered as belonging to this variety ; nor can I separate from it the A. tabella of the Cape Yerd Isles, except that this approaches the var. /3. ** Approaching the green. 5. Umbrina. Column, disk, and tentacles, a yellowish umber-brown ; spherules (as in all the following) azure; basal line (as in all of this section) blue (fig. 3). e. Ochracea. Column, disk, and tentacles orange-buff. £. Olivacea. Dark olive. 7]. Qlauca. Pellucid bluish green ; tentacles pale greenish blue (fig. 1). 6. Prasina. Fine leek-green ; tentacles the same, pellucid. *** Colours interrupted. 1. Opora. Leek-green, with longitudinal broken lines of light green or pure yellow ; spherules and basal line blue (fig. 4). k. Tigrina. Red, streaked with yellow (Tugwell). K. Fragacea. Liver-coloured, or dark red, studded with numerous spots of light green ; no basal line. Attains a very large size (fig. 6). The most marked of the above varieties is undoubtedly the last, — the Strawberry, as it is familiarly named. Its constancy of colour and pattern, its tendency to an ovate form, and its great size, distinguish it from its fellows ; and yet I cannot, after much consideration of the subject, in the presence of the animals themselves, convince myself that it is entitled to specific distinction. I have found specimens in which the spots were small and crowded, others in which they were large and scattered, others in which they were small and scattered ; sometimes the spots are portions of lines irregularly interrupted, and not seldom considerable regions of the surface are quite des- N 178 ACTlNIADAi. titute of spots. The marginal spherules are sometimes large, sometimes minute ; now azure, then pearly white. A more marked character is the absence of the coloured line bounding the base; but I am not sure that this is constant. I am glad to fortify my own opinion by that of so acute an observer as Mr. Holdsworth. He writes me as follows : — “ I have now seen so many connecting links between the typical mesembryanthemum and the fragacea , so called, that I am convinced they are one and the same species; although I have not arrived at this conclusion without devoting considerable time and attention to the subject.” Of the supposed species, chiococca , cerasum , and Fors - Icdlli , for these are assuredly all the same thing, I would speak with some deference, owing to my having never seen the form in its perfect type, though I have no doubt of its identity with the present subject. Sir John Daly ell, though he gave it a specific name, summed up his obser- vations with the following words : — “ On the whole, I am disposed to view it as a variety of mesembryanthemum .” Nor do I see how he could do otherwise ; for he tells us that, of his cerasum , which was very prolific, all the young were red but one , which, red at first, became at five months old pale green. This bred, and all its progeny were green ; though it had upwards of a hundred descendants before it was two years old, and continued to breed for five years more. It is but fair, however, to add, that Mr. W. P. Cocks, who constituted chiococca a species, and to whom I am indebted for the beautiful drawing which I have copied in my Plate YI. fig. Z, retains his opinion. From one of his letters to me, I cite the following interesting notes : — u The A. chiococca is certainly a good species. I have THE BEADLET. 179 never found it associated with the A. mesembryanthemum , and rarely more than one or two in the same locality (though explored Joy me in Cornwall), with one exception. On the under surface of some very large stones used for making a pier near the north-western extremity of the town of St. Ives, I found several colonies of the in- teresting creatures in full health, enjoying the blessings of freedom in a nook not often disturbed by anything but the rough and boisterous waves from the North Channel. About twenty feet from this spot, and nearer high-water mark, the under surfaces of the stones forming a portion of this abortive construction were covered with old and young members of the beautiful varieties of the A. mesern - bryanthemum , dark bottle-green with yellow dots, dark green with yellow stripes, claret with yellow spots, yel- lowish green, light ’ochre, amber, scarlet, &c. The blue beaded rim and blue fillet at base were displayed by each member of this group. A specimen of the A. chiococca , which I had in confinement for more than twelve months in my experimental jar, furnished me with a batch of young ones, — all were true to colour and markings.” This, how- ever, can by no means outweigh the positive evidence on the other side furnished by Sir J. Dalyell. Nor can the A. margaritifera of Templeton be allowed any higher rank. The flattened, rigid, corrugated con- dition on which he relied for a specific character, I have not unfrequently seen in individuals, which, in the course of an hour or two, were swollen out to the softness and plumpness normal to the species. Mr. Cocks comes to my aid here with an interesting narrative of two specimens which he found in a condition exactly corresponding to Mr. Templeton’s description of margaritifera . He was at once convinced that sickness was the cause of their pecu- liar flatness and attenuation, and the shrivelled tesselated N 2 180 ACTINIADA5. character of their skin. He treated them accordingly, and in a few days they assumed the usual plump condition. Facts seem to show that even the same individual is liable to considerable change of colour. Mr. Cocks tells me that from some hundreds of experiments he has ascer- tained that “ the colour is materially changed by diet, good or bad; by water, pure or impure; by attention or neglect; by over-feeding or starvation.” And Mr. E. L. Williams, jun. has favoured me with still more precise statements on this very species. He observes : — “ A. me- senibryanthemum does change. Bright green in two months has got to dark olive in my tank ; bright amber to dark brown ; brown with vertical yellow spots or dots has lost these markings.” Characteristic as are the marginal spherules, they are subject to some irregularities. I found a large specimen of the deep olive variety, which had on the exterior of the margin two azure tubercles; — one of them round, well defined, and in no respect distinguishable from the intra- marginal spherules, — the other somewhat less so. Below these, scattered down the side of the column, were four or five more blue warts ; more irregular in form and shape, but still well defined, and perfectly similar in their azure hue to the spherules. I subsequently obtained a second specimen with exactly the same peculiarities . On the other hand, a specimen of the same variety — which was sent me from Cumbrae by Mr. D. Robertson about six months ago, and is still in my possession — has never showed the slightest trace of spherules, though in every other respect perfectly normal; the basal line and the gonidial tubercles being of the usual azure hue.* It is * " M. Haime lias remarked that these bourses chromatophores, or calycine tubercles, are to the number of 18 in those individuals which have not yet developed the tentacles of the 5th cycle ; of 24 in those which have 5 or 5| cycles, and of 48 in those which have 6 cycles com- THE BEADLET. 181 by no means unusual to see examples of the red varieties, in which the spherules are pale red, — the blue pigment being defective. The name Actinia , originally applied to the whole race of Sea- Anemones, is derived from d/crlv, a ray ; the specific appellation, mesembryanthemum , is the name of the fig- marigold, so called from its opening at noon, (pbeo-Tjpi^pca, = yu-eVo?, r)fjLepa , mid-day): the term beadlet alludes to the marginal beads. As no species is more abundant, nor more easily pro- cured than this, since it affects the most exposed rocks, and does not seek the protection of hollows, so none is more easily reconciled to captivity, and few are more beautiful. It requires no special treatment ; a surface for the support of its base, and water sufficient to cover it, are enough ; nor is it essential to its existence that the latter should be very pure, for it will continue to drag on life when its fellows have died out. Yet few species more immediately resent negligence of this kind, or more grate- fully express their appreciation of a pure and limpid element. Widely as the species is distributed in a state of freedom, we scarcely ever see it except where the water is habitually clear. It is a curious fact, for which I am indebted to Mr. E. L. Williams, jun., that “ the Mersey estuary is the only place on our coasts in which he has not found this species;” which he attributes to the foul- ness of the water. This absence would be less remarkable, were it not that Tealia crassicornis is abundant there ; but Actinia is clean and Tealia is dirty in its habits. In the plete; that is to say, in the large individuals where 192 tentacles or there- abouts may be counted. He has recognised also that these pouches communicate directly with the sub-tentacular chambers of the first cycles ; and that they contain little muscular fibre, but carry navicular thread-cells of various forms, and of which the interior thread is indistinct, together with transparent vesicles, and pigment-globules.” — Milne-Edwards, Hist . Corallaires, i. 240. 182 ACTINIAD.E. neighbouring estuary of the Dee, the former is common, as usual. With ordinary attention the pretty Beadlet will attain a good old age in captivity. A veteran, whose portrait is given by Sir John Daly ell, had lived in his possession twenty years (in 1848), and was judged to be not less than seven years old when he obtained it. At Sir John’s death the specimen passed into the hands of Professor Fleming, and it was not many months ago that I heard of it as still surviving. If it is alive now, it must be approaching forty years old. This individual was the prolific parent of 334 children. A second specimen had lived about fourteen years under the worthy baronet’s care. The species is generally viviparous, producing abun- dantly ; but sometimes it gives birth to ciliated, shapeless embryos, on which tentacles appear in about ten days. Copious details of high interest on the embryology and general economy of this Anemone are furnished in the magnificent volumes of the eminent Scottish naturalist. It is superfluous to give a list of habitats for this species: since it occurs all round the coasts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, wherever there is rock enough to afford it standing ground. The Actinia Cari of Della Chiaje (the A. concentrica of Bisso) appears to be a second species of the genus ; at least in none of the recognised varieties of ours do we perceive an approach to the pattern of colouring, — a series of concentric zones or bands, — by which that is marked. A. cereus. Mesembryanthemum. [Nemactis.] [Phymactis.] Actinoloba. Bunodes. 183 FAMILY Y. — BUNODIDiE. 1 propose to include in tliis family all those species, the surface of whose column is studded with persistent tuber- cles, and which are not provided with marginal spherules, nor with perforations of the integument. In some instances, certainly, — perhaps in all, — these excrescences have the faculty of adhering with force to foreign bodies ; and thus they agree in function with the suckers of many of the Sagartiadce ; there is this difference, however, that whereas in those, the margins of the suckers do not rise above the general level when inactive, in these the tubercles are always well developed, and are particularly prominent in those species in which the adhesive function, if it exists at all, is feeble and rarely exercised. The integuments and muscular coats appear to have a much greater density than in any of the previous families, and the movements of the animals manifest a higher degree of vigour, and even of intelligence. The tentacles are generally short, thick, and conical. The typical and sub-typical genera — Bunodes and Tealia -—appear to be represented by species which are scattered over the seas of the world, and are for the most part littoral: the genera Cystactis and Echinactis are confined to the southern hemisphere : and the aberrant genera, Bolo - cera, Hormathia , and Stomphia , inhabit the deep water of the British and Norwegian seas. 184 ANALYSIS OF THE GENERA. Tubercles conspicuous. Disk and tentacles retractile. Tubercles of one kind only. In the form of rounded warts. Irregularly scattered Arranged in vertical lines .... Arranged in many horizontal lines (Not British) Arranged in a single horizontal line . In the form of pointed blisters (Not British ) Tubercles of two kinds, viz. rounded warts and erectile pointed papillae (Not British) . . Disk and tentacles not retractile Tubercles obsolete Tealia. Bunodes. “ A. fusco-rubra.” Hormathia. Cystactis. Echinactis. Bolocera. Stomphia. 185 GENUS I. BOLOCERA (Gosse). Anthea (Johnston). Base adherent : not much exceeding the column. Column pillar-like, the diameter and height sub- equal. Surface generally very smooth, studded with small warts, remotely scattered. Substance “ fibro- cartilaginous’’ ( W.B.C. ). Disk smooth, circular in outline, not overlapping the column. Tentacles short, thick, constricted at foot, obtusely pointed, longitudinally furrowed ; flexuous and motile ; easily separated ; not retractile. Mouth not raised on a cone ; stomach capable of being greatly protruded. There is but a single known species, B. Tuedice. ASTUTE ACE A. BUNODIDJS. THE DEEPLET. Bolocera Tuedice. Plate V. fig. 1 . Specific Character. Body dull red ; tentacles chestnut. Actinia Tuedice. Johnston, Mag. Nat. Hist. v. 163 ; fig. 58. Anthea Tuedice. Ibid., Brit. Zoopli. Ed. 2. ; i. 242, fig. 53. Landsborough, Scott. Clir. Her. 1840, 243. Cocks, Rep. Cornw. Pol. Soc. 1851, 11 ; pi. ii. fig. 33. Gosse, Ann. N. H. ; Ser. 3. i. 416. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent, scarcely exceeding the column. Column. Cylindrical, smooth and as if polished on the general surface, "but studded, somewhat sparsely, with minute rounded warts, which are scarcely apparent when the animal is extended, hut, on contraction, “ re- semble the heads ^of small pins in a pincushion” ( W. P. C.) ; in this condi- tion the smooth surface is thrown into transverse wrinkles. Substance firm and sub-cartilaginous. Disk. Flat, smooth, without conspicuous radii ; outline circular, not exceeding the column. Tentacles. Numerous, in three rows, close-set ; the innermost remote from the mouth, sometimes two inches in length, and half an inch in diameter ; the other rows diminishing in gradation ; stout, constricted at the foot, then swollen, and tapering to an obtuse point, which is perforate ; marked with longitudinal sulci , which are obliterated when the tentacle is completely distended ; very flexuous and motile ; readily detached, and retaining their irritability and worm-like motions long after the separation. They cannot be retracted within the column, nor are they capable of any considerable elongation or contraction. Mouth. Not raised on a cone. Lip apparently not thickened. Stomajch- wall capable of being protruded in the form of great bladder-like lobes. Colour. Column. An uniform deep flesh-colour, reddish, or brownish-orange. Disk. A lighter tinge of the same. Tentacles. Chestnut or reddish flesh-colour. Stomach. When protruded, reddish with paler lines. THE DEEPLET. 187 Size. Three or four inches in height, and from five to eight inches in diameter, when expanded. Locality. Deep water off rocky coasts, from fifty to two hundred fathoms. It will be evident from the above-mentioned characters that this form must be considered as generically distinct from Anthea . It is, in fact, intermediate between that genus and Tealia ; with a preponderance, however, of the features proper to the latter, which has induced me to assign it to this family. In this j udgment I carry the con- currence of Mr. W. P. Cocks, who has enjoyed more opportunities of studying it in life than any other naturalist ; and to whom I am indebted for the carefully coloured drawing which embellishes my Plate V. as well as for some interesting notes. Notwithstanding its great size, and somewhat inelegant form, Mr. Cocks calls it “a charming creature;” and says on another occasion, “ this is certainly a beautiful animal when healthy and half-grown ; though the queer move- ments of the peristome and lobed mouth, pouting like an old man with negro lips and toothless jaws, at once pronounce its relationship with crassicornis .” It is essentially a deep water speeies : Messrs. Danielssen and Koren ascribe it to the coralline zone off the coast of Norway, from thirty to fifty fathoms, and, on the authority of Mr. Sars, mention it as ranging to the amazing depth of two hundred fathoms.* On the Cornish coast, it is not seldom found among trawl-refuse ;j* and Dr. Johnston tells us that in Berwick Bay it occasionally occurs at- tached to the deep-sea lines of the fishermen. “I have often found,” he remarks, “ the tentacula in a separated Fauna Litt, Norv. ii. 87. f Cocks in litt. 188 BUNODIDiE. state adhering to their lines ; and, as these retain their irritability and motion for a long time, they are apt to be mistaken for independent and perfect worms, which they much resemble.” * I have seized so unusual a peculiarity as the ready parting with the tentacles, to create a generic appellation, — Bolocera , from /3dXXco} to cast, and /cepa?, the horn. The word Tuedice was applied to the species by Dr. Johnston, because Tuedia was the ancient name of the maritime parts of Berwickshire. The English term I have formed in allusion to its habits. With the exception of some extraordinarily gigantic specimens of A. dianthus , this is the largest of British Anemones. The following are its recorded localities. Peterhead, G. W. P: Berwick Bay, G . J. : Cullercoats, J. A. : Falmouth, W. P. C. : Cumbrae, D. L. A. cereus. Tuedije. T. crassicornis. Br. Zooph. i. 243. 189 GENUS II. BUNODES (Gosse). Actinia (Ellis). Cribrina (Ehrenberg). Base exceeding the column ; its outline generally undulate. Column pillar-like; the height in extension consi- derably exceeding the diameter. Surface studded with permanent rounded warts, set in vertical lines, which are separated by bands of plane skin. Margin denticulate. Substance firmly fleshy. Bisk flat, circular in outline; scarcely overlapping the column. Radii conspicuously marked. Tentacles not very numerous, arranged in several rows, submarginal ; moderately long and slender, obtusely pointed, smooth, not very flexuous ; marked (in the more typical species) with irregular white spots on the front face ; perfectly retractile. Mouth not raised on a cone ; stomach not habi- tually protruded : gonidial tubercles generally conspi- cuous. ANALYSIS OF BRITISH SPECIES. Warts generally distributed. Warts large and small in alternate lines gemmacea. Warts subequal. Warts vei'tically remote, unicolorous thallia. Warts vertically contiguous, red-spotted Ballii. Warts only on upper half of column coronata. ASTRABACEA. BUNODIDJE . THE GEM PIMPLET. Bunodes gemmacea . Plate IY. figs. 2, 3. Specific Character. Alternate series of large and small warts. Column grey or flesh-coloured, with six equidistant bands of white. Tentacles thick, marked with white oval spots. Actinia gemmacea. Ellis and Solander, Zooph. 3. Johnst. Brit. Zooph. Ed. 2, i. 223 ; pi. xxxviii. figs. 6—9. Cocks, Rep. Cornw. Soc. 1851. 7 ; pi. i. figs. 24, 25, 28. Gosse, Dev. Coast, 168 ; pi. viii. figs. 1 — 4. verrucosa. Pennant, Brit. Zool. iv. 103. Lamarck, Anim. s. vert. iii. 70. Rapp, Polyp. 50. ? glandulosa. Rapp, Polyp. 52. Cribrina verrucosa. Ehrenb. Corall. 40. Cereus gemmaceus. M.-Edwards, Corail. i. 265, pi. C 1, fig. 3. Bunodes gemmacea. Gosse, Tr. Linn. Soc. xxi. 274 ; Ann. Nat. Hist. Ser. 3. i. 417; Manual Mar. Zool. i. 29. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to rocks ; in general but slightly exceeding the column. Column. Pillar-like, rising to a height twice the diameter. Surface covered with round warts, arranged in forty-eight vertical rows, according to the following arrangement : — six primary rows equidistant, distinguished by their white colour, and by their superior size; six secondary rows, intermediate ; twelve tertiary, intercalated between the primary and secon- dary ; — the difference in size between these is slight, but is often dis- cernible ; finally a row of quaternary warts (twenty-four in all) is placed between all the above, and these are much smaller and less distinct. All these become indistinct towards the base, being traceable downwards in the ratio of their order ; while towards the summit they become larger and bladder-like, the uppermost individuals of all the series crowning the PLATE TEA LI A CRASSiCORN IS . 4. B.BALLM. BUNODES GEMMACEA 5.6. B.THALLIA THE GEM PIMPLET. 191 margin like serried teeth. In contraction the surface is thrown into trans- verse wrinkles, which of course pass between, and not across, the warts, and thus a latticed or decussate appearance is communicated; — as if each wart Were the centre of a little square. Dish. Flat or slightly concave ; the outline circular and plane, a little overlapping. Gonidial radii strongly developed. Tentacles. In four rows, containing 6, 6, 12, 24 = 48; corresponding to the lines of warts. They are sub-marginal, thick, moderately long, conical, obtuse ; decreasing in size from the first row outwards ; and are generally carried arching over the margin, or bent into a double curve, like the branches of a candlestick : often, however, they assume a clumsy, thickset form, swollen in the middle (see fig. 3). Mouth. Raised on a blunt cone. Lip furrowed. Gonidial tubercles prominent. Colour. Column. Rose-pink, varying in brilliance, and often becoming brownish towards the summit. Primary warts white, making conspicuous longitu- dinal bands, which in the button state form a beautiful radiating pattern. Secondary and tertiary warts bluish- or reddish-grey, the former generally paler. Quaternary warts generally indistinguishable from the ground colour. Sometimes, however, the quaternary row which bounds each primary on each side is also white (see fig. 3). Disk. Ground colour bluish-grey on the outer region, blending into a fine yellow-green around the mouth : each radius is bounded by a scarlet line, lost at about half-disk; the primary radii are often marked with darker and paler portions, sometimes even black and white ; and the result is a brilliant kaleidoscopic star, of varied hues, the blue and scarlet lines in particular running out among the tentacles. Tentacles. Pellucid grey or whitish, the front face olive, undefined, and deepening into black in the median line, often with a purple reflection : this face is crossed by about half-a-dozen large transversely-oval spots of opaque white, occasionally interchanged with more nar- row and even linear ones. These spots are well-defined, and, though they vary in the tentacles of the same in- dividuals, are never wanting. Mouth. Lip whitish : gonidial tubercles grey, each marked with a central dot of bright rose-colour. _ . . ( Lateral mew). TENTACLE Size. Rarely exceeding an inch in diameter, and an inch and a half or two inches in height. 192 BUNODIDiE. Locality. The south-western and southern shores of England and Ireland ; the coasts of Portugal, and of the Mediterranean : on exposed rocks and shallow pools between tide-marks. Variety. The species is but little subject to variation of form, or of hue, except within the limits mentioned above. Specimens differ a good deal, how- ever, in the intensity and brilliance of the tints. The Gem was first discovered, or at least distinctly described, just a century ago, by Gaertner, who found it on the shores of Cornwall ; but it was not till fifteen years afterwards that it received a name. Pennant then called it Actinia verrucosa ; but this appellation has yielded to that of A. gemmacea , which was conferred upon it by Ellis and Solander, and which has been so generally adopted by British zoologists, that it would be pedantic to attempt to restore the original name. Both epithets are appropriate. Pennant’s (signifying warty ) is, however, rather generic than specific; while Ellis’s, if somewhat more vague, is well fitted to suggest the delicate beauty of this pretty little species, — perhaps unrivalled, among British species, for its 'painting . The English term by which I designate the genus, alludes to the pimples , or warts, with which the animals are studded. It is essentially a littoral species. I am not aware that it has ever been brought up from deep water, nor does it much affect the concealment of holes or crevices. The surfaces of stones, and shallow pools within tide-marks, are the stations it habitually prefers, and it is often found in the latter even when they are but little below the level of high water. It appears to be gregarious ; for, though we do not find individuals crowded together, as is the habit of bellis , a dozen or twenty are often seen occu- pying the shallow basins of an area of rock a yard or two THE GEM PIMPLET. 193 in extent, though none are to be seen beyond this. In the button-state, the radiating bands of white on the red- dish-grey ground, with the globular form, give a prima facie resemblance to an Echinus, denuded of its spines, which is very striking. In their native pools the specimens are often partially enveloped in gravel, from which, if closed, their six-fold star appears prettily conspicuous; while if expanded, the brilliant pencilled disk, and white- spotted tentacles, are even more attractive. The Gem is detached with ease, and becomes reconciled to captivity without difficulty, where it preserves its cha- racteristic habit of stationing itself on some exposed spot, whence it is little given to wander. It is prolific, bringing forth living and well-formed young, which are produced one, two, or three in twenty-four hours, and not scores or hundreds in a night, as are those of S. hellis. The Gem, however, will often continue to breed at this rate for weeks. The new-born young immediately attach themselves, and display the characteristic colour and markings : they have twelve tentacles ; that is to say, the primary and secondary series are developed before birth. In this condition they greedily devour food when presented. Miss Loddiges, of Hackney, who has been very successful in breeding and preserving this, as well as other species of Anemones, has favoured me with some particulars of her treatment, which may be useful to others. Speaking of the young, this lady observes : — “ I feed them from their first appearance, — rather a delicate operation, — and they steadily grow, though rather slowly Oyster seems the best food for them, but I give them lobster, and even meat. ... I am satisfied sea-weed is not necessary in the tank : I have discarded it for some time, and only admit one small piece of red for an ornament. I syringe-the water daily.” 0 194 BUNODIDiE. The voracity of the species I have already alluded to. From my friend Mr. F. H. West, I learn that it is even ot cannibal propensities. A Sag. troglodytes , var. f, he suddenly missed, and suspected gemmacea of murder. His suspicions were confirmed, for the lost wretch was disgorged in two portions, of which the first came away on the second day, the second and larger on the fourth. The result of diges- tion was manifest, in the squeezed and shapeless appearance of the masses, the dissolution of the interior, and the flaky sloughing of the exterior. In the published descriptions, often imperfect and vague, of foreign species, we can sometimes find indications of probable affinities. The Act. tuberculosa of Bass’s Strait (Quoy et Gaim.), A. bicolor of St. Vincent (Lesueur), A. xanthogrammica of Kamtchatka (Brandt), A. cruentata of Tierra del Fuego (Dana), and A. Macloviana of the Malouines (Lesson), — are doubtless true Bunodes , indi- cated not only by their warty surface, but also by the white spotting of their tentacles. Of these, the first two seem closely allied to our gemmacea^ the third to thallia , while the last two deviate more from the type, and appear parallel with Ballii. The following are the recognised British localities of the species : — Guernsey, E. W. H. H. : Jersey, G. G. : Weymouth, W. T. (w.) : Torquay, P. H. G. : Paignton, P. H. G. : Falmouth, W. P. C. : Ilfracombe, P. H. G. : Douglas, F. H. W. : Youghal, J. B. G. : Cork, J. B. G. : Mizen Head, E. P. W. : Valentia, J. M. Jones. GEMMACEA. [tuberculosa], [bicolor]. thallia. ASTRJSACEA. BUNODIDjE. THE GLAUCOUS PIMPLET. Bunodes thallia. Plate IY. Figs. 5, 6. Specific Character. Warts sub- equal, vertically remote, unicolorous. B anodes thallia. Gosse, Annals 1ST. H. Ser. 2, xiv. 283 : Tenby, 361 ; pi. xxiii. fig. c: Linn. Trans, xxi. 274. Annals N. H. Ser. 3, i. 417. Cereus Thalia. Milne Edwards, Hist. Corail. i. 266. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to rocks ; considerably exceeding column. Column. A rounded button in contraction, pillar-like in extension, rising to full twice the diameter. Surface covered with numerous (about thirty-six) vertical rows of sub-equal prominent warts, which are separated, in moderate extension, both laterally and vertically, by interspaces of about equal width, in which the skin is irregularly corrugated. The warts are about twenty -five in each row, and reach from the base to the margin, which is serrated with the elongated topmost warts of all the rows. They are strongly adhesive, and are occasionally drawn out to the length of a line, before they yield their hold. Substance firmly fleshy. Dish. Flat, or slightly concave ; radii indistinct. Tentacles. Sub-marginal, set in four rows; 6, 6, 12, 24 = 48 : — the first- three rows are, however, so nearly equidistant from the centre that, on a cursory inspection, there appear but two rows altogether. They are sub- equal, thick, obtuse, about half as long as the diameter of the column ; and are commonly spread horizontally, or overarching outwards. Mouth. Set on a prominent cone. Colour. Column. Pale bluish or greyish green, with dark warts. Dish. A many-rayed star of yellow rays on a blackish ground, produced in the following manner. The radii are blackish, each marked with a central spindle-shaped line of yellow ; in the primary and secondary radii, 0 2 196 BUN0D1D.E. the yellow mark is broader and near the mouth ; in the others, it is more slender, longer, and reaches to the tentacular region. Tentacles. Pellucid grey, with the front face olive, on which are scattered numerous spots of opaque white : these spots are gene- rally roundish, or polyhedral, and large and small ones are crowded together. Mouth. Blackish, with the gonidial tuber- cles of a more intense hue. Size. Button an inch and a quarter in diametei*, elongating to a height of two inches ; expanse of flower two inches. Locality. Both sides of the Bristol Channel ; rocks within tide-marks. Varieties. a. Hygroxyla. The green condition described above. fi. Xeroxyla. Column dingy brown, with slightly darker warts ; disk of the same tint ; marked as in a. y. Caustoxyla. Column reddish chocolate, with darker warts ; disk dark olive ; marked as in a ; the central half sometimes white. >!> TENTACLE (< lateral view). I first discovered this species at Lidstep, on the coast of Pembroke, in 1854, and described and figured it in “ Tenby ; a Seaside Holiday.” Very little has been added to "its recorded history since that time ; not more than four speci- mens having occurred, so far as I am aware, to subsequent researches, all of which were obtained near Ilfracombe. Though manifestly a rare species, I was so fortunate as to light upon a numerous colony at its discovery. About a dozen individuals of different sizes were associated in the dark angles and pools of a little insular rock exposed at spring-tide, that lies just off the cove called the Drocli, near Lidstep. They were not troglodyte in habit, but adherent to the open rock, and therefore easily detached. The species seems social ; clustering together in groups, mutually pressing each other’s sides. The habits of the Glaucous Pimplet in captivity are THE GLAUCOUS PIMPLET. 197 closely like tliose of the Gem. Like the latter, it expands under the stimulus of the light, rather than in darkness, indicating a habitually exposed mode of life. Like gem- macea , it frequently erects itself when closed, in the form of a pillar ; and throws off successive rings of mucus from its body, which accumulate around its base, if not removed. The action of the waves would wash these away in a state of freedom ; in a tank they should be detached by means of a stick or hair-pencil. I have never seen the warts of gemmacea used as suckers ; but in specimens of the present species, I observed this function exercised by them very signally ; not in the way of attaching extraneous fragments to the body, like 8. bellis and T. crassicorm's, but in taking hold of a firm support, like 8. troglodytes. The suckers of the column adhered with force to the side of the glass vessel, and by contrac- tion were stretched as above described. The specific name “ thallia” (not Thalia , as M. Milne Edwards misquotes it) I adopted in allusion to the elon- gated form and glaucous colour, from daWla, an olive- shoot. The same idea recurs in the epithets which distin- guish the varieties, — as if the glaucous, the dull brown, and the chocolate, were the twig as green, dry, and scorched. It is possible that the immature specimens, found by Templeton in Belfast Lough, and named by him Act. monile ,* were the young of this species ; though they have been generally attributed to gemmacea. gemmacea. THALLIA. [xanthogrammica]. [Artemisia]. T. crassicornis. * Loudon’s Mag. N. H. ix. 303 ; fig. 49. AST. R^E ACE A. BU NOBIB AE. THE RED-SPECKED PIMPLET. B anodes Ballii. Plate IY. Fig. 4. Specific Character. Warts sub-equal, vertically contiguous, red-spotted. Actinia Ballii. clavata. Bimodes clavata. Cereus clavata. Cocks, Rep. Corn. Soc. 1849, 94 ; Ibid. 1851, 9 ; pi. ii. figs. 9, 17, 18. Thompson (w.), Zoologist, 1851, App. cxxvii. Gosse, Ann. N. H. Ser. 2, vol. xii. 127. Aquarium, 35. Tugwell, Man. Sea Anem. 100, pi. iv. Jordan, Ann. N. H. Ser. 2, xv. 88. Gosse, Linn. Trans, xxi. 274. Ann. N. H. Ser. 3, i. 417. Milne Edwards, Hist. Corail. i. 267. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to rocks; considerably exceeding the column ; generally lengthened-ovate in outline. Column. Low and broad, scarcely rising to a pillar-form. Surface covered with warts about equal in size, arranged in forty-eight longitu- dinal rows, of which the alternate rows are traceable from the margin only about half-way down the column ; the warts are contiguous vertically, but the rows are separated laterally, by interspaces of equal width, of corru- gated skin. The primary rows consist of about twenty- four warts, becoming indistinct towards the base; the uppermost individuals of all the rows crowning the margin as blunt teeth. BisJc. Flat ; the outline nearly circular, often much overlapping the column. Radii distinct ; gonidial radii broad and strongly marked. Tentacles. Nearly marginal, set in five rows ; 6, 6, 12, 24, 24 = 72 : the first three rows nearly equidistant from the centre. They are longer and more slender than in gemmacea, conical, obtuse ; decreasing in size from the first row outwards ; and are usually carried horizontally spread, with a very constant tendency to curl upward at the tips. Mouth. Raised on a cone ; often gaping ; throat membranous, protru- sile : gonidial tubercles usually prominent, often inflated. Colour. Base. Red, sometimes rich crimson. THE RED-SPECKED PIMPLET. 199 Column. Pale yellow : each wart crowned with a well-defined crimson speck, the interspaces irregularly freckled with crimson. In some instances, the pale yellow predominates on the upper half of the column, the crimson on the lower. Disk. Pellucid-grey, covered or dusted with opaque white specks, varying in size and shape, as if sprinkled with flour. Tentacles. Yery pellucid, pale yellow, but some or all frequently tinged with a lovely rose-colour : always sprinkled, on all sides , with minute irregularly shaped specks of opaque white. Mouth. Lip and gonidial tubercles some- tentacle times crimson or rose-pink; but sometimes ( lateral view). whitish or pale yellow. Size. Ordinary specimens are an inch in diameter and half an inch in height, with an expanse of two inches. Mr. Tugwell figures one two inches in diameter, and three in expanse ; and Mr. Brodrick writes me that one, which has been in his possession nearly three years, measures, after feeding, four inches in expanse. Locality, The southern and south-western shores of England ; on the under sur- faces of stones, and in crevices between tide-marks, and in deep water. Varieties. a. Rosea. The most lovely condition above described. 13. Dealbata. The roseate hue wanting; the tentacles cream white; in other respects as a. 7. Funesta. Tentacles dark umber or wood-brown, with little trans- lucency. Disk smoke-black. Both dusted with yellowish-white specks as usual. Column as a; but tinged with brown. Usually of large size. 5. Livida. Tentacles and disk tinged in various degrees with bluish-grey or livid green, often in a sort of changeable lustre, like that of putrescent flesh ; with the characteristic specks. Chiefly from deep water. Mr. William Thompson, of Weymouth, described this species by the name of Actinia clavata , in the Appendix to the Zoologist for 1851. But Mr. W. P. Cocks had already described and figured, under the title of A . Ballii , the same 200 BUNODIDdE. species, in his admirable memoir “ On the Actiniae of Falmouth,” which was read before the Cornwall Polytechnic Society, in the autumn of the same year. He had been acquainted with the species ever since 1847 ; and had pub- lished the name in the Society’s Report for 1849. To Mr. Cocks’s appellation, therefore, belongs the claim of priority; but even were it otherwise, Mr. Thompson’s name must be rejected, not only because it had been previously * applied to another species, but, according to a canon which I have already had occasion to apply to one of my own names, f because it conveys a false idea. The name clavata origi- nated in a misconception. In the single specimen known to Mr. Thompson at that time, he mistook the curling of the tips of the tentacles for a clubbing , whence the name “ clavata ” — clubbed. These organs have not the slightest tendency to such a form as the term implies. The name which I adopt was given, I believe, in honour of the late Robert Ball, LL.D., an eminent marine zoologist. I found the species not uncommon at Weymouth in 1853, especially on the ledges that are exposed at the recess of the tide, under Byng Cliff. Its habit is to lurk in narrow fissures in the cavities of the under side of large flat stones, and not unfrequently in the deserted holes of Pholas or Saxicava. The disk is very wide and flat ; and, as it is also very expansile, it spreads itself to a consider- able distance around the margin of its hole. So essential is it to its comfort, however, that it should have a retirement, that if it be put into an aquarium, though it may at first affix itself to a flat stone or to the surface of a shell, it will creep away, by means of its base, till it find some loose stone, under which it will insinuate itself till it is quite * M. Ratlike had named clavata an Actinia, which he found on the coast of Norway, in 1843. + See ante, p. 75. THE KED-SPECKED PIMPLET. 201 concealed ; or a narrow crevice, as Ibetween two contiguous stones, into which it may thrust its body. The variety livida , which is not rare in Weymouth Bay, in deep water, manifests the same habit, for it is usually found to have ensconced itself in one of the angular cells or cham- bers formed by the coral-like plates of Eschara foliaceay which afford retreat to so many and so various creatures. A remarkable peculiarity of this species is the degree to which it becomes transparent by distension with water* The effect of this is not the general swelling of the body, as in T. crassicornis , which is remarkable for the same habit effected in another way, but a great dilatation of the disk and tentacles, which then expand to an extraordinary degree, becoming so diaphanous as to be almost destitute of colour, and showing with absolute clearness the cr'aspeda in the intersepts of the visceral cavity. The species is hardy in captivity, and the varieties a and (3 are very beautiful, especially the former. The variety 7 has not unfrequently beguiled me, on a hasty examination, into the notion that S. lellis was before me ; and I think that these two species form links by which the families Bunodidce and Sagartiadce are connected. There is also a remote affinity between this species and Aipt. Couchii. My friend, Mr. F. IT. West, has received B. Ballii from the French coast of the Channel. On our own side it ranges in tolerable abundance from the Hampshire coast to the Lizard, as the following list will indicate : — Selsey; Yentnor, G. G. : Freshwater Bay, F. N. B. : Weymouth ; Torquay, P. II. G. : Falmouth, W. P. C. thallia. Sag. bellis. Ballii. Aip. Couchii. [cruentata]. [Macloviana]. ASTRJ2ACEA. BVNODIDAE. THE DIADEM PIMPLET. Bunodes coronata. Plate VII. Fig. 4. Specific Character. Warts almost confined to upper half of column, in lines and irregularly scattered ; sub-equal, small. Bunodes coronata. Gosse, Annals N. H. Ser. 3, ii. 194. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to shells, scarcely exceeding column. Column. Cylindrical in expansion, much higher than wide ; covered on the upper- two-thirds with moderately numerous small warts, neither per- forate nor excavate ; they are arranged in twelve longitudinal rows, with irregularly scattered ones between ; and are generally wanting towards the base. Skin between the warts smooth, and when distended having a satiny lustre. Whole column invested with a thin drab epidermis, deciduous in ragged shreds, but adhering pretty firmly. A distinct parapet, with a smooth sharp edge, but no appreciable fosse. Dislc. Circular, flat, but often protruded so as to be convex, or to form a low cone ; radii distinct. Tentacles. In five rows; 6, 6, 12, 24, 48=96. They are sub-marginal, the first row springing at about three-quarter radius ; they are shorter than radius, diminishing outwardly, conical, sub-acute. Mouth, Large, protrusile : lip sharp : throat evertile, coarsely furrowed. Colour. Column. A rich orange, or orange-scarlet, with the warts either paler or darker than the ground-colour. Edge of parapet cream-white, immediately below which the margin is marked alternately with square patches of dark purplish chocolate, and narrower spaces of whitish (twelve marks of each colour in adults, six of each in young) ; these, from the fine contrasts of colour, when the button is not quite closed, have a very striking and characteristic effect, as if the animal were surmounted by an elegant coronet. Dislc. Red, varying from pellucid scarlet to a reddish chocolate ; each radius bearing a longitudinal central streak of white, which does not reach THE DIADEM PIMPLET. either tentacle or lip, and bounded by a very fine white line on each side ; thus is produced a pat- tern of fine radiating lines of white on red. Some- times the lines are irregularly blotched and dilated, with ragged edges. Tentacles. Pellucid, nearly colourless, crossed by three dim sub-opaque white bars, of which the middle one is most distinct ; near the base are two chocolate bars, generally divided by a central longitudinal line of pellucid white, giving the appearance of four dark spots set in square. Sometimes one bar is nearly or quite obliterated. Mouth. Lip whitish. Throat rich orange-scarlet ; the furrows darker than the ridges. Size. Diameter of column in button, one and a quarter inch ; height two inches expanse of flower one inch. Locality. The south coast of Devon ; moderately deep water. Varieties. a. Patricia. The rich orange-scarlet condition just described. /3. Plebeia. The column of a dirty light brown ; the markings of the marginal coronet distinct, but duller. The usually red ground of the disk replaced by deep brown, and the white lines by pellucid drab ; the whole interrupted by four or five broad irregular radial bands of pure white. The bars of the tentacles obsolete. This fine species first occurred to myself when dredging- off Berry Head, in about twenty fathoms, in August, 1858. Three or four specimens came up in about the same number of hauls. In every case the animal was adherent to the shell of the living Turritella terebra , a mollusk which is so abundant there that the dredge comes up half- filled with it. The base of the Bunodes clasps the long turreted shell, nearly enveloping it when adult, only the apex and the mouth of the shell being exposed. Other specimens have occurred since in similar circum- stances ; and Mr. Densham, a collector of Torquay, informs me that in October he obtained a group of eight or ten adhering to a mass of oysters. 203 TENTACLE {front view). 204 BUNODIDiE. It is manifest that this species departs considerably from the type of Bunodes. The irregularity of the warting, the conical form of the tentacles, and their style of colouring, in alternate undefined rings, and the occasional eversion of the walls of the throat, indicate a sensible approach to the following genus. It is always to aberrant species that we look for cross affinities ; and therefore I was more gratified than surprised to see in this animal evident marks of connexion, both in appearance and habit, with the Sagartiadce . Before I had seen it expand, I suspected it to be S. parasitica , especially when in the act of unfolding. It has much resemblance to that species, as well as to S. coccinea, with which it was associated ; for a number of this little species occurred in the same dredge-hauls ; these also adherent to the shells of the Turritellce. The whole aspect of the Diadem Pimplet, including the colouring, is that of a Sagartia , though the preponderance of its characters deter- mines it to Bunodes. It is interesting, in this relation, to notice, that one specimen in my possession protruded from the mouth a bundle of what appeared to be true acontia. The species lives well in a tank ; where it readily deserts its shell, and attaches itself to stones, or the vessel. It is lively, opening freely, frequently constricting its column, and changing its form with considerable rapidity; its vivacity and brilliant colour render it an acquisition to the aquarium. Both the scientific and the English appellations by which I distinguish the species, allude to the coronet of purple spots which surround the margin. Berry Head, P. H. G. : Torbay, E. W. H. II. : off Teignmouth, G. II. King. Ballii. Sag. parasitica. coronata. Sag. coccinea. T. crassicornis. 205 GENUS III. TEALIA (Gosse). Actinia (Linn.). Oribrina (Ehrenb.). Cereus (Milne Edwards). B anodes (Gosse). Base exceeding the column. Column not pillar-like ; the diameter usually much exceeding the height. Surface studded with per- manent rounded warts, which are hollow, and have a strong adhesive power, irregularly scattered, or not set in vertical lines. Margin denticulate. Substance cartilaginous. Bisk flat, circular in outline, considerably over- lapping the column. Radii inconspicuous. Tentacles not very numerous, arranged in several rows, sub-marginal ; short, thick, and conical ; uni- colorous, or marked with undefined rings or bands of alternate colours ; perfectly retractile. Mouth raised on a cone ; stomach habitually pro- truded to a great extent. Muscular system highly developed ; very dense, and of a cartilaginous firmness. ANALYSIS OF BRITISH SPECIES. Warts unequal : stomach and warts red ; tentacles un- handed digitata. Warts equal : stomach and warts grey ; tentacles banded . crassicomis. ASTRjEACEA. bunodid^e. THE MARIGOLD WARTLET. Tealia digitata . Plate VI. Fig. 10. Specific Character. Warts unequal; stomach and warts red; tentacles not banded. Actinia digitata. Muller, Zool. Dan. iv. 16; pi. cxxxiii. Alder, Zooph. of Northumberland and Durham, 44. Cereus digitatus. Milne Edwards, Corail. i. 272. Tealia digitata. Gosse, Ann. Nat. Hist. Ser. 3, i. 417. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adhering to shells, often exceeding the column; outline undulate. Column. Cylindrical, about as high as wide, sometimes dilated and overarching above. Margin smooth, parapeted. Surface studded with large warts, having a tendency to form transverse rows, but with no perpendicular arrangement. “ A row of larger warts is usually found on the upper part, which, when the tentacles are withdrawn, form a tuber- culated margin to the aperture.” (J. A.) Disk. Flat, often partly everted and overarching. Radii strongly marked. Tentacles. Numerous, in three or four rows, stoutly conical, bluntly pointed, the first row largest, diminishing to the outmost, which are papil- lary : carried arching outwards. Mouth. Throat evertile, strongly ribbed. Colour. Column. Scarlet-orange, with paler warts. Disk. Dull red. Tentacles. Dull red, unbanded, a little deeper towards the tip. Mouth. Ribs of throat brownish-orange. 1 J1 1 3 PLATE VI . I'N COLOURS BY W. DICKES. ANTHEA CEREUS. TEALIA DICITATA. SACARTIA VIDUATA. P.H.C.DEL. | _6. ACTINIA MESEMBRYANTHEMUM 7. A. CHIOCOCCA . 8. .SACARTIA CHRYSOSPLENIUM. 4 6 8 10 THE MARIGOLD WARTLET. 207 Size. Column one and a half inch high, and the same wide. Expanse about two inches. Locality. Coast of Northumberland and Cornwall. Deep water. The name by which I have distinguished this genus is given as a tribute to the skill and acumen of Mr. Thomas Pridgin Teale, of Leeds, who published an elaborate and excellent Memoir on the anatomy of the following species. The English appellation is sufficiently obvious. The specific term digitata , “ fingered,” doubtless alludes to the thick conical form and dull reddish hue of the tentacles, in which the Danish zoologist saw a resemblance to fingers, — those of a ploughman or a scullery-maid, surely ! I distinguish this species from crassicornis on the autho- rity of Mr. Joshua Alder, of Newcastle, who first mentioned it as British, in his Catalogue of the Zoophytes of that coast. The same gentleman has kindly favoured me with several drawings of the species, executed with his well- known beauty and precision (one of which is reproduced in my Plate), as well as with his MS. notes, from all of which combined I have compiled the foregoing diagnosis. Mr. Alder entertains no doubt of its specific distinctness ; and his numerous opportunities of seeing it alive and comparing it with the more common kind, render his opinion valuable. He says, “ It is the most coriaceous and warty species that I am acquainted with.” And again, “ It is always much smaller than crassicornis , more tough and coriaceous, with larger warts, and constantly of a pale red colour.” “ It is not uncommon,” adds the same excellent natu- ralist, “ in deep water on our coast ; and as the cod-fishing boats are coming into port frequently at this season [April], 208 BUNODIDiE. I may be able to get you a specimen, though not in a lively condition.” Among the numerous drawings of Actinoids for which I am indebted to Mr. W. P. Cocks, there are two which he has not named, but which are evidently identical with the Northumbrian species. Thus I am able to assign it to the Cornish coast. These are the only British localities I yet know for it. DIGITATA. crassicorms. ASTRjEACEA. BUNODIDjE. THE DAHLIA WABTLET. Tealia crassicornis. Plate IV. Fig. 1. Specific Character . Warts equal; stomach and warts grey; tentacles generally banded. Actinia felina et A. senilis, crassicornis. Holsatica. ? fiscella. ? bimaculata. coriacea. gemmacea. Cribrina coriacea. Isacmcea papillosa. Bwnodes crassicornis. Tealia crassicornis. Linn. Syst. Nat. 1088. Muller, Prod. Zool. Dan. 231. Fabr. Faun. Grcenl. 348. Johnston, Br. Zooph. i. 226 ; pi. xl. Gosse, Devonsh. Coast, 34. Cocks, Rep. Corn. Soc. 1851, 7 ; pi. ii. fig. 1. Muller, Zool. Dan. iv. 23, pi. cxxxix. ! Ibid. Ibid. iii. 3, pi. lxxxii. figs. 5, 6 (juv. ?). Grube, Actinien, 4, fig. 4. Cuvier, Tabl. £l (Lesueur). Corticifera ) Sidisia (J. E. Gray). Base permanently attached ; spreading over rocks, stones, or shells, in either a linear or incrusting manner. Column pillar-like, higher than wide; margin cut into strongly marked teeth, which are united by a thin membrane. Surface smooth, excreting a mucus, in which occasionally grains of sand become imbedded, constituting an adventitious epidermis. Bisk slightly concave ; radii inconspicuous. Tentacles conical, pointed, similar in structure to those of Astr^eacea : wholly retractile. Mouth more or less protrusile, simple. ANALYSIS OF BRITISH SPECIES. Invested with sand ; extension various Couchii. Without sand— Polypes cylindrical, olive ; several abreast sulcatus. Polypes obconic, pellucid white ; in single file A Ideri. C A R Y OP H YLL1A CEA . A NT HI DM THE SANDY CEEEPLET. Zoanthus Couchii. Plate IX. Figs. 9, 10 ; X. Fig. 5. Specific Character. Basal band extending variously ; polypes invested with a sandy coating ; tentacles in two rows. Zoanthus Couchii. Johnston, Brit. Zooph. Ed. 2, i. 202 ; pi. xxxv. fig. 9. Couch, Corn. Faun. iii. 73 ; pi. xv. fig. 3. Holds- worth, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858 ; pi. x. figs. 3 — 7. Dysidea (?) papillosa. Johnston, Brit. Sponges, 190, fig. 18 ; pi. xvi. figs. 6, 7. Sidisia Barleei. J. E. Gray, Ann. N. H. Ser. 3, ii. 489 ; Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858 ; pi. x. fig. 8. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Basal band. Narrow, irregularly creeping, soft, elastic, fleshy to the feel, very sensitive ; invested with sand, like the column. Column. Cylindrical, rising to about three or four times its diameter ; smooth, transparent. Margin cut into twelve or fourteen (generally the latter number) large fleshy triangular teeth, which are connected by a, thin web of transparent membrane, the inner layer of which is composed of transverse fibres, the outer is granular and cutaneous. In a state of semi- contraction, these teeth form strongly-marked converging ridges on the flat summit of the column. Investment. Fine sand, evidently not a secretion, but extraneous, imbedded in the epidermis, — the fragments (in Torquay specimens) being of different colours, some being of white limestone, others of red sandstone. When the column is much distended, the grains of sand become considerably separated, and we can distinctly see through the transparent and smooth integuments into the visceral cavity. Thus the sand forms manifestly only a single layer. Only very minute grains are used, and there is very little difference in their size. Dislc. Generally flat or slightly concave, but protrusile in a conical form. Radii apparently distinct, but only because the upper edges of the septa appear through the perfectly transparent disk. 298 ZOANTHIDiE. Tentacles. Twenty-eight (twenty-four in less mature specimens), arranged in two rows, fourteen in each : those of the inner row correspond to the marginal teeth, those of the outer are intermediate. They are sub-equal, taper, bluntly pointed, and, when extended, about equal in length to the diameter of the column, hollow, not warted, with thick walls, which, in contraction, fall into transverse or annular corrugations. They are pro- truded in a brush, but, when fully expanded, spread out horizontally. Mouth. Lip sharp, much crenated, protruded after feeding. Colour. Investment of root-land and column. Pale brown, the hue of the sand. Column. Beneath the investment, transparent and colourless. Dish. Pellucid reddish-grey, dusted with excessively minute white specks. Tentacles. Translucent, nearly colourless ; but each has a small mass of opaque white pigment on the internal surface, just at the tip : the aggre- gation of white points has a pretty effect. Mouth. Lip opaque white. Size. None that I have seen alive exceeded one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and about thrice that height in extension. In contraction the button is usually about a line in height. Mr. Holdsworth has obtained specimens much larger than these. Locality. The extreme northern and southern points of the British Islands, North- umberland, and various other points of our coast; deep water; on stones and shells, and free on the sea-bottom. Varieties. a- Linearis. The condition above described, in which the root-band creeps in a narrow ribbon over stones and shells. Cornwall and Devon. (Plate x. fig. 5.) £. Diffusus. The root-band spread over the surface of a shell as a continuous carpet, whence the polypes spring, irregularly crowded together. Northumberland. (Plate ix. fig. 10.) y. Liber. Unattached. The root-band forming a free cylinder, exactly resembling the column of the polype, and of the same diameter. The polypes in this case branch irregularly from the cylinder, and terminate both its extremities. Shetland. (Plate ix. fig. 9.) If we selected a single specimen of each of these varieties, THE SANDY CREEPLET. 299 and compared them, without any other information, nothing would he more manifest than that we must assign them not only to distinct species, but^even to distinct genera. Mr. Alder has favoured me with many specimens, obtained by Mr. Barlee, at Shetland, some of which, each consisting of several full-grown polypes, are perfectly independent and compact, showing not the slightest trace of adhesion to any foreign body, nor of any part that can be distinguished as a root -band. Thus, in the specimen figured in Plate ix. fig. 9, three polypes diverge from a common centre ; others are similarly formed, sometimes with a triangular dilatation of the point of divergence, which thus becomes flat, but still with both surfaces equally entire. I have not seen more than three polypes on any free specimen. But among these, we see specimens at first sight hardly distinguishable from them, except by a slight globosity at the point of divergence : when we turn these over, we dis- cover that the globosity has been moulded on a minute shell, evidently that of a Natica. Then others occur, in which the shell, almost always a Natica , is larger, and there is a distinct basal carpet uniformly spread over it, of the sand-covered flesh, from which spring four or more polypes : these are manifestly identical with the free ones. But on larger shells the colony of polypes is made up of more individuals ; in one specimen before me, in which the shell is about the size of Natica Alderi , there are nineteen polypes. In every case the basal carpet has spread in uniform thickness over the entire shell, following the form accurately, and extending to the edge of the outer lip, and clothing the rotundity of the inner lip as far as the eye can follow it. Strange to say, in every example , the shell itself has wholly disappeared, and all that is left is the exact model of it in the sand-clothed membrane, or basal carpet, of the polype. 300 ZOANTHIDA3. In this condition, the zoophyte was mistaken by Dr. Gr. Johnston for a Sponge, and he has accordingly figured and described it in his “ British Sponges,” under the name of Dysidea papillosa. I do not see in what single particular such specimens differ from the genus Palythoa of Lamouroux, as this is characterized by M. Milne Edwards : — “ Poly - pieroides cylindriques , naissant sur une expansion basilaire membraniforme, libres lateralement , ou soudSs entre eux, et formant des masses encroutantes ; ” * and thus we find the same species in some circumstances a Zoanthus , in others a Palythoa. Nay, more, as if to increase the confusion, Dr. J. E. Grray has actually made a new genus for the inter- mediate free condition, which he calls “ SidisiaP f The only way in which I can account for the free condi- tion is by supposing that the germ was, in those cases, deposited on a fragment of shell or stone so minute as to be completely overspread and enveloped by the increasing base.;}; The unvarying disappearance of the shell in the diffuse variety is more remarkable, and seems to imply a corrosive or absorbent power in the base. That the Shetland and Northumberland specimens are identical with ours in Torbay seems pretty certain ; for Mr. Alder, who has had opportunities of seeing both in the living state (some from the north having been sent him alive by Mr. Bar lee, and some from the south by myself), can see no specific diversity between them. But that they are the same species as the Zoanthus Couchii of the Cornish coast, I assume rather than prove. It is unlikely that there should * Hist, des Coralliaires, i. 301. + Annals Nat. Hist. Dec. 1858. J Mx\ Alder remarks on these varying conditions as follows : — “ I have come to the conclusion that when the zoophyte has free space on a stone it runs over it as Zoanthus ; but when the base is confined to a shell, it spreads into an uniform crust, as Palythoa. The loose branched speci- mens, I conclude, having affixed themselves to some minute object not affording a proper base of attachment, take a tubular form until they terminate in polypes.” — ( In litt.J THE SANDY CREEPLET. 301 be two species of the same uncommon genus, having so many points in common, found in so close proximity as the Devon and Cornwall coasts, and yet there are glaring dis- crepancies between Mr. E. Q. Couch’s published descrip- tions and the characters of our animal. He describes the surface as “ glandular,” the form as frequently “ contracted to an hour-glass shape,” and as being very versatile ; the habit as sluggish, and slow to change ; the tentacles as “ darker at the extremities than at the base ; ” not one of which particulars do our specimens confirm. My first personal acquaintance with the species I owed to Mr. Holds worth, who dredged several colonies in twelve fathoms, off the Ore Stone, near Torquay, in October, 1858, where further researches show it to be quite common. They were of the variety linearis , affixed to fragments of slate and old valves of Gardium rusticum, twenty or thirty polypes on each, running in sinuous bands from half a line to three lines apart in the series. The colonies meandered over both surfaces of the fragments. One of these colonies my friend kindly gave to me, and it has lived now ten months with me. The polypes are by no means sluggish, but are continually opening and closing with considerable vivacity. When completely con- tracted, each polype is a cylindrical button, with the summit round and depressed in the centre. As expansion proceeds, the centre evolves, and the summit becomes nearly flat, with the twelve or fourteen strongly marked marginal ridges radiating from the central orifice. The central aper- ture enlarges, and the white tips of the tentacles are seen protruding, and presently the tentacles themselves, blunt and pellucid white, which soon arch outwardly. They feed readily on raw flesh or earthworms, but will take only very minute fragments. These, however light their contact, cause the tentacles to retract ; but if the 302 ZOANTHIDJE. morsel be laid gently on the truncate summit of tlie closed column, the converging teeth appearing, it will remain there until the animal seizes it. The tentacles are protruded one by one so cautiously that the meat is not disturbed, and soon we discern that it is environed by a wall of tentacles, and that the mouth is gaping widely to embrace it. After feeding, or when food which has been resting on the disk is suddenly taken away, the whole disk is protruded as a cone, on the summit of which the open throat forms a wide valley, coarsely furrowed. The creeping-band is very sensitive ; when touched with a needle-point, all the polypes suddenly contract, yet not quite simultaneously, but in the order of succession cor- responding to their proximity to the point of attack. Mr. Holdsworth tells me that “the polypes live very well when detached from their support.” The generic name is formed from tcoov , an animal, and av0os, a flower; the English term is meant to express its peculiar habit. Shetland, G. Barlee : Northumberland, J. A.: Guernsey, J. A.: Torquay, i£. W. H. H. : Cornwall (throughout), B. Q. C. : Strangford Lough, W. T. Astileacea. ZOANTIIUS. C ARYOPH YLLI ACE A . CA R YOPHYLLIA CEA . ZO ANTE I DAE THE FURROWED CREEPLET. Zoanthus sulcatus, (Sp. nov.) Plate IX. Fig. 7. Specific Character. Upper half of column free from sand, and indented with longitudinal furrows. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Basal band. Broad, with an irregularly sinuous outline, and offshoots, often bearing three polypes abreast ; loosely invested with coarse sand. Column. Generally cylindrical, but versatile, sometimes hour-glass shaped, springing out of a membranous epidermis, which tightly invests it, and holds a few grains of very fine sand imbedded in it. When ex- tended, the column rises free and smooth out of this, which then reaches to about one-third of the height. Surface marked with twenty-two (in immature specimens twenty) longitudinal sulci, most conspicuous towards the summit : in the button state this is rounded, with a central depression, where the sulci meet. Each alternate intersulcus forms a marginal tooth. Dish Saucer-shaped ; radii not conspicuous. Tentacles. Equal in number with the intersulci, with which they cor- respond, in two rows, the inner row to the marginal teeth, the outer inter- mediate. Sub-equal, conical, pointed, usually radiating horizontally. Mouth. Not raised on a cone. Colour. Column. Dull uniform olive : each intersulcus having a blackish spot near its summit ; and each tooth is silvery white. Dish. Yellow-olive ; but invariably more or less studded with very minute grains of white sand, which seem fixed, and look like silver filings. Aggregations of these grains specially occur at the bases of the secondary tentacles, omitting the primary ones. Tentacles. Perfectly colourless and transparent, with spherical granules of yellow-brown pigment, set like pavement on the interior surface of the wall, generally in contact, yet here and there leaving large spaces alto- gether unoccupied. The colour of the column and disk is evidently formed by similar granules, but in uninterrupted contact. 304 ZOANTHIDiE. Size. Column about one-eighth of an inch high, and one-twelfth wide. Locality. Torbay ; on rock, between tide-marks. This very distinct and interesting little Zoanthus occurred in a large colony at Broadsands, near Brixham, in March, 1859. They were spread on a rock of soft red sandstone, and so numerously, that, in the fragment which came into my possession, I counted sixty polypes in a space of one-and-a-half inch square. At first their character was much disguised by the crowded sand- tubes of a very minute Terebella , out of the tangled masses of which the Zoanthi were peeping. When these were cleared away by the careful application of a needle-point and a hair-pencil, the basal expansion was apparent, an irregular broad band, with several polypes abreast, as described above. The texture of the band appears less compact than in the preceding species, with which I com- pared it, having a more cellular appearance ; the grains of sand too are coarser. The species is hardy, my specimens being healthy at the present time, after three months’ captivity. They are evidently diurnal in their habits and predilections, gene- rally expanding under the stimulus of sunlight, but always closing at night. When the polype is irritated it shrinks nearly to the epidermis, and from the whole summit throws off a mucus, which presently becomes membranous, and seems identical with the epidermis. Couchii. [Solanderi.] SULCATUS. Phellia. Y OPE YLLIA CEA . ZOANTHIDjE. THE WRINKLED CREEPLET. Zoantlius Alder i. (Sp. nov.) Plate IX. Fig. 8. Specific Character. Polypes free from sand ; set in single file, obconic, transversely wrinkled. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Basal band. Narrow, smooth, irregularly branching, free from sand. Column. Inversely conical, the summit being two or more times as broad as the base ; summit (in the button state) swelling, flat, depressed in the centre, with many (about twenty ?) radiating strice, indicating the marginal teeth. Surface smooth, without any investment of sand, but marked throughout with close-set transverse or annular wrinkles. Disk and Tentacles . Unknown. Colour. Basal band and column. Opaque milk-white. Size. Height of column about two lines ; greatest diameter about half a line. Locality. Northumberland: on a stone, at extreme low- water. The slight acquaintance that I possess with this species I owe to Mr. Joshua Alder, who has sent me a drawing and description of a specimen found by him at Cullercoats, X 306 ZOANTHIDiE. at a very low spring- tide, in the summer of 1857. My friend favours me with the following note of the capture: — “It was soft and fleshy, without trace of corallum ; the individuals connected by a creeping fibre running over the under sur- face of the stone. I chipped a piece of it off, which fell face-downwards, and I fancy got injured in consequence ; as it never showed any signs of life after I put it into my bottle. I kept it two or three days in expectation that it might recover, but, as it began to decay, I secured the remainder by putting it into spirit.” There were about a dozen polypes in the colony, all of the same size, which seems to be good evidence that they had attained adult dimensions. Couchii. Alderi. ? Sarcodictyon. 307 FAMILY III . — TURBIN OLI ADiE . In this, and all the families which have now to come under consideration, the tissues secrete calcareous matter, which unites into a solid internal skeleton of stone, known as the corallum. The stony substance is chiefly deposited — 1. in the integuments of the base and column, forming the WALL (mums) ; 2. in the septa, forming a series of perpendicular PLATES ( lamellae ), which radiate inward from the wall; and, in some cases, another circle, or circles, of similar plates, PALULES (pali), which do not reach the wall ; and 3. (as I believe) in the ovarian mesenteries, form- ing a series of plates, generally twisted, in the bottom of the cavity, called the columella. The hollow centre, formed by the upper edges of the plates, is called the * c ALICE (calyx). Sometimes the exterior of the wall is furnished with longitudinal ribs (costce), which correspond to the plates. The plates are arranged in cycles : those of the first cycle project furthest inwards ; those of the second bisect the interspaces ; those of the- third bisect the interspaces thus formed, and so on. The whole of the plates developed in one primary interspace constitutes a SYSTEM. In the Turbinoliad^e the corallum is solid (not porous), simple, with the lamellar interspaces reaching to the bottom of the cavity, and perfectly free. The plates are highly developed, simple, and generally have a granular surface. The ribs are well-marked. x 2 308 ANALYSIS OF BRITISH GENERA. With palules : adherent. Palules in a single circle : columella of many slender twisted plates Palules in several circles : columella broad and irre- gular in form Without palules : free. Columella a single plate Columella absent Caryophyllia. Paracyathus. Sphenotrochus. Ulocyathus. ikLate,-: x . I . LOPHELIA PROLIFERA . 2. PEACH IA TRIPHYLLA 3 . SPHENOIROCHUS VVRICHTH . 4 . S . MAC ANDREWANUS. 5. ZOANTHUS CQUCHII . 6 PARACYATHilS TAXI LI AN US . 7. P. PTEROPHS . 8 . P . THULENSIS 9. PHYLLANCIA AMERICANA . 10.11. BALANOPH YLLI A REGIA . 12.13. CYATH IMA SMITHII . 309 GENUS I. CARYOPHYLLIA (Lamarck). Cyathina (Ehrenb.). Corallum simple, generally obconic, often with an expanded base, permanently adherent ; outline ovate or circular. Columella composed of several thin, narrow, twisted, vertical plates. Balules broad, entire, in a single circle. Plates straight, broad, projecting, and forming six systems. Bibs straight, developed only towards the summit, granulated. The animal (for so we may conventionally term the soft tissues, though it is to be remembered that the corallum is an essential part of the living body) is, so far as we know it, translucent, the column very exten- sile, the disk protrusile, the tentacles set in several rows, diminishing in size from the outer row inward, each consisting of a stem with a globular head. I know but one British species, C. Smithii. CA R YOPHYLLTA CEA . TURBIN OLI A DJI. THE DEVONSHIRE CUP-CORAL. C ary ophy Ilia Smithii, Plate X. Figs. 12 , 13.* Specific Character. Plates in five cycles ; base broad ; outline generally ovate ; height not exceeding the long diameter. Caryophyllia Smithii. cyathus. sessilis. ? Turbinolia borealis. Cyathina Smithii. Stokes, Zool. Journ. iii. 481; pi. xiii. figs. 1—6. Buckland, Bridge w. Tr. ii. 90; pi. liv. figs. 9 — 11. Johnston, Br. Zooph. Ed. 2, 198 ; pi. xxxv. figs. 4 — 8. Couch, Corn. Fauna, iii. 72 ; pi. xii. fig. 3. Gosse, Dev. Coast, 108 ; pi. v. figs. 1 — 5. M. Edwards, Hist. Corall. ii. 14. Fleming, Brit. Anim. 508. Bellamy, So. Devon, 267 ; pi. xviii. Fleming, Brit. Anim. 509. Dana, Zooph. 371. M. Edwards and Haime, Ann. Sci. Nat. Ser. 3, ix. 288. Gosse, Man. Mar. Zool. i. 33 ; fig. 50. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. CORALLUM. CARYOPHYLLIA SMITHII (slightly magnified). Section of corallum. Corallum. Simple, constricted in various degrees ; the base generally wider than the summit, and the central region being often less than half the diameter of the latter. Outline sometimes circular, but generally more or less elliptical. Height in general less than the long diameter. Ribs. Well-marked on the upper half, less distinct on the lower, studded with fine granules. Plates. Forming five cycles, and six systems, but the plates of the fifth cycle Marked in the Plate “ Cyathina Smithii .” THE DEVONSHIRE CUP-CORAL. 311 are wanting in some of the systems. They are broad, granular on both surfaces, with the upper edge very salient and rounded in outline. Those of the third and fourth cycles subequal between themselves, and much smaller than the first and second, which also are mutually subequal. Columella. From twelve to twenty thin plates much twisted, with sinuous edges ; the summits much lower than the palules. . Palules. Well-developed, more flexuous than the septa, of which they correspond to the third cycle. Colour. In general pure white, but in some specimens tinged with a lovely permanent rose-tint. ANIMAL. Form. Column. Cylindrical, very extensile, smooth, membranous, invected towards the summit, each invection becoming a tentacle, without any distinct margin. Dish. Flat, but readily assuming a conical form. No trace of gonidial radii, tubercles, or groove. Tentacles. About fifty in number, arranged in three subequal rows : stem conical, membranous, translucent, studded with transverse oblong warts ; head globose, opaque, covered with palpocils. (Plate xii. fig. 4.) Mouth. A lengthened ellipse or a slit. Lip coarsely furrowed, like the lips of a cowry-shell. Stomach flat when empty, as in Anemones. All the tissues can be enormously distended with water. Colour. Column. A very faint bay or fawn colour, with longitudinal lines of chestnut. Dish. Transparent white, with a broad Vandyked circle of rich chestnut surrounding the mouth. Tentacles. Stem-wall colourless, with the warts deep chestnut; head opaque, pearl-white, sometimes slightly tinged with rose. Mouth. Pure white. Size. Corallum. Fine specimens attain a diameter of three-fourths of an inch, and a height nearly as great. Animal. The column when distended frequently stands an inch above the corallum , and exceeds it in breadth by a sixth of an inch on every side ; the tentacles augment the height still further by nearly half an inch. Locality. On various parts of our coast in deep water, attached to stones and shells : Devon and Cornwall, on rocks between tide-marks. TURBINOLIADJE. Varieties. a. Castanea. As above described. j8. Esmeralda. The chestnut here replaced by vivid green in like intensity, except the border of the mouth, which is pale red. 7. Clara. Translucent white. On the perpendicular surfaces of cliffs with a northern aspect, in narrow wall-sided fissures, and on the under sides of fallen fragments of rock forming natural arches, and in dark overhung tide-pools, I have found this beau- tiful Coral in abundance on the coast of both North and South Devon. It is only at the great recesses of the equinoctial spring-tides that it is exposed, though in per- manent pools of ample dimensions it occasionally occurs at the half- tide level. For the most part gregarious in habit, it occurs more in colonies than singly, and twenty, thirty, and even more, are occasionally taken by the collectors from a single pool. It is deservedly a favourite with aquarians; for if removed from the rock with care by a proper use of the chisel, scarcely any species is more hardy, more beautiful, or more changeable in its aspects. I have been informed of a specimen which had been preserved two and a half years, and was then in health. It is free in expanding in captivity ; perhaps its most common condition being that in which the mouth is somewhat open, and the tentacle- heads just peeping from beneath the half-closed margin of the column ; but occasionally, and especially at night, the animal expands to the full, and rears its lovely form far above the level of its stony walls. This condition may, however, at any time be induced by a proffer of food ; an atom of raw flesh cautiously laid on the half-exposed disk is a temptation too great to be resisted. The protrusile lip slowly but evenly expands to embrace the food, and then closes over it, meeting in a puckered knot in the THE DEVONSHIRE CUP-CORAL. 313 centre. The unyielding stony margin of the machal cavity preventing the morsel from being drawn down, as it would be in an Actinia , the whole disk projects perpen- dicularly, like a thick pillar, from amidst the tentacles, displaying the dark mass through the pellucid walls. Now presently a great change takes place : the whole of the soft tissues become distended with water, and take on an exquisite translucency and delicacy ; the column swells out to twice the width of the corallum , the tentacles are like transparent bladders full of water, each crowned by its little white globule, and the whole appearance is most beautiful. I have seen under these circumstances the animal extended to more than an inch and a half above the level of the plates. The lip often projects like a thin oval wall, or like the brickwork surrounding a well ; marked with thick perpendicular ridges of opaque white, distinctly defined, separated by interspaces of equal width. This is well expressed in the figures (5 and 6) given by Johnston, after Alder, which are very accurate : figs. 7 and 8 of the same plate, like too many of the zoophytic deli- neations of Forbes, I can only call caricatures. I have elsewhere * given many details of the structure and economy of this Coral, to which I can here only refer the reader. Among them will be found some curious examples of reproductive power ; one, in the formation of a new disk, mouth, and tentacles, at the lower end of the corallum , which had been broken from its base ; and another, of the replacement of a large number of the septa, which had been broken aw^ay. Of the generation and development of the species I can say nothing from personal observation ; the smallest I have seen having been about one-sixth of an inch in diameter, with a well-formed corallum of half a line in height. * Devonshire Coast, pp. 108 — 127. 314 TURBINOLIADiE. Mr. R. Q. Couch, however, says, “ In the youngest state the animal is naked, and measures about the fifteenth of an inch in diameter, and about the thirty-second of an inch in height. In the earliest state in which I have seen the calcareous polypidom there were four small rays, which were free or unconnected \i.e. without any wall] down to the base ; in others I have noticed six primary rays, but in every case they were unconnected with each other. Other rays soon make their appearance between those first formed ; they are mere calcareous specks at first, but after- wards increase in size. The first union of the rays is observed as a small calcareous rim at the base of the polype, which afterwards increases both in height and diameter with the age of the animal.”* From a valuable series of observations made by Mrs. Thynne,f it would appear that the C ary ophy Uia discharges its ova in spring, which in about two days become rotating infusorioid animalcules. In a week or two these affix themselves, and develop tentacles and a disk, and gradually grow to the size, and even far more than the size, of the parent, with all the characteristic colours and marks, but without the least trace of a corallum. During the progress of this condition, the individuals increase rapidly by spontaneous fission, the separated portions immediately becoming independent animals. It is difficult to suggest any flaw in the evidence of identity ; but it is to be regretted that the experiments terminated without any sign of the development of a corallum. Double and even triple specimens are not uncommon ; and I have seen at least two examples (one of which I now possess) that are fourfold. £ The appearance of such speci- mens is exactly that of a branching coral ; and, strange to * Quoted in Johnston’s Br. Zooph. i. 199. + Ann. N. H. for June, 1859. J Such a specimen I have figured in my Dev. Coast, pi. v. fig. 5. THE DEVONSHIRE CUP-CORAL. 315 say, if one alone of tlie disks be fed, the rest will presently become equally distended, as if partaking of a common life. On breaking one of these double skeletons, however, no communication is found to exist between the cavities ; and hence we must conclude that such instances are due to the accidental fixation of two or more gemmules in close proximity to each other, and the coalescence of the cal- careous walls in process of growth. The name Caryophyllia is formed of Kapvov , a nut, and (j)vXXov, a leaf, — q. d. u a nut of leaves plates. The specific name is in honour of Thomas Smith, who appears to have first observed it on the south coast of Devon. A curious little Barnacle ( Pyrgoma Anglicum ) is para- sitic on this species, affixing itself to the outer edge of the plates ; two are sometimes found on the same coral. The corallum is very hard. An hour’s rubbing of one on a slab of marble rough from the saw, with a view to a longitudinal section, produced little effect on the coral, though it effectually polished the marble. The following list of habitats show that the species is widely scattered around our coasts. Shetland (deep-water), Fleming : Moray Firth (d. w.j), W. G. .* Guernsey (low- water), T. D. II. : Torquay (1. w. abundant, d. w. rare), P. H. G. : Dartmouth (1. w.), E. W. If. H. : Cornwall (1. w. abundant), P. Q. C. : Ilfracombe (1. w. abundant), P. H. G. : Oban, J. A.: Larne (d. w.), G. D. (b.) .- Lambay, JR. Ball: Dalkey Sound (1. w.) P. P. ; Wexford Bay, W. WCalla : Nymph Bank (d. w.), W. T. : Youghal, P B. : Bantry Bay (1. w. common), E. P. W : Connemara, W. JP C. : Bundoran, P. B. : Lough S willy (d. w.), G. D. (b.) : Lough Foyle (d. w.) G. JD. (b.) Corynactis. Smithii. [cyatlius]. 316 GENUS II. PARACYATHUS (M. Edw. & Haime). Corallum simple, sub turbinate or cylindrical, with an expanded base, permanently adherent. Columella very broad, terminated by a papillous surface, and formed by processes that appear to arise from the lower part of the inner edge of the septa. Palules of divers orders, forming two or more circles ; in general lobed at the summit, narrow, tall, and appearing also to arise from the lower part of the inner edge of the septa , their size diminishing as they approach the columella. Plates nearly equal, very slightly salient, and closely set ; their lateral surfaces strongly granulated, and sometimes presenting traces of imperfect dis- sepiments. They form four or five cycles, and the systems are equally developed. Pibs nearly equal, straight, closely set, projecting very little, and delicately granulated. ANALYSIS OF BRITISH SPECIES. Plates forming five imperfect cycles : cup elliptical . . . Taxilicmus. Plates forming four imperfect cycles : cup circular . . . Ribs obsolete below Thulensis. Ribs very salient below pteropus. C A RYOPH YLLIA CEA . TURBIN OL I A 1) M. THE MORAY CUP-CORAL. Paracyathus Taxilianus . (Sp. nov.) Plate X. Fig. 6. Specific Character. Plates in five imperfect cycles ; calice elliptical ; ribs notched above, granulous below. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Corallum. Slightly turbinate, adhering by a base broader than any other part, a little diminishing towards mid-height, and widening gently above and below. Wall thin. Height about equal to the medium diameter. Ribs. Distinct from base to margin; on the upper half prominent, thin, with a rather sharp, but irregularly notched edge, separated by inter- costal furrows of about twice their width ; on the lower half forming low rounded ridges, crowned with conical granules, set in two or three irregular longitudinal rows ; all are nearly alike in every respect. Calice. Elliptical ; the axes as 24 : 31. Plates. Forming five cycles and six systems ; but those of the fifth cycle are wholly wanting in three systems, and present in both halves of the other three. Not very close-set, not very salient, thin, very little thick- ened externally, the highest point of their edge a little within the margin, whence it slopes very slightly inward and downward, in an undulate line, ending with an abrupt angle, whence the inner edge descends perpendicu- larly : the entire edge rises into irregular eminences and blunt points, and both surfaces are roughened with coarse granules. Columella. Formed of two or three much twisted lamellae, with broad rounded lobes, rising from the united palules. Palules. Thin, waved, lobed and granulate, like the septa ; those of the tertiary septa large ; the others inconspicuous, and only here and there discernible ; united in the centre into an irregularly waved and perforated horizontal plate. p. TAXILIANUS ( magnified ). A portion cut away to show the plates. 318 TUKBINOLTADiE. Size. Diameter of long axis, *31 inch.; of short axis, *24 ; height -21 to ’14, unequal because the corallum is built partly on a shell and partly on a Serpula tube adhering to it. Animal. Unknown. Locality. The Moray Firth ; deep water. It is with some doubt that I re er this and the two following species to the genus Paracyathus . Generally agreeing wfith its characters, they all have the peculiarity of the union of the palules into a horizontal perforate platform, which does not appear to be the case with any of the hitherto described species. The single specimen on which the above description is founded was forwarded to me by my kind friend, Mr. Gregor, of Macduff, who obtained it from deep water. It is affixed to the inside of an old valve of Cyjprina ■ Islandica , and has the appearance of being recent. The only species of Paracyathus with which this is likely to be confounded is the fossil P. crassus of the London Clay : but from this it may be distinguished by the union of the j 'palules , by the ribs being proportionally thinner and more remote, and by the diversity of their upper and lower portions. Paracyathus is derived from n rapa, near, and /cvaOos, a cup (the element of Cyathind). I have assigned a specific name from Taxilium , the ancient appellation of the pro- montory now called Kinnaird’s Head, off which the specimen was taken. Caryophyllia. Taxilianus. crassus . CAR Y0PHYLL1A CEA . TURBIN OLI A DAE, THE SHETLAND CUP-CORAL. Paracyathus Thulensis. (Sp. nov.) Plate X. Fig. 8. Specific Character. Plates in four imperfect cycles ; calice circular ; height equal to half the diameter. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Corallum. Slightly turbinate, adhering by a base, which, though broad, is the narrowest part. Height about half the diameter. Ribs. Prominent on upper half, becoming ob- solete below ; their edges set with tooth-like coni- cal tubercles ; separated by intercostal furrows, which on the whole equal the ribs in width, but both are irregular. Calice. Circular, shallow. Plates. Forming four cycles and six systems ; those of the fourth cycle wanting in the halves of four systems, and present in both halves of the other two. Rather wide apart, moderately salient, rather thick, scarcely thickened externally ; out- line of their upper edge forming a flattened arch, but not uniformly, in some the highest point being at the margin, in others far within ; inner edge nearly perpendicular : entire edge set with irregular eminences and blunt points : both surfaces studded with coarse granules. Columella. A single flexuous plate with a somewhat tri-radiate summit, united below to the palules. Palules. Indistinct, being confluent, and sending off horizontal traverses to the septa, so as to form an irregular perforated horizontal lamina, whence the columella rises. P. THULENSIS ( magnified ). Vertical aspect of corallum. Size. Diameter ’19 inch ; height *1. Animal. Unknown. 320 TURBTNOLIAD^E. Locality. Shetland Isles ; Moray Firth ; deep water. Looking over the cabinet of Dr. Howden, of Montrose, last winter, my eye fell on this little Coral, which seemed new to me. Its owner was so kind as to transfer it to my possession, when, on careful examination, it proved to be an unrecognised species, with the characters above enumerated. It may be distinguished from P. caryophyllus by the relative proportion of the height to the diameter, and from all other described species by the number of septal cycles. Dr. Howden dredged the specimen off Ord Head in Bressai Sound, Shetland, in thirty or forty fathoms, on a bottom of small stones, to one of which it is attached. In March of the present year Mr. Gregor sent me, on a valve of Lutrarici , a specimen, which appears to be of the same species, but of younger age. It is not more than half the size of the former, but in other particulars agrees sufficiently. On my putting it into sea-water on its arrival, the pellucid flesh came up and filled the intersepts, giving satisfactory evidence of its freshness. Unfortunately it had been sent through the post, packed dry ; it was probably alive when despatched. The whole corallum in this speci- men is of the purest translucent whiteness. It came up on a fisherman’s line from the Moray Firth, in about forty fathoms, hard bottom. The specific name is from Thule, the ancient designa- tion, as presumed, of the Shetland Isles. Taxilianus. Thulensis. pteropus. CA R YOPII YLLIA CEA . TURBINOLIA DJE . THE WINGED CUP-CORAL. ParacyatJius pteropus. (Sp. nov.) Plate X. Fig. 7. Specific Character. Plates in four imperfect cycles ; calice circular ; ribs very salient, dilating into wings below; height less than half the diameter. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Corallum. Cylindrical, adhering by the entire breadth ; height less than half the diameter. Ribs. Thin, nearly straight, sub-equal, separated by intercostal spaces about thrice their width, very salient throughout, but from the middle downward developing into triangular buttresses, the long lower edges of which are adherent to the support, so that the area inclosed by their points is far wider than that inclosed by the wall : their whole surface, as well as that of the intercostal spaces, has a slightly carious, but glossy appearance, not exactly granular. Calice. Circular, shallow ; the margin in the same plane. Plates. Forming four cycles and six equal systems, those of the fourth cycle wanting in half of each system. They are wide apart, being separated by twice or thrice their own thickness, thin, salient, but unequally so, some of the primaries and secondaries rising to twice the height, above the wall, of the tertiaries, but others are more nearly equal ; their planes are more or less waved, and their surfaces set with scattered blunt eminences : upper edge truncate, nearly horizontal, but slightly declining inwards, and rising with an abrupt blunt point at the inner edge, which then descends perpendicularly. Columella. A single flexuous plate, united below to the palules. Palules. Distinct, xmited to the inner edges of the primary and secondary plates, and to some (not all) of the tertiary : they are thick, very sinuous, their surfaces set with rounded eminences, and their upper edges much 7 J X ° -IT. JTXAXfcVAr U B lobed; they are united by their inner edges (corallum magnified). into an irregular horizontal platform, out of the centre of which rises the columella. Y 322 TURBINOLIADiE. Size. Diameter from wall to wall *13 inch : height ‘05. Animal. Unknown. Locality. The Moray Firth, deep water. For this very distinct and remarkable little Coral I am indebted to Mr. James Macdonald, of Elgin, who obtained it from Lossiemouth, in October, 1858, attached to a valve of Cyprina , from the deepest part of the Moray Firth. There is no other species with which it can possibly be confounded, the expansions of the ribs presenting a very striking character. They remind me of the immense but- tresses which surround the base of the giant Ceiba of the Jamaican forests. To this feature I have alluded in the specific name, which is formed from Trrepov , a wing, and t roO?, a foot. My friends, Messrs. Macdonald and Gregor, speak of other Corals having at various times come under their notice, but they had always been set down, like these now recorded, as Caryophyllia Smitkii. It is by no means improbable that further research may considerably aug- ment the list of our living Corals. Thulensis. PTEROPUS. 323 GENUS III. SPHENOTROCHUS (M. Edw. & Haime). Twrbinolia (Lamarck). Corallum simple, free, with no trace of adherence, wedge-shaped, the superior extremity wider in all directions than the inferior ; transversely elliptical. Columella , a single lamina, occupying the greater axis of the calice : its upper margin flexuous and bilobate. Palules entirely wanting. Plates extending to the columella , or meeting in the centre of the visceral chamber ; broad, slightly salient, forming three cycles, and six systems. Bibs broad, not very prominent, in general crisped, or represented by a series of papillous tubercles. ANALYSIS OF BRITISH SPECIES. Corallum uniformly diminishing downward ; ribs smooth . Macandrewanus. Corallum pedicellate, with swelling nodes ; ribs crisped . Wrightii. Y 2 CARY OPH YLLIA CEA . TURBIN OLI A DJI. THE SMOOTH-RIBBED WEDGE-CORAL. S 'phenotrochus Macandrewanus . Plate X. Fig. 4. Specific Character. Corallum uniformly diminishing downward; ribs smooth, not salient ; edge of calice plane. Turbinolia milletiana. Thompson, Annals N. H. Ser. 1. xviii. 394. Johnston, Br. Zooph. Ed. 2, i. 196 ; pi. xxxv. figs. 1 — 3. E. P. Wright, 1ST. H. Rev. vi. 122. Gosse, Man. Mar. Zool. i. 32 ; fig. 49. Sphenotroehus Andrewicmus. M. Edwards and Haime, Ann. d. Sci. Nat. Ser. 3. ix. 243 ; pi. vii. fig. 4. Macandrewanus. M. Edwards, Hist, des Corail. ii. 70. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Corallum. An inverted cone, compressed, lengthened, straight, with the inferior extremity forming a wedge-like blunt point. Ribs. Perfectly straight, smooth, nearly equal throughout, or slightly enlarged above, separated by intercostal spaces about twice as wide as themselves, moderately prominent, continued round the edge of the scar where the corallum was originally attached. Calice. The edges on the same horizontal plane ; outline elliptical, in the ratio of 100 : 120. Plates. Twenty-four; in three complete and well-developed cycles, close-set, straight, thick at the margin, and gradually thinning towards the centre of the calice ; salient, arched at their upper edge, with a surface very slightly granulose. The primaries and secondaries are subequal and similar; and hence the appearance of twelve systems ; each of these is united with the columella by two diverging laminae, as if the plate were split at its inner edge, and the two halves separated. Columella. A single, thin, vertical lamina. Size. Height half an inch ; diaiheter of calice one-fourth of an inch by one-fifth. THE SMOOTH-RIBBED WEDGE-CORAL. 325 Animal. Undescribed. Locality. The coasts of Cornwall and Galway : deep water. I am sorry that I can give no information about this species additional to what is already known, viz., that it exists in a living state on our coasts, and that the skeleton is preserved in cabinets. That in the British Museum is the only one that I have seen. As long as naturalists con- tent themselves with merely preserving the skeletons of the animals they meet with, but little progress can be made in a knowledge of their history.* The present species is said to have been dredged alive off Scilly, by Mr. MacAndrew, after whom it has been named, and off Arran, on the west coast of Ireland, by Mr. Barlee. The generic name is from crtyrjv, a wedge, and rpo^o?, a top, in allusion to the form of the corallum. S. milletianus, with which this has been confounded, is a fossil of the miocene period, with a thicker point, and a more elliptical calice. intermedius ( foss .). Macandrewanus. [Boemeri (ybss.).] * M. Milne Edwards has fallen (Hist. Corall. ii. 70) into the strange inadvertence of supposing that the figure given by Johnston (Br. Zooph. Ed. 2, pi. xxxv. fig. 7), of the living animal, belongs to this species; though the text distinctly says it is a Caryophyllia Smithii. The figure is poor enough, it is true. CA R YOPE YLLTA CEA . TURBIN 0 LI A DAE. THE KNOTTED WEDGE-CORAL. Sphenotrochus Wrightii. Plate X. Fig. 3. Specific Character. Corallum pedicellate, with swelling nodes; ribs papilliferous on the body, and crossed with zig-zag folds on the pedicel. Sphenotrochus Wrightii. Gosse, Nat. Hist. Review, vi. 161 ; pi. xvii. figs. 1 — 4. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Corallum. Simple, straight (or else with the base considerably curved laterally), compressed above (the axes of the disk being 60 : 42 in general ; in one example, however, 60 : 50), but rounded in the lower two-thirds, pedicellate; the body and the pedicel varying exceedingly in their rela- tive proportions, the former being to the latter as 1 : 5 in one example ; in another, as 1 : 1; in another, as 1 : 1*2, — no two of the four specimens in my possession being alike in this respect. The pedicel is surrounded by four to six constrictions, varying greatly in their relative distance : these separate nodes are more or less swollen, of which one, a little above the base, is usually more ventricose than the rest; the pedicel generally enlarges upwards, but its distinction from the body is marked by an abrupt shoulder. Ribs. About as wide as the interspaces, distinctly traceable only as far down as the termination of the body ; their course is irregularly angular ; the primaries and secondaries terminate at the shoulder in prominent knobs. On the pedicel only the six primaries are distinguishable, and these are then crossed by numerous strongly indented zig-zag folds, of which the higher angle is on the rib, the lower in the interspace. All the ribs of the body-region arejstudded with irregularly projecting points or papillary eminences. Base. A small but distinct circular cavity, into which the extremities of the six primary ribs project. Calice. Considerably arched, the short axis being much ►3. VV llivjn A -LA (magnified ). the higher ; rather deep. Plates. Twenty-four, in three cycles ; the lateral primaries and secondaries more developed than the terminal ones ; moderately close- set, irregularly bent in their planes, thick exteriorly, suddenly diminishing THE KNOTTED WEDGE-CORAL. 327 just within the wall, and thence gradually becoming thinner. The primaries and secondaries equal in height and breadth ; the tertiaries much lower ; all salient, the upper edge obliquely truncate, sloping down from the margin inward. The two plates which form the short axis are united to the columella by diverging laminse ; but this structure appears to be wanting in the others. The surfaces of all the plates are rough, with scattered papillary points. Columella. Bent at each end towards one (the same) side ; its upper edge thickened in irregular swellings. In some specimens it is not visible from above. NO. Size (of four examples). LONG AXIS. SHORT AXIS. HEIGHT. 1 . . . 0-08 inch . . . 0-062 . . . . 0T55 2 . . . 0-06 „ . . 0-042 . . . . 0-140 3 . . . 0-06 „ . . 0-050 . . . . 0-110 4 . . . 0-06 „ . . 0.042 . . . . 0144 Animal. Unknown. Locality. North-east coast of Ireland : deep water. This species resembles 8. crispus in its zig-zag folds, but has more agreement with 8. mixtus in its general characters. In its tendency to a curved form, however, as well as in its pedicellate character, and especially in the presence of a well-formed basal area, which appears to have been a point of adhesion, it displays so much affinity with Ceratotrochus (according to the diagnosis of M. Milne Edwards) that I was at first disposed to assign it to that genns. The four specimens that I have above described have been entrusted to me by my kind friend, Dr. E. Perceval Wright, of the Dublin University, with whose name I have honoured the species. They were dredged by G. C. Hynd- man, Esq., among shell sand, from a turbot bank off the coast of Antrim, in 1852. I have introduced the tiny form into this work, believing it to be an existing, and not a fossil species. Professor 328 TURBINOLIADiE. Milne Edwards, indeed, considers the Sphe?iotrochi with papillate and crisped ribs to be in no case later than the eocene deposits ; while those with smooth ribs he looks npon as invariably belonging to higher strata, and reaching to the present period : but this is a canon which a new species may at any moment overturn, if it be not already subverted by the 8. nanus (Lea) of the eocene of Alabama. Dr. E. P. Wright mentions, as a suspicious circumstance, that many pleistocene shells do exist in the bed of shelly sand, where these specimens were found. But this does not confirm Professor Milne Edwards’s rule ; for, so far as that could decide the question, it would prove not only that this crisped Coral is not recent, but that it is certainly as old as the miocene. Dr. Wright says : — “ I have reason to think, however, that they are not fossil;” and the same is my own impres- sion, though I can scarcely assign any definite grounds for it, except the fresh appearance of one or two of the speci- mens. Some of them are rubbed, and one is polished externally. The uniformity in size of the individuals, and the full development of the plates, indicate a probability that, minute as they are, they have attained adult age. [mixtus C/hss.).] [crispus {/ oss.).] Wrightii. [Ceratotrochus (ybss.).] 329 GENUS IV. ULOCYATHUS (Saks). Flabellum (Gray). Corallum simple, free, turbinate, with traces of adherence (in the young state) on a very short wedge- shaped crooked pointed base. Columella and palules entirely wanting. Bibs not at all prominent, sometimes obscure. Blates very thin, high, very salient above the margin of the cup, distinct throughout their length. Calice very deep ; the margin sinuous and crisped. Animal resembling that of Caryophyllia. Only one species has been recognised, TJ. arcticus. ULOCYATHUS ARCTICUS (after Sars) slightly magnified. CA R YOPH YLLIA CEA . TURBINOLIA DjE. THE SCARLET CRISP-CORAL. Ulocyathus arcticus. Specific. Character. Base triangular and flat, bounded by a sharp edge : calice round. Ulocyathus arcticus. Sars, Fauna Litt. Norv. ii. 73 ; pi. x. figs. 18—27. Flabellum MacAndreioi. J. E. Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. May, 1849 : pi. ii. figs. 10, 11. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. CORALLUM. Corattum. Simple, free, but with traces of having been adherent in infancy : the base with a great inferior surface, triangular, flat, often concave, separated from the superior surface, which is equally triangular and convex, by a sharp edge on each side. Ribs. Large, often indistinct, unequal ; the primaries sometimes armed with minute tubercles. Calice. Very wide and deep ; the edge almost circular, crisped with minute sinuosities. Plates. These are so irregular that it is difficult to count the cycles, but they are at least four. Those of the first and second are more than twice as high as the rest, and reach to the centre of the cup, where they unite, but irregularly : the others are lower and shorter in gradation, the lowest projecting little within the margin. All are perfectly separate throughout, extremely thin, sharp-edged, the surfaces set with minute granules often running in curved lines : the free edge of all is arched, and their greatest width is one-third from the summit. The primaries and secondaries are very salient, and the edge of the calice seen in profile forms eleven or twelve triangular lobes. Columella and palules wholly wanting. ANIMAL. Form. Column. Actinia-like, without any trace of gemma). Disk. Radii fine, distinct. Tentacles. About 140, in four rows, close-set, irregular ; the innermost three or four times as large as the outermost : stem cylindro-conical, THE SCARLET CRISP-CORAL. 331 covered with large round prominent warts ; head globose, smooth, imper- forate ; very contractile, but not retractile. Mouth. A wide slit in the direction of the long axis : lip crenate, with forty to sixty-five deep furrows. Colour. A brilliant orange-scarlet ; a little lighter on the inner tentacles : the furrows of the lip intense blood-red. Size. Corallum. About one and a half inch in diameter, and a little less in height. Locality. The coasts of Norway and Shetland : deep water. Of this species, by far the largest and noblest of the simple European Corals, a specimen was dredged by Mr. MacAndrew about twenty-five miles off East Shetland, in ninety fathoms. The individual was broken by the dredge, and only a portion of the corallum was secured, which is now in the British Museum. There can be no doubt, however, of its identity. A considerable number of examples have been obtained by Mr. Sars at Oxfjord, close to North Cape, the extreme northern point of Europe. It lives at an amazing depth, even from 150 to 200 fathoms, where the pressure of the superincumbent water must be immense. Clear as are the waters of the northern seas, so vast a volume of water must surely absorb nearly the whole of the rays of light, and the rich hues of the animal are therefore the more remarkable. It lies free on the mud or clay, never having occurred with evidence of recent attachment. The generic name is formed from ouAo?, crisped, and kvclQoSj a cup. [Desmophyllum.] ARCTICUS. [Elabellum.] 332 FAMILY IV.— OCULINAD^. The corallum in this family is solid (not porous), com- pound, increasing by gemmation so as to take a form more or less branching and tree-like. The stony tissue is very compact, the surface smooth, delicately striate near the calices, or but slightly granular. The walls of the corallites (or stony skeletons of the individual polypes) are not per- forate, not distinct from the common tissue (coenenchyma) , and increase by their inner surface, so as gradually to fill up the cavity from below upwards. The interseptal chambers are only imperfectly divided by a few dissepiments , or horizontal projections of stony matter shot across. The plates (septa) are entire, or have the upper edge slightly divided ; they are well developed, and are few in number. We have but one native representative of this family, the genus Lophohelia. GENUS I. LOPHOHELIA (M. Edw. & Haime). Madrepora (Linn.). Oculina (Lamarck). Lithodendron (Schweigger). Corallum tree-like, or forming a branching thicket, the branches coalescing; the form results from a gemmation irregularly alternate and sub-terminal. There is no true ccenenchyma , but the walls are very thick, scarcely ribbed. Calices having a deep cavity, with a reverted lamellar edge. Columella an&palules wanting. Plates entire, salient, unequal, the principal ones united towards the lower part of their inner edges, at the bottom of the visceral cavity. There is but one known British species, L. prolifera . CA R YOPH YLLIA CEA . OCULINAD^E. THE TUFT-CORAL. Lophohelia prolifer a. Plate X. Fig. 1 {reduced). Specific Character. Corallites cylindrical. Madrepora prolifera. Lithodendron proliferum. Oculina 'prolifera. Lophohelia prolifera. Linn. Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, 1281. Ellis and Solander, Zooph. pi. xxxii. figs. 2 — 5. Esper, Pflanz. i. 104 ; Madr. pi. xi. Schweigger, Handb. der Nat. 416. Lamarck, An. s. verteb. ii. 286. Lamour. Exp. mdth. 64 ; pi. xxxii. figs. 2 — 5. Dana, Zooph. 393. M. Edw. and Haime, Ann. des Sci. Nat. Ser. 3. xiii. 81. M. Edw. Hist. Corall. ii. 117. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Corallum. Forming a massive, compact, m any-branched tree, rising from a slender base, permanently attached to rocks. Corallites. Free laterally, in general budding only once or twice, cylindrical, or but slightly expanding at the summit, moderately long. Exterior surface covered with very minute close-set granules, without ribs, except very faint marginal traces. The margin is often surrounded by a thin lamellar expansion. Plates. Systems generally unequal and irregular, being formed of seven, or five, or three derived plates, but easily recognisable by following the development of the primaries, which are far greater than the others. The plates themselves are thick in the centre and towards the margin, but are thinned off to a sharp edge, which is irregular in outline, but not notched ; their surfaces covered with minute granules. The principal ones, from eight to twelve in number, are stouter and far more salient than the rest. Walls. Very thick and dense, gradually filling up the bottom of the cavities. Size. The individual corallites are from one-fourth to half an inch in height and diameter. The dimensions of the compound mass vary according to THE TUFT-CORAL. 335 age : the specimen figured is about ten inches in height, and seven in diameter. Animal. Undescribed. Locality. The north-western coasts of Europe : deep water. The figure in Plate X. is taken from a noble specimen, undoubtedly British, reduced to half the natural size. I am indebted for the opportunity of delineating it to the kindness of Professor Dickie, of Belfast, who was at the pains of having several photographs taken from it for my use, and favoured me also with many fragments including perfect corallites. Dr. Dickie informs me that it was obtained from deep water off Skye, in 1852, by means of the deep-sea lines of a fisherman, who presented it to him. He mentions having seen another British example, in the possession of Professor Fleming, the same that the latter exhibited before the Koyal Society of Edinburgh in 1846, and which had been taken in the previous summer, by fishermen whose lines had become entangled with it in the sea between the islands of Bum and Eig. This specimen, which weighs six pounds, is preserved in the Museum of King’s College, Aberdeen. A third example is alluded to by Johnston, who was informed by E. Forbes that certain published figures of the species “ had recalled to his mind a very large specimen in the possession of Dr. Edmonstone of Orkney.” It is to be regretted that we possess no information of the living animal of so fine a Coral, the only British example of the truly dendroid species. The name LojpJiohelia is formed from Ad<£o?, a tuft, and rjXcos, the sun ; q. d. “ a tuft of suns,” alluding to the radiating plates of the corallites. [Acrohelia.] Lophohelia. [Amphihelia.] 336 FAMILY V.— ANGIADJE. The visceral cavity of the corallum in this family is not obliterated, nor even subdivided ; the interseptal dis- sepiments being merely rudimentary. There is no ccenen- chyma , and the wall is imperforate. The plates have notched edges, but not very conspi- cuously. The corallum is massive. It increases by gemmation ; the buds being developed on stolons, or on basal membrani- form expansions. The corallites are not united by their sides, except accidentally by means of their walls, and they remain short. But one British genus is known, Hoylangia . a»7 GENUS I. HOPLANGIA (Gosse). Phyllangia (Gosse). Corallum incrusting foreign bodies. Corallites rather short, formed by buds which spring from an expansion around the base of the parent, permanently united to it (but not to each other) by the inferior portions of their walls. Wall surrounded by a thin porcellanous coat (epi- theca), which permits the ribs to be traced through it ; granulate. Bibs thin, sharp, low, very unequally distinct. Columella a broad surface of rough papillae, merging into the plates. Balules wanting. Plates thin, scarcely salient, unequal, straight, granulose, toothed on the edges, except the upper edges of the primaries, which are nearly entire. There is but one species, H. Durotrix . z CARYOPHYLLIA GEA . ANG1ADJE. THE WEYMOUTH CABPET-COBAL. Hoplangia Durotrix. (Sp. nov.) Plate X. Fig. 9.* Specific Character. Plates in four imperfect cycles. Phyllangia Americana. Gosse, Annals X. H. Ser. 3. ii. 349. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Corallum. Compound, increasing laterally on all sides ; low, not rising above the height of the individual corallites ; incrusting rocks. Corallites. Formed by budding from a permanent, thin, calcareous, carpet-like expansion, which spreads around the base of the parent, to which each is permanently united by the inferior portion of the wall. (In the specimen in my possession, four corallites of sub-equal size are grouped around a parent, which has been long dead, for the inner portions of its plates have been worn away.) They are cylindrical, deep, about twice as high as wide, slightly inclining outwards from the common centre. Wall. Invested by a thin porcelain-like coat of calcareous matter, which appears identical with the basal carpet. It terminates above with a perfectly defined, slightly everted edge, above which the wall is beau- tifully white and clean, while the epitheca is dirty white, and coated with a minute sponge. The epitheca shows traces of periodic growth, by a succession of such everted edges not totally obliterated ; and while in one corallite the edge is level with the summits of the plates, in another there is at least one-fourth of the total height above the epitheca. Hence I infer that the wall with the septa makes a periodic growth above the last level of the epitheca, while the latter remains dormant, and that then the epitheca is deposited at once around the new growth ; the wall and the epitheca thus growing alternately. The wall is covered with minute scattered granules, and these as well as the ribs can be discerned through the thin epitheca. Ribs. Thin, sharp, low, in some places discernible only at the very summit of the wall, in others nearly throughout : in the former case they appear again from the edge of the epitheca a little way downward. Marked “ Phyllangia Americana” in some copies. THE WEYMOUTH CARPET-CORAL. 339 Columella. The floor of the cavity is covered with papillary emi- nences, which are very rough, with irregular points, and are identical with the lower edges of the principal plates, by the convergence of which they seem to be formed. Plates. Thin above, but increasing in thickness below, scarcely salient, unequal, straight, the surfaces set with irregular granular tubercles, which become increasingly rough and prominent below. The edges are strongly but irregularly notched and toothed, especially below; but the upper edge of the primaries is for the most part sub- entire ; the form of the outline varies much. There are normally four cycles in six systems : but the fourth cycle is always wanting either in the whole or in half of some of the systems ; the amount of defection varying much in dif- ferent corallites. The development is very un- hoplangia equal, and the plates of the third or fourth ( magnified ). cycle are occasionally larger than those of higher rank, even in the same system. Size. Individual corallites one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and nearly one fourth in height. Animal. Undescribed. Locality. Weymouth Bay: deep water. When this neat and interesting little Coral first came into my hands, I thought, notwithstanding some peculiarities, that it must be referred to the Phyllangia Americana , a native of the West Indian seas, and so announced it. But I see that there are incongruities which prevent its identification with that or any other recognised genus, and I have therefore founded a new one to receive it. It has much in common with Angia , as well as Phyllangia , but the above diagnosis will, I think, warrant my decision. In forming a generic name, I have followed the plan of M. Milne Edwards in using a common element for the genera of a given family ; though perhaps a little heterodox for stanch Linneans, it has advantages. Taking then the z 2 40 ANGIADiE. element angia , from 0,770?, a cup, I have completed the word from o7r\ov, armour; with a double allusion to the mail-like epitheca , and the toothing of the plates. The English name commemorates the manner of gemmation ; and the specific, the locality in which it was found ; the Durotriges having, according to Ptolemy, anciently in- habited the coast of Dorset. In September, 1858, a dealer from Torquay, dredging in Weymouth Bay, brought up a piece of the bottom, about a foot square, evidently the edge of one of the oolite ledges, torn off by the lip of the dredge. On this were from fifty to a hundred specimens of this little Coral, clustered in many groups. It was presumed to be Cargo - phyllia Smithii , and no special notice being taken of it, the mass was broken up and dispersed ; and a small frag- ment accidentally fell under my eye, and was secured. I was not so fortunate as to see the animal alive, my specimen, though in the flesh, being in an advanced state of decomposition ; but the discoverer, who is pretty familiar with C. Smithii , at least as to its general appearance, spoke of the Hoplangia as resembling that species, and told me that he remarked green and white hues. He observed also numerous tentacles, but did not notice whether they were knobbed. [Angia.] Hoplangia. [Phyllangia.] 341 FAMILY VI. — EUPSAMMIADiE. The stony tissue is here deposited in such a manner that the corallum, instead of being compact, is porous, but not so open as to have a spongy texture. The wall is thick, and constitutes the chief part of the whole ; it is perforate, and either almost or quite naked, with a granulate ver- miculate surface. The plates are numerous ; those of the last cycle always deviate from the radius of the calice, their planes approach- ing the bisection of their system, so that the whole septal arrangement assumes the form of a six- or twelve- rayed star; by which very remarkable peculiarity this family may be infallibly recognised. The plates are perforate. The interseptal chambers are completely open to the bottom, or divided only by a few incomplete partitions. There is only one British genus known, Balanojphyllia. 342 GENUS I. BALANOPHYLLIA (Wood). Corallum simple, adherent, sub-pedicellate, cylin- drical, or sub-conical. Columella well- developed, but not projecting at the bottom of the calice ; of a sponge-like appearance. Plates thin, close-set ; those of the last cycle well- developed. Bibs distinct, narrow, nearly equal, crowded. The Animal is actinia-like, richly coloured, with a protrusile mouth, not conspicuously furrowed, and bluntly-pointed, warted tentacles, without terminal knobs. There is only one British species, B. regia. CARY OP II YLLIA CEA. EUPSAMMIADAE . THE SCARLET AND GOLD STAR-CORAL. Balanophyllia regia . Plate X. Figs. 10, 11. Specific Character. Corallum sub-conical, circular : epitheca extending to margin : plates in five imperfect cycles. Balanophyllia regia. Gosse, Dev. Coast, 399; pi. xxvi. figs. 1 — 6. Ibid. Man. Mar. Zool. i. 33 ; fig. 51. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. CORALLUM. Corallum. Conico-cylindrical, rising like the trunk of a tree from a base mucb broader than the column ; height rarely exceeding, often not equal- ling, the diameter. Calice. Circular or nearly so : varying much in depth. Wall. Rather thick, porous, but scarcely spongy, invested with an epitheca, which in general extends to the margin, but not always, and occa- sionally (as in a specimen in my possession) seems wholly wanting. Ribs. Continuous (not formed of separate granules) but very sinuous, and in some parts branching, the branches so confluent as to form a rough network : they are often distinct through the epitheca. Columella. Much developed, forming a large spongiose mass (or more like the crumb of well-raised bread), often rising almost to the level of the margin, but more commonly to about half that height. Plates. Well developed, thick, here and there perforate, with a frosted surface and minutely toothed edges, not salient, the upper edge sloping downward and inward. The star is six-rayed, and is always distinctly formed, and generally symmetrical. There are five cycles, but some of the fourth and fifth are wanting in each system. The gradation in deve- lopment is pretty regular downward from the first to the fourth ; but the fifth are exceedingly irregular and unequal. The two plates of the fifth cycle in each system, which stand next to the primaries (that is, those of the sixth order*), are developed to an extent much exceeding even the * Hist, des Corail. i. 45. 344 EUPSAMMIADAS. primaries themselves, from which they diverge at such an angle that they mutually meet and coalesce at a point about midway between the origin of the secondary of that system and the axis of the calice, but at a level much lower than the margin ; the two united plates thence pro- ceed in the intermediate line to join the columella. In many examples, however, this continuation of the united quinaries is obsolete • in each alternate system. The quinaries that are contiguous to the secondaries (the 7th order) are also much developed, but not so as to equal the secondaries, with which they often cohere. ANIMAL. Form. Column. Cylindrical, extensile, smooth, or somewhat invected. Bisk. Protrusile, in the form of a high truncate cone, on the summit of which is the mouth, without any thickened or furrowed lip. No trace of gonidial radii, tubercles, or grooves. ! Tentacles. About fifty in number, large, conical, obtusely-pointed, with- out terminal knobs : their walls are translucent, and studded with opaque transversely- oblong warts, which become confluent towards the tip. Colour. Column and Disk. Vivid scarlet in adults, orange in young individuals, opaque. Tentacles. Gamboge yellow : the hue residing only in the warts. Size. Diameter of corallum one-fourth of an inch at margin, and occasionally twice as much at base ; height from one-sixth to one-fourth. The animal in full expansion may reach one-third of an inch in diameter, and one-half in height. Locality. The coast of North Devon : on rocks at extreme low water. This showy little Coral, interesting not merely for its beauty while alive, but for its peculiar structure when dead, was discovered by myself in 1852. I had been spending a B. REGIA. THE SCARLET AND GOLD STAR-CORAL. 345 summer at Ilfracombe, and tlie chills and storms of autumn were already warning the migrant inhabitants away. It was a spring-tide in September, and the water had receded lower than I had seen it since I had been at the place. I was searching among the extremely rugged rocks that run out from the Tunnels, forming walls and pinnacles of dan- gerous abruptness, with deep, almost inaccessible cavities between. Into one of these, at the very verge of the water, I managed to scramble down ; and found round a corner a sort of oblong basin, about ten feet long, in which the water remained, a tide-pool of three feet depth in the middle. The whole concavity of the interior was so smooth that I could find no resting-place for my foot in order to examine it; though the sides, all covered with the pink lichen-like Coralline, and bristling with Laminarias and Zoophytes, looked so tempting that I walked round and round, reluctant to leave it. At length I fairly stripped, though it was blowing very cold, and jumped in. I had examined a good many things, of which the only novelty was the pretty narrow fronds of ¥ lustra chartacsa in some abundance, and was just about to come out, when my eye rested on what I at once saw to be a Madrepore, but of an unusual colour, a most refulgent orange. It was detached by means of the hammer, as were several more, which were associated with it. Not suspecting, however, that it was anything more than a variation in colour of that very vari- able species, Gary ophy Ilia Smithii, I left a good many remaining, for which I was afterwards sorry, since they proved to belong to this new and interesting form before us. All were affixed to the perpendicular side of the pool, above the permanent water-mark : and there were some of the common Garyophyllice associated with them. I afterwards found the same species in considerable number, especially during the very low springs of the 346 EUPSAMMIADiE. October new moon, among the rocks off the Tunnels, all in the vicinity of the spot where I found the first. They were always in the same circumstances, crowded in colonies; one cavity, just large enough to turn in, containing perhaps a hundred, speckling the walls with their little scarlet disks, near extreme low water. Not one that I took presented the least variation from the characters I had jotted down already ; but one specimen had adhering to its base two very young ones, one about a line in diameter, the other not more than one-third of a line. Examination with a lens revealed no difference either in form or colour between these and the adult ; the condition of their skeleton is un- known, as I did not choose to destroy the infant specimen, much to my present regret. Since that time it has been found in considerable abund- ance along the same line of coast; and it has become common in our aquariums. It is always attractive from its brilliancy, and is moderately hardy, though it appears rather more difficult to keep than Caryophyllia. The integuments are opaque, even when distended: indeed they never become filled with water to anything like the extent which makes the species just named so beautiful. The plates are never visible, during life, in any degree of contraction, the red flesh lying as an opaque cushion over them even when all the tentacles are withdrawn. I am not sure that the disk is ever wholly covered by the inver- sion of the column ; even when the tentacles are quite con- cealed beneath the margin, the large mouth-cone still pro- trudes from the central orifice. Sometimes the tentacles sink to very low warts or minute yellow eminences on the scarlet plain that constitutes the disk. I have said that the epitheca is not unvarying ; and I think that the flesh does not extend externally below its edge. One in my possession, however, had the exterior of THE SCARLET AND GOLD STAR-CORAL. 347 tlie corallum wholly clothed with the scarlet integument, even down to the base. The covering was exceedingly thin, for with a needle-point I could feel the stony corallum without any sensible indentation of the surface, and the points at the margin were projecting. I have no information about the reproduction of the species, except such as may be gathered from the following observation. In the month of September, in a vase in which several specimens were kept, and which contained nothing else to which I could reasonably attribute the phenomenon, I found several clusters of ova. Each cluster consisted of about a dozen, loosely aggregated, and all con- nected by a kind of twisted cord, which formed a footstalk for each. The eggs were perfectly globular, -^th of an inch in diameter, of a pellucid orange -yellow hue. One of them under the microscope showed the contents granular, and receding from the chorion, with a definite outline. None of them developed the embryo to my knowledge. The genus was established by Mr. Wood in 1844, to receive a fossil species from the Red Crag of Sutton. It now contains eleven species, most of them fossil, but one exists in the Italian seas, and two others elsewhere. There is none with which B. regia can be confounded. The generic name is derived from (SaXavos , an acorn or nut, and cpvWov , a leaf, and the specific alludes to the royal colours in which the animal is arrayed. Ilfracombe, P. H. G. ; Lundy, C. K. REGIA. [cylindrica (/oss.).] 348 LUCERNARIADAA (?) POCILLOPORA INTERSTINCTA (Muller). At a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Trans. March, 1846), Dr. Fleming exhibited a characteristic draw- ing of a Pocillojoora presumed to be of this species, which was obtained by Dr. Hibbert in the Shetland Seas. Dr. Fleming had expected that a detailed description of this would have been published before the appearance of his “History of British Animals,” in 1828. It is, however, I believe, still a desideratum. The genus is marked by the following characters : Corallum massive or sub-tree-like, with thick, imperforate walls. Visceral chambers divided by well-developed hori- zontal partitions, or floors, in successive stages. Plates rudimentary. Calices shallow, with a thick ring at the bottom of each, forming a sort of columella . LUCERNARIADiE. Contrary to my original intention, I have determined to exclude this family from my work. Their true affinities are with the Hydrozoa and Medusae. The gelatinous tex- ture, the expanded umbrella, the ovaries in the substance of the umbrella, the four-lipped mouth placed at the end of a free peduncle,* and the quadripartite arrangement, are all Medusan characters. The tentacles in marginal groups are found in Bougainvillaea , and their form, — knobs at the tip of long footstalks, — agrees more with Slabberia than with Corynactis and Cciryojohyllia. * See my fig. of Ccimpanularia, in Devonsh. Coast, p. 296, pi. xviii. PLATE XI IN. DICK.ES, SC ANATOMICAL, DETAILS B APPENDIX. I. SPECIES DISCOVERED TOO LATE FOR DESCRIPTION IN TIIEIR PROPER PLACES IN THIS VOLUME. ASTRAEACEA. SAGARTIADAE. THE LATTICED CORKLET. Phellia Brodricii. Plate VIII. Fig. 2. Specific Character. Epidermis free at the margin, dense, transversely corrugated. Tentacles marked with a latticed pattern. Phellia Brodricii. Gosse, Annals N. H. Ser. 3. iii. 46. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent to rocks ; considerably exceeding the column. Column. Flat and wrinkled when completely contracted : rising to a tall, somewhat slender pillar, studded with low warts on its upper portion, but covered on its lower two-thirds with a tough, firmly adherent epi- dermis, the upper edge of which is free, with a ragged foliaceous margin, not forming a tube. The surface of this is transversely corrugated, but not warted. The animal frequently expands in its low condition, when the flower occupies the summit of a very low cone, and is not half the diameter of the base. A slight margin, much wrinkled in semi-contTaction, and forming a star of radiating furrows in closing. Dish. Flat or slightly concave ; outline circular. Tentacles. Arranged in five rows, viz. 6, 6, 12, 24, 48 = 96 ; short and slender, diminishing from the first row outwards ; in ordinary extension not longer than one-fourth the diameter of the disk ; generally carried arching over the margin, the tips occasionally turned up. Mouth. Elevated on a strongly marked cone. Acontia. Not emitted, even under strong irritation, while in my posses- sion. Mr. Brodrick, however, has seen them projected from the mouth. 350 APPENDIX. Colour. Column. Exposed part pellucid white, with the warts opaque white. Epidermis. Ochreous drab, slightly darker in some parts, with longi- tudinal white lines proceeding from the base, and vanishing a little way up. Central star of button formed of alternate whitish and blackish rays. Bisk. Drab : each primary and secondary radius marked with two parallel lines of dark chocolate-brown ; each tertiary radius is similarly but more faintly marked, and the space inclosed is in these latter radii drab on their outer and white on their inner moiety, the divisions of the two colours being marked by a black spot. The space immediately bounding the foot of each primary tentacle dark brown. Tentacles. Pellucid whitish ; the lower half opaque white on the front, crossed by four transverse bars of dusky, the whole (except the lowest one) being connected by three longitudinal lines of the same colour, which impart a latticed or window-like pattern to the tentacle. Mouth. Lip white ; throat white, with black furrows. Size. Diameter of base nearly an inch, of extended column half an inch, of flower from one-third of an inch to an inch ; height one inch. Locality. Lundy Island : on rocks at low water. My acquaintance with this species I owe to the courtesy of William Brodrick, Esq., of Ilfracombe, with whose name I have honoured it. He kindly sent me a specimen in November, 1858, which had at that time been in his possession about sixteen months, having been taken with another individual in the summer of 1857. Its habit is to remain on an exposed stone, without any disposition to roam : it is generally closed by day, or if open the column is contracted ; but it elongates in darkness. It is very timid, and cannot on this account be fed : the slightest touch of the tentacles I found to be followed by an instant closing. The light of a candle, concentrated by a lens, presently causes it to shrink and contract, gausapata. Brodricii. troglodytes. ASTRJEACEA. BUNODIDJE: THE KINGED DEEPLET, Bolocera eques. (Sp. nov.) Plate IX. Fig. 6. Specific Character. Tentacles wholly retractile ; white, encircled with a red ring, GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Form. Base. Adherent, scarcely exceeding the column. Column. Cylindrical ; very changeable in shape ; very distensible ; surface covered with numerous slightly indented, close-set, longitudinal striae ; studded, on the upper two-thirds, with numerous minute warts, increasing in number to the margin : these are either prominent or level, at the pleasure of the animal, and they have the power of attaching frag- ments of extraneous matter, which, however, seems rarely exercised. Substance lax and pulpy, with thin integuments. Margin forming a thick parapet, the summit obtusely edged, and notched with close-set denticulations, which are not warts, but are the terminations of the striae. Dish. Flat, smooth, with very delicate and inconspicuous radii ; outline expansile beyond the column. Tentacles. Sub-marginal, set in six rows: 6, 6, 12, 24, 48, 48 = 144 ; short, thick, conical, but versatile in form, in contraction being slender, in distension often ovate, or when this is partial, ovate with a slender point {mucro) ; constricted at foot, and in contraction marked with longitudinal sulci, both of which are very readily obliterated ; the tip perforate. They are subequal, about an inch and a half in length, and when distended, upwards of one-third of an inch in diameter ; are flexuous, and thrown in various directions ; are strongly adhesive ; they are perfectly and readily retractile, but in a peculiar mode ; the margin contracts, till its edges meet over the tentacles, but it never involves itself. Mouth. Occasionally protruded in form of a wide cone. Two gonidial grooves, each with its pair of tubercles, and its broad, though faintly marked, radius. Lips thickened. Stomach-wall capable of being pro- truded in great bladder-like lobes. Colour. Column. A rich light orange-scarlet, rather duller towards the bas6 the striae marked by slightly paler lines ; the warts white, each inclosed in 352 APPENDIX. a ring a little deeper than the general hue ; the region below the warts studded with much more minute and more crowded whitish specks. DisJc. Pale buff or drab, unspotted ; pellucid. Tentacles. Pellucid white ; a broad scarlet ring, bounded below by a narrower one of opaque white, surrounds the middle of each tentacle. Mouth. Lip as the disk. Gonidial tubercles white. Stomach-wall marked with alternate lines of pellucid and opaque white. Size. Height of column, when distended, four inches, diameter nearly the same ; expanse of flower about seven inches. Locality. North Sea : deep water. The acquisition of the magnificent animal above de- scribed, for which I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. D. Ferguson, of Coutham, not only enables me to augment the genus Bolocera , and at the same time the British Fauna, with another species, but also makes me better satisfied with the establishment of such a genus. Equal in dimen- sions to B. Tuedice , and presenting much in common with that species, there are peculiarities in this specimen which compel me to consider it specifically distinct. These are the brilliant hue of the column, its striate surface, the thinness of the integuments, the much feebler sulcation and constriction of the tentacles, and the rings of positive colour which adorn them, together with their power of complete retractation. All these characters make the pre- sent species a decidedly nearer approximation to Tealio . Indeed, when fully expanded, so remarkable is the resem- blance in form, size, and colour, to a fine T. crassicornis , that I have little doubt the reason of its having been hitherto overlooked, is that it has been passed over as that familiar species. Yet the minute warts, the (really though slightly) constricted and furrowed tentacles, and the non-retractility of the margin, determine its place in this genus. The nobleness of its tout ensemble , and especially the APPENDIX. 353 rings on its many fingers, suggested to me a specific appel- lation, in allusion to old Rome’s coxcomb chivalry, whose gold rings were no less characteristic than their valour. My friend informs me that the specimen was procured on the 17th of December, 1858, in twenty-eight fathoms’ water, about ten miles east of the mouth of the Tees. The fisherman who obtained it (a careful collector) had never seen one like it, though he had been very familiar wdth T. crassicornis , from the circumstance of some hundreds of specimens having been sent to Mr. Teale, from Redcar, wdien that gentleman was engaged in his important re- searches into its anatomy. It lived upwards of three weeks with its first possessor, and after that a fortnight with me. The greater portion of this latter period it passed in a large tank, where it attached itself, expanded and dilated most gorgeously, presenting a grandeur of beauty which all who beheld it could scarce sufficiently admire. But for a few days before its death it loosed the hold of its base, and began to rupture the integuments, displaying the cras- peda. Then the stomach-wall protruded, at first in a vesi- cular manner, and then by the inordinate recession of the lip, so that the plicate and corrugated stomach occupied the whole place of the disk. Then the tentacles lost their power of distension, and resumed their flaccid and con- tracted condition, when the longitudinal sulci became again conspicuous. And so the illustrious stranger died. I subsequently received another specimen from Banff, in every respect like the former. It survived but ten days. Tuediae. EQUES. T. crassicornis. A A 354 APPENDIX. II. SPECIES DESCRIBED AS BRITISH, BUT WHICH I AM NOT ABLE TO APPORTION TO THEIR TRUE PLACE, FROM THE LACK OF PERSONAL ACQUAINTANCE WITH THEM. Alderi (Cocks). “ Body cylindrical, hyaline, smooth ; numerous grass- green longitudinal striae ; tentacles twelve, short, obtuse, with a continu- ation of the green line on the posterior surface of each. Disk and mouth crimson, the latter marked with eight spots of same colour, but much darker; edge of disk entire; suctorials minute, numerous, imbedded.” Deep water, off Falmouth. Pellucida (Cocks). “ Body cylindrical, smooth, opalescent ; numerous white longitudinal grooves ; suctorials minute ; tentacles short, filiform, transparent, plain ; mouth small ; disk circular, flat, crossed by opaque white lines ; edge entire.” Falmouth. Yarrellii (Cocks). “ Body conoid, hyaline, with twenty-four longitu- dinal semi-opaque white striae ; suctorials numerous, minute, imbedded. Three rows of tentacles, short, obtuse (rather clavate), spotted all over with white. The ovarian filaments, &c. distinctly seen through the trans- parent tunics.” Falmouth. Bellii (Cocks). “ Body cylindrical, hyaline, spotted with yellow ; twelve longitudinal opaque white striae ; mouth bright orange-red ; two yellow patches extending from the angle on each side to the base of the tentacles ; tentacles twenty, long, filiform, dotted anteriorly, and tipped, with yellow.” Falmouth. Hastata (Wright). “ Base adherent to rock; not exceeding column. Column smooth ; height about equal to breadth (one inch). Disk hollow, hardly equalling diameter of column. Tentacles numerous ; in five or six rows, set close to margin ; nearly equal ; very conical and short ; thickly crowded. Mouth set on a cone ; lip tumid, furrowed. Column and disk sienna-brown, or salmon colour. Tentacles light brown, with two white bars across the base, tip slightly white or translucent. Lips orange or brick-red.” Berehaven, Co. Cork. N.B. The above five species seem all referrible to that group of the genus Sagartia, which I have provisionally named Thoe. Intestinalis (Fabric.). et Body cylindrical, the upper half suddenly con- tracted and narrow.” — “ When contracted, the body seems like two broad rings, of nearly equal breadth, and about half an inch in diameter ; when expanded to nearly two inches, the body consists of two cylindrical por- tions of different dimensions, smooth, pellucid, yellowish ; a few longi- tudinal white streaks ; disk not expanded ; tentacles about eighteen, filiform, in two rows.” (Fleming.) Shetland. APPENDIX. 355 III. ADDENDA. Sagartia bellis. The Act. Johnstoni of Mr. Cocks is a variety of this species ; two specimens have come under my notice. miniata. A friend (E. W. H. H.) thinks that the Act. elegans of Daly ell is this species (see supra, p. 100). If so, my name must give place to his. ornata. I have taken this at Torquay. It has been also found at Mizen Head, and sent me from Banff. The markings are true to the description, and leave no doubt of its distinctness as a species. pallida. Sent me in some numbers from Banff. A consider- able colony has also been found at Torquay. coccmea. Abundant in deep water, Torbay. - — ■ parasitica. Found, at Jersey, between tide-marks. Pliellia gausapata. I have since seen numerous specimens ; the species is quite distinct from P. murocincta. A very large specimen has been taken from deep water in Torbay. picta. Other specimens have been sent me from Banff. The epi- dermis is very thin and deciduous ; and altogether the species seems inter- mediate between the true Phelliai and such Sagartice as coccinea. Adamsia palliata. Some interesting facts concerning this species and its connexion with the Hermit-crab will be found in a paper of mine, “ On the Transfer of Adamsia palliata from Shell to Shell,” published in the Zoologist for June, 1859. Sphenotrochus Macandrewanus. This has occurred more abundantly than the text seems to imply. Both Dr. Cocks and Mr. Alder inform me of having seen numerous specimens, chiefly from the Cornish coast ; and the latter has kindly presented me with two specimens. Wrightii. Dr. Wright has sent me a fifth specimen from the same bank as the other four, differing considerably in form from all. Lophohelia prolifera. I have omitted to mention a fine British specimen, preserved in the Museum of Newcastle ; and another mentioned by Lands- borough, from Barra, one of the Hebrides. Balcmophyllia regia. Two living specimens have been dredged in Ply- mouth Sound, by Mr. T. H. Stewart of the Roy. Coll. Surg. 356 APPENDIX. IY. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. In the following attempt to distribute our Sea- Anemones geographically, I divide the whole British Coast into ten provinces, thus (somewhat arbitrarily) defined. 1. The Shetland, including the Orkneys, and Scotland as far as Kinnaird’s Head. 2. The North Sea, including the coast from Kinnaird’s Head to Spurn Head. 3. The Eastern ; from the Humber to the Thames, a flat low shore. 4. The South-east; from the Foreland to St. Alban’s Head; chiefly chalk cliffs. 5. The Devonian ; from St. Alban’s to St. David’s Head ; a rugged rocky coast. 6. The Irish Sea, to the Mull of Can tyre, including Man, and the Irish shore. 7. The Hebridean, from Cantyre to the Orkueys. 8. The South Irish, from Carnsore Point to Mizen Head. 9. The Atlantic, from Mizen Head to Kathlin Island. 10. The Channel Islands. A glance at tbe table will show that the Devonian dis- trict is by far the richest in species, including two-thirds of the whole. Next in fecundity to this extreme south comes the extreme north, numbering, however, less than two- thirds of the Devonian total. The Irish Sea, the Atlantic coast of Ireland, and the Channel Isles, each claims about two-thirds of the Shetland total. The province of the North Sea holds about two-thirds of this last number ; and then come in succession the South-east, the Eastern, and South Irish, and finally the Hebridean. These numbers represent, of course, the state of our knowledge rather than the fact. I look for additions in the Devonian province, and far more in the Shetland and Hebridean, of which last I know almost nothing. The Atlantic province will doubtless be farther enriched, and that of the Channel Isles. But I do not look for many species to be added to the North Sea; and few if any to the Eastern arid South-eastern provinces ; — mud and chalk being essentially ungenial to Sea-anemones. | Shetland. eQ u £ O 11 1 § 3 6 o | Devonian, j j Irish Sea. Hebridean. 1 So. -Irish. j Atlantic. | | Chan. Is. j | Shetland. | Nor. Sea. | Eastern. | So.-East. a ’S o a ( Irish Sea. | Hebridean. | So.-Irish. | Atlantic. i Chan. Is. ( t . crassicomis . • bellis .... • • 1 ? tuberculata . | . 1 | miniata ...» • • • • Margarita? . . 1 • rosea .... • • Churchiae . . • • 1 • ornata ...» * ? spectabilis . • j ichthystoma . • Scoticus . . • venusta . . . • • Mitchellii . . • nivea • • • hastata (Pe.) . sphyrodeta . . • • • • undata . . . pallida ...» triphylla . . . 1 pura .... • • 1 cylindrica. . • Alderi (Sag.) . • chrysanthell. . • pellucida . . • microps . . . • Yarrellii . . callimorpha . • • Bellii. . . . carnea . . . • hastata (Sag.) . ? Beautempsii . • coccinea. . . • • albida ... • troglodytes . . • • • • • • • • Lloydii . . . • • viduata . . . • • • • vermicularis . parasitica . . • • • sanguinea . . . chrysosplen. . augusta . . . intestinalis . . • heterocera . . palliata . . . • * • • • viridis . . . • • • murocineta. . • Couchii (Zo.) . • gausapata . . • sulcatus . . . Brodricii . . Alderi (Zo.) . picta . . . . Smithii . . . • • fenestrata . . pteropus . . Couchii (Aip.) . • Taxilianus . . cereus . . . • • • • Thulensis . . • mesembry. . . • • • • • • * ' Macandrewan . • • Tuedise . . . • • * • Wrightii . . eques . . . . • • arcticus . . . • gemmacea . . prolifera . . . • thallia . . . • Durotrix . . • Ballii . . . • • regia .... coronata . . . • } f interstincta . digitata . . . 1 • i 1 1 Total 75 30 14 7 1 9 51 20 6 7 21 22 358 APPENDIX. Y. NAMES OF AUTHORITIES EXPRESSED BY INITIALS. a. b. a Miss Church. J. B. H. (A misprint for T. D. H.) A. M. M. Mrs. Murray Menzies. J. G. Rev. James Guillemard. A.R. Mr. A. Robertson. J. G. B. Sir John G. Daly ell. J. M. Mr. James Macdonald. C.K. Rev. Charles Kingsley. J. M. J. Mr. J. M. Jones. a w. p. Mr. Chas. W. Peach. J. P. Mr. J. Price. J. R. G. Prof. J. Reay Greene. B. B. Miss Barnie. J. R. M. Mr. J. R. Mummery. B. F. Mr. D. Ferguson. J. T. Mr. John Templeton. B. L. Rev. David Landsborough. J. T. E. Mr. James T. Hillier. D. R. Mr. David Robertson. M. E. G. Miss Guille. e. c. h. Mr. E. C. Holwell. M. V. Miss Yigur3. E. F. Professor Edward Forbes. E. L. W. Mr. E. L. Williams, Jun. P. E. G. Mr. P. H. Gosse. E. P. W. Dr. E. Perceval Wright. E.W.E.E. Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth. R. B. Dr. Robert Ball. R. C. J. Prof. R. C. Jordan. F. E. W. Mr. F. H. West. R. E. Mr. R. Howse. F. L. 0. Rev. F. L. Currie. R. P. Mr. Robert Patterson. F. N. £. Mr. F. N. Broderick. R. Q. a Mr. Richard Q. Couch. G.B. Mr. G. Barlee. 8. E. Mr. Sydney Hodges. G. a E. Dr. G. C. Hyndman. s. w. Mr. S. Whitchurch. G.B. Dr. G. Dansey. G. B. (B.) Professor Dickie. T. B. E. Dr. Thos. D. Hilton. G. G. Mr. G. Gatehouse. T. 8. W. Dr. T. Strethill Wright. G. G. (7.) Mr. G. Guy on. Q. E. L. Mr. G. H. Lewes. W. A. L. Mr. Wm. Alford Lloyd. G.J. Dr. George Johnston. W. F. 8. Rev. W. F. Short. G.J.A. Professor Allman. W. G. Rev. Walter Gregor. G. T. Rev. George Tugwell. W. E. Rev. Wm. Houghton. W. ME. Mr. W. M'Calla. 11. II. B. Rev. H. H. Dombrain. W. P. c. Mr. W. P. Cocks. H. 0. Mr. H. Owen. W. T. Mr. Wm. Thompson (Bel fast). J. A. Mr. Joshua Alder. W. T. (W.) Mr. Wm. Thompson (Wey J. C. Dr. John Coldstream. mouth). j. a g. Miss Gloag. M AGN I FI ED. . PLATE XII L F.H..OCSSE, DEL t. PHELLiA PICTA. 2 ZOANTHUS SULCATUS. 3. EDWARDSIA CARNEA . 4. CA R YO PH Y LL I A (a TENTACLE). W. D/CXES SC 5. ZOANTHUS ALDER1 . 6 HALCAMPA MICROPS . 7. CRECOR 1 A FENESTRATA 8. PHELLIA MUROCfNCTA . •* i INDEX. N.B. The names inclosed within brackets are such as are not adopted in this work. Acontia, xxii. Actinia, 174. ACT1NIADJE, 171. Actinoloba, 11. Actinopsis, 150, 170. Adamsia, 124. Addenda, 855. Aiptasia, 151. albula,, 264. Alder i, 305. ? A Ideri, .354. \AllmanrvV\, 289. \amacha\, 152. [Americana], 338. Anemone, origin of the name of, 14. Anemone, Cave-dwelling, 88. Cloak, 125. Daisy, 27. Eyed, 84. Fish-mouth, 57. Gold-spangled, 119. Pallid, 78. Parasitic, 112. Plumose, 12. Orange-disked, 60. Ornate, 54. Rosy, 48. Sandalled, 73. Scarlet-fringed, 41. Snake-locked, 105. Snowy, 66. Translucent, 82. Anemones, enemies of, 168. food of, 103, 164, 193, 272. voracity of, 215. ANGIABAB, 336. [ anguicomd ], 105. Antiiea, 159. ANTHEADJR, 148. Arachnactis, 263. arcticus, 330. ASTRJEACEA, 8. augusta , 283. \awantiacd\, 12. Aureliania, 282. (j aurora ], 88. Authorities, Names of, 358. Balanophyllia, 342. Ballii, 198. Bantry Bay, riches of, 64. [Barleei], 297. Base, 1. Beadlet, 175. [Beautempsii], 262. Bee, mistake of, 213. ? Bellii , 354. bellis, 27. [bimaculata], 209. [biserialis], 152. Bolocera, 185, 351. [i borecdis ], 310. Brodricii, 349. Bunodes, 189. BUN OB I DA], 183. callimorpha, 255. [< Candida ], 73. C apnea, 279. CAPNEADJE, 278. Capstone Hill, 31, 74. [ carciniopadds ], 125. carnea, 259. Carpet-coral, 338. Caryophyllia, 309. CARY OPHYLLIACEA, 276. Cavity, 4. \_cerasum\ 175. cereus, 160. [Cereus], 205. Cerianthus, 267. [ chiococca ], 175. Chrysoela, 123. chrysanthellum, 247. chrys osplenium , 119. Churchice, 222. Cinclides, xxiii. [clavata], 198. 360 INDEX. Cnidse, xx. xxvii. Cnidae, chambered, xxviii. tangled, xxx. spiral, xxxi. globate, xxxii. coccinea, 84. Colour, change of, 180. Column, 2. Concealment, instinct of, 212. [ corallina\ , 175. [ coriacea ], 209. Corklet, Walled, 135. Warted, 140. Painted, 143. Latticed, 349. coronata, 202. Corynactis, 288. Couchii, 152, Couchii, 297. Crab, Hermit, 115, 128. Craspeda, xxi. crassicornis, 209. Crawling, mode of, 81, 164, 253. Creeplet, Sandy, 297. Furrowed, 303. Wrinkled, 305. [Cribrina], 205. Crisp-coral, Scarlet, 330. Crock, 280. Crookhaven, cavern of, 214. Cup-Coral, Devonshire, 310. Moray, 317. Shetland, 319. Winged, 321. [Cyathina], 309. [ cyathus], 310. ?, cylindrica 245. Cylista, 123. Deeplet, 186. Ringed, 351. dianthus, 12. digitata , 206. Disk, 3. Division, spontaneous, 19, 46, 66, 86, 110, 168, 291. Durotrix, 338. Ecthorseum, xxix. [edulis], 160. Edwardsia, 254. [effoetal 112. Eggs, discharge of, 97, 100, 117, 225, 314,347,223. [elegans], 88. eques, 351. [^equina], 175. EUPSAMMIA DAZ, 341. [ exploratory, 88. Eyelet, 146. [felina], 209. j fenestrata, 146. I [fiscella], 209. | [Forskallii], 175. j [ fragacea ], 175. ! Gapelet, 222. i Gardens of Anemones, 51, 62, 64, 68, 71, 18.4, 214. gausapata, 140. gemmacea, 190. [gemmacea], 209. Geographical distribution, 356. Germs, discharge of, 101, 132, 139, 238, 273. [glandulosa], 190. Globehorn, 289. [graminea], 175. Gregoria, 145. ? Greenei, 216. Halcampa, 246. hastata, 235. ? hastata, 354. [hemispJicerica], 175. heterocera, 285. \Holsatica ], 209. Hoplangia, 337. Hormathia, 218. ichthy stoma, 57. IL YANTHIDsF, 227. Ilyanthus, 229. Imperial, Crimson, 283. Yellow, 285. ? interstincta, 348. ? intestinalis, 354. [judaica], 12. \lacerata\, 105. juife, tenacity of, 96, 118. Lloydii , 268. Lophohelia, 333. [L UCERNA HI A DAE], 348. Macandrewunus, 325. \MacAndrewi\ 330. \maculata\ 125. Margaritce, 219. [margaritifera], 175. [membranaceus], 268. INDEX. 361 [mesembryanthemum], 88. mesembryanthemum, 175. METRIDIADuE, 9. microps, 252. miniata, 41. Mitchellii, 232. Morecambe Bay, 93. Mouth, 4. murocincta, 135. Muzzlet, Arrow, 235. Trefoil, 2. Waved, 239. Necklet, 219. nivea, 66. [nodosa], 219. [Oculina], 333. OCULINA DAE, 332. Odour, rank, 117. Opelet, 160. Organs, reproduction of, 251. ornata, 54. [ornata], 41. palliata, 125. pallida, 78. [Palythoa], 300. [ papillosa ], 209. [ papillosa ], 297. Paracyathus, 316. parasitica, 112. [pedunculata], 27. ? pellucida, 354. [pellucida], 82. Peachia, 234. Pearlet, Scottish, 230. Scarlet, 232. [pentapetala], 12. Peribola, xxxiv. Petit Tor, 31, 68, 136, 260. Phellia, 134, 349. [Phyllangia], 337. Pimplet, Gem, 190. Diadem, 202. Glaucous, 195. Red-specked, 198. Pintlet, Sand, 247. Rock, 252. picta, 143. [ plumosa ], 12. Plumose Anemone, 12. Pocillopora, 348. Poisoning power, xxxvi. prolifera, 334. pteropus, 321. Pterygia, xxx. Pufflet, painted, 255. crimson, 259. [pulcherrima], 48. j pura, 82. [pn/rpurea], 176. regia, 343. rosea, 48. [rufa], 175. Sagartia, 25. subdivision of, 121. SAGARTIADjE, 9. sanguinea, 280. [SCOLANTHUS], 254. Scoticus, 230. Scyphia, 123. Screw, xxix. [senilis], 12. [senilis], 209. Septa, xi. sessilis], 310. 'Sidisia], 300. ^Siphonactinia], 236. Smitkii, 310. Species, what? 50. ? spectabilis, 226. Spermatozoa, 99, 225. [splicer oides], 88. Sphenotrochus, 323. Spherules, 180. sphyrodeta, 73. Sprawlet, 264. Star-coral, Scarlet and Gold, 343. Stinging power, 136. Stomach, protrusion of, 32. Stomphia, 221. Strawberry, 177. Strebla, xxix. [sidcata], 160. sulcatus, 303. Swimming, mode of, 165, 265. System, tegumentary, x. muscular, x. nervous and sensory, xii. digestive, xiii. circulatory, xvi. respiratory, xvi. reproductive, xix. teliferous, xx. [tabella], 17 5. Taxilianus, 317. Tealia, 205. [Templetonii], 27. Tenby, Caves of, 61, 70, 92. Tentacles, branching of, 109, 168. B B 362 INDEX. Tentacles, 3. elongation of, 16, 34, 44, 70, 101. Terms, explanation of, 1. [Thalia]', 195. thallia, 195. Thoe, 122. Thulensis, 319. Tide-pools, 31, 62, 68, 162, 344. Torquay, rocks at, 44. triphylla, 243. troglodytes, 88. Trumplet, 152. 1 taberculata, 21 7. Tuedice , 186. Tuft-coral, 334. [Turbinolia], 323. TURBIN OLI A DJS, 307. Ulocyathus, 329. [wndata], 105. imdata, 239. venusta, 60. ? vermicularis, 274. [verrucosa], 190. [vestita], 268. Yestlet, 268. [viduata], 88. viduata, 105. [vinosa], 48. viridis, 289. Wartlet, Dahlia, 209. Marigold, 206. Watcombe, 32. Wedge-coral, Smooth-ribbed, 325. Knotted, 326. Woolhouse Rocks, 43, 51, 61. Wrightii, 326. ? Yarrellii, 354. Young, birth of, 36, 46, 71, 80, 99, 118, 193. ZOANTHIDAE, 295. | Zoanthus, 296. ERRATA. Page 10, line 4 Page 11, line 20 Page 12, second line from bottom Page 13, line 10 Page 90, line 9 IAdd the qualifying phrase “in general,” to the character that there is but a single mouth-angle and pair of tubercles. . for “ Always,” read “ generally.” (Read “ lowest part of each tentacle full orange.” R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL.