572 



THE CUP CORAL. 



The GREAT CRAMBACTIS seen in the illustration recalls the latter Actinia in the respect 

 that it has leaf-like appendages, but the latter are situated on the upper surface in this case, 

 while those of the Reef specimen were under the tentacles, and quite like oak-leaves in shape 

 and color. 



LEAVING the sea-anemones, we now proceed to the next tribe, the Caryophylliacese, in 

 which there are many tentacles, in two or more series, and the cells many-rayed. Many of 

 these beings deposit a corallum. 



The FUNGIA, or SEA-MUSHROOM, is so called from its great resemblance to a mushroom, 

 the expanded disc and delicate lamellae having a singularly fungine form. The hard corallum 

 of this genus is not fixed, but the creature is protected from the violence of the waves by its 

 habit of lying in clefts of rocks, or in the deep cavities of coral reefs, so that it enjoys free 

 access of water, without the danger of being carried away by the currents or dashed ashore by 

 the tempest. 



CUP CORAL. AstroMe* caiycutaru 



When young, however, the Fungiae are affixed for a time, sometimes on rocks, and some- 

 times on the stony remains of their own kinds, being attached to a stem which gradually 

 vanishes as the creature increases in age. While in this state, they bear some resemblance to 

 the genus Caryophillia. Though all possessing the same general characteristics, they are not 

 all circular, some being oval, and others bearing no small resemblance to slugs. The entire 

 corallum is surrounded by the soft substance of the Fungia, which envelops it below as well 

 as above. Most of the Fungia are found in the Indian seas, especially among the coral-beds. 



WE now pass to another group of these curious beings. The ENDIVE CORAL is so called 

 from the resemblance which its corallum bears to the crumpled leaves of that vegetable. The 

 animal has no tentacles, and the cells are small, conical, and rather oblique. The corallum is 

 fixed, sharply edged, and expanded from the base to the tip a peculiarity which has earned 

 it the specific title of Pavonia, or Peacock' s-tail Coral. Air the living members of this pretty 

 genus are to be found in the East and West Indian seas. 



The present illustration represents the CUP CORAL as it appears when the tentacles are 

 fully expanded, and when they are closed. It is not a very large, but is a very pretty species, 

 the color of its corallum being generally of a pure translucent white, sometimes tinged with a 

 delicate rosy hue, while that of the living animal is pearly-white, variegated with rich chestnut, 

 and the palest imaginable fawn, 



