HISTORY OF CARYOPHYLLIA SMITHII. 141 



bling flowers, which are, in fact, Actiniae, in all essen- 

 tial points, allied to the Sea- Anemones, to be de- 

 scribed in a succeeding chapter. 



The visitor to our southern coasts, while dreamily 

 reclining over the side of his boat, to peer into the 

 transparent sea, will sometimes notice, as he glides 

 along over the rocks, in shallow water, the Caryo- 

 phyllia Smithii (PL III. fig. 2), one of our few native 

 specimens belonging to the race of Madreporic Zoo- 

 phytes, the history of which its habits will well serve 

 to illustrate. 



When the soft parts of Caryophyllia are fully ex- 

 panded, the appearance of the whole animal resem- 

 bles very closely that of an Actinia. "When shrunk, 

 they are almost entirely hid among the radiating 

 plates. Specimens rarely occur above an inch in dia- 

 meter. They are found at Torquay pendent from 

 large boulders of sandstone, just at low-water mark ; 

 sometimes they are dredged from the middle of the 



v O 



bay. Their colour varies considerably; the living 

 crust may be white, yellowish, orange-brown, reddish, 

 or apple -green. The tentacula are usually paler. 

 During expansion, the soft parts rise above the level 

 of the disc to about twice its height. The tentacula 

 are pushed forth very slowly, but sometimes are 

 as long as the whole height of the body; they are 

 nearly transparent, except at their termination, which 

 is dilated into a little ball, white and opake. The 

 mouth has the appearance of an elongated slit in the 

 centre of the disc ; it is prominent, and the lips are 

 marked with transverse striae of a white colour. When 

 a solid body is brought gently into contact with the 



