11 



ment of the isolated animals, upon the upper surface of the disk. 

 There are no polypi arising either from the stem, or from the lower 

 surface of the disk ; they all arise from the upper surface and edge. 

 The isolated polypi arise from a softer area, in the form of octago- 

 nal tubes, elongated more or less when expanded, and terminating 

 with a crown of eight lobed tentacles. These tentacles are arranged 

 symmetrically upon the sides of an oblong oral aperture, three on 

 each side of the mouth, and one in advance, and one behind ; so that 

 notwithstanding the apparent uniformity of the tentacles, there is a 

 slight indication of bilateral symmetry in their arrangement, particu- 

 larly marked by the oblong form of the opening of the mouth. The 

 whole body is purplish red, of a very vivid color ; the lowest extremi- 

 ty of the stem only is more yellowish, as is also the prominent angle 

 of the funnel under the disk. The polypi themselves are bluish 

 white, of a very delicate transparent appearance, lightly dotted with 

 brown specks, forming a ring under the crown of tentacles, and two 

 brown stripes upon the upper surface of each tentacle near the edges, 

 broader toward the mouth, and tapering between the lobes of the 

 tentacles. The cavity of these individual animals is divided into 

 eight partitions, by longitudinal folds of their walls, and to these folds 

 the digestive cavity is adherent above, but it opens free into the 

 main cavity of the buds, in its lower part. There is no division, no 

 partition at the bottom of the individual polypi, so that the food 

 which has been digested in the upper alimentary sack, as soon as it 

 is emptied into the main tube of each polyp, passes into the main 

 cavity of the disk, and is circulated, not only in that cavity, but also 

 within the main cavity of the stem. The water, also, which distends 

 the whole body, is introduced through the mouth of the individual 

 polyps, and expelled through the same aperture when the body con- 

 tracts. This animal has a very remarkable phosphoresence. It 

 shines at night with a golden green light of a most wonderful soft- 

 ness. When excited, it flashes up more intensely, and when suddenly 

 immersed into alcohol, throws out the most brilliant light. The stem 

 has no solid support at all, as is the case with several other genera of 

 the same family, but there calcareous spiculse arranged in a radiating 

 manner in the disk, and a few clusters of them at the base, and at 

 the summit of the body, of each individual animal, situated in the 

 spaces corresponding to the intervals between the lobed tentacles. 



I have collected hundreds of specimens of this species upon the 

 beaches of Sullivan's Island, in the bay of Charleston, South-Caroli- 



