ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL ASSOCIATION. 1 75 



would bo possible or convenient to give in the work referred to ; and as I 

 have never examined the north-west coast — which is likely to contain 

 new, or at least strange forms — I may hope to be able to supplemen- 

 tal i/e this paper at some future period, and thus render it a more com- 

 plete contribution to Science. 



It will appear strange that I cannot record the occurrence of any — 

 with a solitary exception — of the free-swimming Actinia, such forms as 

 Arachnactis or Minyas. I rather suspect that this is due to the fact that 

 sufficient attention has not been paid to the subject, and not to their actual 

 absence from our coasts. That they do not, however, occur very com- 

 monly, is, I think, likely, as otherwise I can hardly account for the fact 

 that they have to the present moment eluded all search by both myself 

 and my friend, Professor J. Reay Greene ; and tliis, too, when we have 

 spent many a bright summer day in searching in the bays of western 

 Ireland for oceanic animals. Those that live in the mud, as Edwardsia, 

 &c, will, I can hardly doubt, yet be discovered. Of the TurbinolidaB 

 I am sure that diligent search will reveal more Irish genera and species ; 

 and I even think Balanophylia has been passed over as young Caryo- 

 phyllia Smithii. Unfortunately for marine investigations in the west 

 and south of Ireland, some of the places that most abound in zoological 

 rarities are those most difficult of access ; and even when the zoologist 

 has reached them, he finds that his place of temporary residence must be 

 often at a good distance from the field of his labours, and that he will 

 have to study under disadvantages as great as if he were on a foreign soil. 



The only lists published on Irish Zoanthariae, that I am aware of, are 

 those by "W. Thompson in his posthumous volume on the "Natural His- 

 tory of Ireland ;"* in which, making allowances for synonyms, he records 

 thirteen species, as follows: — 1. Actinia mesembryanthemum and A, 

 margaritifera, which is doubtless a variety of A. mesembryanthemum ; 2. 

 Sagartia viduata ; 3. S. eoccinea ; 4. S. bellis; 5. Actinilobia dianthus; 

 6. Tealia crassicornis ; 7. Ilyanthos Scoticus; 8. Adatnsia maculata; 

 9. Anthea cereus; 10. Zoanthus Couchii ; 11. Corynaetis viridis (and C. 

 Allmanni, only a variety) ; 12. Cory ophy Ilia Smithii; and 13. Turbinolia 

 milletiana. Next, a list published by Professor J. Reay Greene in the 

 "Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Dublin," which is 

 chii lly taken from Thompson's list, given above, with some few addi- 

 tions which had occurred to me on the south coast. This list, deducting 



♦ Vol. iv., p. 461. 



ZOOL. A BOT. SOC. PBOC VOL. I. 2 B 



