1 74 The Irish Naturalist. August, 



animals varied from speckled citron, through light brown, to 

 almost pure black. Some very juvenile naturalists, quite un- 

 connected with the Marine Biological, or any similar com- 

 mittee, were observing the Sea Hares, too, as I waded across 

 and, from one of these, I heard the opinion expressed with an 

 accent of deep conviction, that the beasts were poisonous and 

 dangerous to touch. So that nineteen centuries have not 

 sufficed the Sea Hare to outlive its evil reputation. 



The result of many observations made during July was to 

 show that the Apl3'sias had undoubtedly decreased in number 

 towards the end of the month. On the 7th, one of us counted 

 106 ; on the 2ist, only 55 could be found, and on the 28th, but 

 50, and, as both of these latter days were sunny and warm, 

 with unruffled water, so that the animals could be easily 

 detected, it seems hardly open to doubt that a large propor- 

 tion of their number had, by that time, returned to deeper 

 water. No signs of spawning were observed on the sea- 

 weeds. 



July 4th. — An almost blank day's dredging towards the 

 north of the islands in new ground, which proved to be barren 

 sand or mud, yielding abundance of Philine apcrta, but nothing 

 else of interest. 



July 6th. — Shore-collecting, on the north of Shennick's 



Island, produced living specimens of the following species, 



the Opisthobranchs being all from a rather stagnant half-tide 



pool : — 



Tectura virgiiiea, 2. Limapontia nigra, 2. 



T. testndiuahs, 4. Utriculus obtusus, i. 



Actaeonia corrugata, I. Philine catena, i. 



Three days later another specimen of Actaeonia was taken 

 near Loughshinny, this species, like I^imapontia and Runcina, 

 being thus shown to range all along the Dublin coast. 



July i8th. — Another specimen of Eolis Farrani^ one fully 

 half-an inch long, was taken on the Zostera l^eds off Shennick's 

 Island. It agreed well with Alder and Hancock's figure, but 

 the colouring was more diffused over the papillae from the 

 orange tips, so as to give the animal a generally orange hue. 

 Two individuals q{ Doris pilosa were observed on Fucus sa ratics^ 

 and later on in the month this species became frequent, man}^ 

 examples being one inch long, and one reaching to one and 

 one-eighth inch. It was always found adhering to the same 



