THE SCARLET-FRINGED ANEMONE. 45 



if it did not possess any particular function. It had the 

 same colour as the others ; but was not, like them, wholly 

 withdrawn when the animal was closed. In fact, it 

 appeared as if rather in the way, and not easily disposed 

 of by its possessor. After about a week [the phenomenon] 

 disappeared, and I have seen nothing of the lengthened 

 arms since, in either of the specimens that had had 

 them." 



Those curious missile filaments which I have named 

 acontia* are discharged by this species in great profusion. 

 They are, as usual, white, but appear to possess the power 

 of discharging a pigment. A large specimen, which I had 

 irritated by forcibly detaching it (in the usual way) from 

 a stone, diffused a copious mucus. Acontia were also 

 abundantly protruded, and spread to double the diameter 

 of the body on all sides, on the bottom of a saucer in 

 which I had placed it. After a while the whole of this 

 mucus over the same area teas of a delicate but decided 

 roseate hue, as seen on the white china. The acontia are 

 very densely filled with cnidce, of two kinds, chambered and 

 unchambered. The former are -g-J^th of an inch in length, 

 linear-ovate, of a clear pale yellow hue, highly refractile, 

 with a long parallel-sided chamber, extending through 

 three- fourths of the cnida. It discharges a wire (ecthorceum) 

 about one and a half times its own length, furnished for 

 the distal two-thirds with a screw of two (or three) spiral 

 bands, closely set, and forming an angle with the axis of 

 30° : the bands are clothed with reverted barbs. The 

 unchambered cnida? are -g^th of an inch long, of a similar 

 shape, shooting a wire to eight times its own length, which 

 is attenuated to a fine point, and is furnished with a single 

 screw-band, unbarbed. 



When out of water, miniata has the habit of protruding 

 * See the General Introduction, for a full description of these organs. 



