120 SAGAKTIAD^. 



To Mr. W. P. Cocks, of Falmouth, to whose scientific 

 research our zoology is largely indebted, Dr. Johnston 

 owed the admission of this species into his " History of 

 British Zoophytes." I am under obligations to the kind- 

 ness of the same gentleman, who has favoured me with 

 some additional notes on the species, and a beautiful 

 coloured sketch, which I have copied in Plate VI. 



The generic position of this beautiful form I indicate not 

 without doubt. The short conical tentacles, crossed with 

 bars, suggest a relationship with TeaJia ; and this affinity 

 had occurred to its discoverer, who in one of his MS. notes 

 has added the words, — " allied to crassicornisP On the 

 other hand, the marginal line around the base, and the 

 gonidial tubercles being distinguished by a different colour 

 from the rest of the animal, while agreeing inter se, suggest 

 Actinia, of which these peculiarities are characteristic. 

 There is, too, a well-known variety of A. mesembryan- 

 themum, which is green, marked with lines of yellow dots, j 

 and of this circumstance I ventured to remind Mr. Cock?. 

 His reply was as follows : " In the A. mesembr. var. the 

 stripes and spots are as in chrysosplenium, but several 

 shades lighter, and the labial tubercles, as well as the 

 edging of the base, are bright blue ; the tentacles are 

 uniformly of one colour, and are much more numerous, 

 slender, and tapering." 



The character of the surface, however, decidedly separates 

 it from both the Actiniadw and Bunodidce. My friend had at 

 first written, — " Suctoreals numerous, scattered, embedded ;" 

 but he afterwards added the following particulars : — " When 

 I examined the body of the chrysosplenium with a lens of 

 two inches' focus, the surface appeared to be pierced or 

 punctured, and in appearance resembled a piece of smooth 

 India-rubber when pierced with a pin ; not the slightest 

 trace of tubercles apparent. The body when contracted 



