GULF OF MEXICO 



287 



most thorough-going spociaHst in this group, aiul 

 in the absence of satisfactory material our knowl- 

 edge of Gulf coast actinians will remain in its 

 present fragmentary state. 



NOTES ON COMMON SPECIES 



Lubrunia danae (Duchassalng and Michelotti). 



This anemone is conspicuous for the large, 

 branched outgrowths ("pseudotentacles" or 

 "fronds") at the top of the column just below the 

 tentacles. The animal is brownish and lives in 

 hollows m coral rock. It is common at Tortugas 

 and was described from there by Hargitt (1911) 

 as Cradactis variabilis. McClendon (1911), in a 

 paper on habits of several invertebrates, provides 

 a color plate. 

 Anemonia sargassensis Hargitt. 



A well characterized anemone both in habit and 

 appearance. Originally described from sargassum 

 drifting mto Woods Hole, it is found on that 

 plant as it drifts ashore along the Texas coast and 

 is recorded from Beaufort by Field (1949). It is a 

 small, rather squat, velvet-brown species.' The 

 tentacles may be tinted green and are occasionally 

 branched (fig. 60). 

 Bunodosotna cavernata (Bosc). 



The common jetty form of the Texas coast, 

 especially at Port Aransas and Port Isabel. Cary 

 (1906) found it common on the Cameron jetties. 

 It was originally described from the Carolina coast 

 and is a characteristic member of the Beaufort 

 fauna. It is a muddy to dull brown colored anem- 

 one with pearl gray vesicles on the column, with 

 reddish to brownish or bluish tentacles, but usually 

 witii a red stripe on the back of the larger tentacles 

 (fig. 60). Some specimens are entirely cherry red. 

 The West Indian B. granuUfera is considered to be 

 a synonym of this species (Carlgren 1952). 

 Anthopleura krebsi (Duchassalng and Michelotti). 



Previously known from St. Thomas and Ja- 

 maica, a colony of small individuals occurs on the 

 Port Isabel jetties. The column and tentacles are 

 white, with rows of bright red verrucae which are 

 larger and more regular toward the top of the 

 column (fig. 60). 



' M. D, Biirkenroad contends (in litteris) that there is another common 

 species on Oulf Sargassum, smaller than Anemonia, and reproducing com- 

 monly by longitudinal fission. Carlgren (in litteris) thinks it possible that 

 this may be a Buvdeopsis. This problem cannot be clarified until the 

 anemones of the Atlantic Sargassum are critically studied. 



Bunodactis texaensis Carlgren and Hedgpeth. 



A conspicuous gray anemone, sii])erficially 

 resembling Bunodosoma cavernata, but with ver- 

 rucae instead of vesicles on the column and a 

 pattern of darker gray or greenish to light brown 

 splotches on the disc (see color plate, Calgren and 

 Hedgpeth). It occurs on the jetties at Calveston 

 and offshore near Port Aransas. 

 Minyas olivacea (LeSueur.) 



A pelagic antillean species which occasionally 

 drifts ashore on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, 

 sometimes in considerable numbers. The animal 

 is an olive brown color, with the tentacles ap- 

 parently reduced to knoblike processes. The 

 animal remains at the surface by means of a float 

 in the pedal disc. According to observations of 

 M. D. Burkeiu-oad, Minyas will shed its float in 

 an aquarium, but does not produce a new one 

 under these conditions. It may be that the 

 mature Minyas (as yet unknown) is a sessile form. 

 Condylactis gigantea (Weinland). 



The "passion flower" anemone is common at 

 Tortugas, the Bahamas, Miami, and various places 

 in the West Indies. The color of the column varies 

 from bright scarlet to brownish, the tentacles are 

 brownish or paler than the column and usually 

 tipped with scarlet. 

 Stoichactis helianthus (Ellis). 



The "sun ilower" anemone is a characteristic 

 West Indian species common in the Bahamas and 

 at Tortugas. It is easily identified by the broad, 

 incompletely retractile disc with its large number 

 of short, stubby tentacles. The disc is greenish or 

 with green patches, and the peristome is usually 

 bright yellow. The tentacles are greenish to 

 yellow. 

 Paranthus rapiformis (LeSueur). 



A characteristic member of the shallow water 

 bottom assemblage along the Texas coast. Cary 

 found it washed ashore along the Cameron beach. 

 It is found off Beaufort and along the coast north- 

 ward to New Haven. Although this species has 

 a moderately well developed basal disc, it is a 

 buiTowing form. The column is whitish, the disc 

 green with faint salmon markings (fig. 60). Speci- 

 mens brought on deck in a trawl or dredge con- 

 tract to a spherical shape resembling peeled onions. 

 Calliactis tricolor (LeSueur). 



Common on the shells of the gastropod Rehderia 

 off the southern Atlantic coast and sometimes 



