G. ALCYONIUM. 241 



animal. I take it to be the mouth ; the borders are 

 furnished with irritable appendages, the form of which 

 I have not been able to ascertain. 



Around the half-globular mass is a projecting mem- 

 brane, on which are found eight perforated tubercles, 

 and at the base of these is seen a furrow of greater or 

 less depth, extending almost to the extremities of the 

 tentacula. These eight organs are placed round the 

 polypus ; their form is flat above, round below, ob- 

 tuse at the summit, and larger at the base than at the 

 extremity; the lower surfaces and sides are even; the 

 upper, marked with the furrov/ already noticed, is 

 covered with small moveable papillae ; those of the 

 centre appear ditferent from those observed on the 

 borders. These tentacula fold over each other, and 

 surround the globular mass, which then forms a sphe- 

 rical or pyramidal body. 



All this upper part of the animal is fixed to a 

 much smaller body, of a cylindrical form ; at its ex- 

 tremity are eight long pointed cuts or scallops, which 

 adjoin to the eight bands of the sack, or general en- 

 velope, and are terminated by eight small bodies in 

 the form of intestines, the extremities of which ap' 

 pear to float freely in the fluid that fills the sack. 



The interval between the long cylindrical body 

 of the polypus, and the membrane which encloses 

 it, appears much less transparent than that which 

 exists in the part where the intestines float. 



The general envelope of the polypus sometimes 

 rises a centimetre above the surface of the Polypi- 

 dom, and all the parts it encloses are easily observed 

 by the aid of a good lens. 



Cor. 2 H 



