208 Z. HELIANTHOIDA. Caryophyjllia. 



the lamellae are arched, entire, striated on the sides, whence the mar- 

 gin appears somewhat crenulate : they terminate about half across 

 leaving- a plain centre which is roug-h or tubercled. In one specimen 

 before me the primary lamellae are 14 in number ; in another they 

 are 20 ; but Dr Fleming gives about 40 as the number in his Zetland 

 specimen. Height from two-tenths to half an inch ; diameter three- 

 tenths to one inch. 



My friend Dr Coldstream has furnished me with the following 

 account of the animal of this interesting zoophyte, which he watched 

 for several successive weeks during his residence at Torquay. 

 " When the soft parts," he writes, " are fully expanded, the appear- 

 ance of the whole animal resembles very closely that of an Actinia. 

 When shrunk they are almost entirely hid amongst the radiating 

 plates. The specimens I have seen have varied in size from three- 

 tenths to one inch in diameter, and from two-tenths to half an inch 

 in height. They are found pendant from large boulders of sandstone 

 just at low water-mark ; sometimes they are dredged from the mid- 

 dle of the bay. Their colour varies considerably ; I have seen the 

 soft parts white, yellowish, orange- brown, reddish, and of a fine apple 

 green. The tentacula are usually paler. During expansion, the 

 soft parts rise above the level of the calcareous disc to about twice 

 its height. The tentacula are pushed forth very slowly, but some- 

 times are as long as the whole height of the body. They are ter- 

 minated by a rounded head. * The mouth has the appearance of an 

 elongated slit in the centre of the disc : it is prominent, and the 

 lips are marked with transverse striae of a white colour. When a 

 solid body is brought into contact gently with the tentacles they ad- 

 here pretty strongly to it, just as the Actiniae do ; but when they 

 are rudely touched, they contract very quickly, and if the irritation 



and may be distinguished into three different kinds. The first are the highest 

 and the broadest at the margin, but as they descend into the disc they become 

 narrower before they join the central plate. The second kind are narrower 

 than the preceding at the margin, but towards the middle they suddenly enlarge 

 and join the middle plate. The third kind are the smallest and terminate be- 

 fore reaching the middle plate- The space included between a pair of the first 

 kind of plates, contains one of the second kind in the middle, with one of the 

 third kind in each of the lateral spaces. Those on the sides are rough, with 

 small scattered tubercles, and their margins are curled. This last circumstance 

 occasions the roughness externally, where the longitudinal striae are the remains 

 of the gills. The plate which occupies the bottom of the cavity is smooth, vari- 

 ously twisted, and connected with the base of the lateral plates." 



' " They are nearly transparent except at the termination, which is a little 

 ball, white and opake." De la Beche. 



