56 „ SEA-STAES. 



very difficult to keep alive; and also mucli more 

 brittle : the former, notwithstanding tlieir English 

 name, I have not foimd so particularly fragile. Among 

 other members of this wonderful class of animals, we 

 obtained, in the course of our day's work, several of 

 that fine but common one, the Twelve-rayed Sun-star 

 {Solaster pa2:)posa) — a showy creature dressed in rich 

 scarlet livery, some eight inches in diameter. Two or 

 three of a species usually counted rare also occurred, 

 the Bird's-foot [Palmipes mertibranaceus) ; more curious 

 and equally beautiful. [See Plate III.) It resembles 

 a pentagonal piece of thin leather, with the angles a 

 little produced and regularly pointed. The central 

 part of this disk is scarlet, and a double line of scarlet 

 proceeds from this to each angle, while the whole is 

 margined by a narrow band of the same gorgeous hue. 

 The remainder of the sm-face is of a pale yellow or 

 cream-colom', and covered in the most elegant manner 

 with tufts of minute spines arranged in lines, which 

 cross each other, lozenge-fashion, near the middle of 

 the disk, and rmi parallel to each other, at right angles 

 to the margin, between the points. 



Not less attractive was another Starfish, the Eyed 

 Cribella {Crihella oculata). It consists of five finger- 

 like rays, tapering to a blunt point, and cleft nearly 

 to the centre ; the consistence stiffly fleshy, or almost 

 cartilaginous. The hue of both disk and rays, on 

 the superior surface, is a fine rosy purple. [See 

 Plate III.) 



All these are very attractive occupants of an Aqua- 

 rium. They are active and restless, though slow in 

 movement, continually crawling about the rocks and 



