138 THE PARASITIC ANEMONE. 



of dark wood-brown, reddisli, or purplisli brown, run 

 down the body, sometimes very regularly, and set so 

 closely as to leave tbe intermediate bands of ground- 

 colour much narrower than themselves: at other 

 times these bands are narrower, more separated, and 

 variously interrupted or broken. I have seen a 

 variety in which the bands took the form of chains of 

 round dark spots, the effect of which was handsome. 

 Immediately round the base the bands usually sub- 

 divide, and are varied by a single series of upright 

 oblong spots of rich yellow, which are usually mar- 

 gined with deeper brown than the bands. The whole 

 body is surrounded by close-set faint lines of pale hue, 

 sometimes scarcely distinguishable, except near the 

 summit, where they cut the bands in such a manner 

 as to form, with other similar lines, which there run 

 lengthwise, a reticulated pattern. 



Towards the lower part of the body numerous warts 

 appear, mostly minute, but a few among them are 

 large and prominent. The body terminates above in 

 a slightly thickened rim, which is minutely notched, 

 but scarcely rises above the level of the disk, and is 

 obliterated when the tentacles are fully expanded. 



The disk is a little wider than the diameter of 

 the body, which it overarches on all sides. Its 

 margin is somewhat thin, and occasionally thrown 

 into puckered folds, to a small extent. Thus it 

 appears to approach the peculiar form of A. helh's. 

 The disk is nearly flat or slightly hollowed, but rises 

 in the centre into a stout cone, in the middle of which 

 is the mouth, edged with crenated lips. The tentacles 

 are arranged in seven rows, of which the innermost 



