THE CRESTED ANTIOPA. 325 



wliorls of minute, olive-coloured hairs. The other 

 was a rare species, though sufficiently abundant here; 

 Taonia atomaria, resembling a thin yellowish leaf, 

 split into several divisions, and cut to somewhat of 

 the shape of a fan. The whole leaf is crossed by 

 many dark brown lines, which on being magnified are 

 seen to be composed of dots, clustered together in 

 this manner. These are the spores^ or seeds of the 

 plant. 



Among the animals was a creature of exquisite 

 beauty, which I now saw for the first time. It was 

 the Crested Antiopa, one of the naked-gilled Mollusca, 

 closelv allied to the Eolides, some of which formed the 

 subjects of observation in an earlier part of this volume. 

 The breathing organs are very numerous; they con- 

 sist of oval bags, delicately pellucid, arranged all 

 round the sides and front of the animal, and have an 

 "extremely elegant appearance. Each one has a brown 

 line running through its transparent substance, and is 

 tipped with silver-white. The general colour of the 

 animal is pellucid-grey, with spots and lines of opaque 

 white, that have the lustre of silver. It is about an 

 inch in length. 



This beautiful little animal I brought carefully 

 home, and placed in one of my large glass vases of sea 

 water, kept in a fit state for the support of animal life 

 by growing sea-weeds. It immediately became at 

 home in its new residence, and remained in good 

 health for a considerable period. In about a week it 

 laid on the side of the glass, just beneath the surface 

 of the water, a beautiful coil of spawn, which looked 

 like a necklace of white beads arranged in successive 



F 2 



