ACTINIA. 225 



If a vessel containing a turgid healthy specimen, be suddenly emp- 

 tied, strong jets of water issue, an inch or two in height, from the extre- 

 mities of the tentacula ; as well as from orifices among the tubercles in the 

 higher parts of the body. 



This species dwells at half-tide in crevices of the rocks, or adhering 

 to stones of moderate dimensions, buried in the sand, amidst which it sinks 

 down on recess of the sea. It is also found in deeper water, frequently 

 affixed to the larger shells, from which it cannot be detached without dif- 

 ficulty, though some are induced to separate from impurity of the element. 

 Incaptivity, care must be observed to select a suitable vessel for its reception, 

 as specimens usually take possession of the angular part at the bottom, where 

 they adhere most pertinaciously, for a very long time, and from which it 

 is impossible to dislodge them. The most convenient method of preserva- 

 tion, seems to be laying the animal, when the base is free, in a glass ves- 

 sel, an inch deep and three inches wide, for large specimens. By immersing 

 this in a glass jar, four or five inches wide, and six or eight deep, the sub- 

 jects will be always accessible on pouring off the water by which the jar is 

 replenished, as they do not shift their position. 



This species is not so easily preserved as the mesembryanthemum : 

 it is alike voracious, and its position among the Crustacea straggling over 

 the shore, renders it a terrible and ferocious destroyer. 



Plate XLVIII. Fig. 1. Actinia gemmacea. 

 '2. Younger specimen. 



§ 4. Actinia elegans. — Plate XLVII. Figs. 9, 10, 11. — This is 

 one of the most beautiful and elegant of the whole tribe of Actiniae, which 

 I am unable to identify with any of those described by preceding authors. 

 If otherwise, the correct representation offered here, together with some 

 peculiarities, will enable the learned to correct my error. 



This elegant animal rises about fifteen lines in height, and expands 

 above two inches, between the tips of the opposite tentacula, which are 

 long, taper to a point, and are disposed in three rows. The mouth in the 

 centre of the disc, is distinguished by a number of, even thirty, prominent 

 internal flutings, probably variable, from the faculty of modifying them. 

 For the most part, the body is of reddish-brown or orange colour, the 



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