BY TIIE REV. J. E. TENISON- WOODS, F.G.S., F.L.S., ETC. 117 



All these stones are covered with, mud and slime, and the place is 

 washed over twice in the 24 hours by muddy, brackish water. 



Far out upon the rocks there are a good niunber of Alcyonaria 

 or soft corals as they are called belonging to the genera Alcyonum^ 

 Ammothea, Xenia, Anthelia, and Telesto. I believe they are all of 

 undescribed species. In every pool there are Aneinones belonging 

 to the families Actinince, Thalassianthus. The same pools are also 

 distinguished by two or three long ^nokQ-Y^kellolothurids, probably 

 belonging to the genus Sytiapta, they are not of any value to the 

 trepang fishermen and so are not molested. They may be seen 

 stretching out for two feet and more gathering their food with the 

 beautiful arborescent tentacles which form a ring around their 

 heads ; they are of a deep brown colour covered with wort-like 

 papillae. There are no anchor-like spines in the skin. 



I have made but few special observations on the crustaceans, 

 but I cannot help noticing a species of crab which abounds on the 

 rocks. This is the Grapsus pictus of Latreille. It may be seen 

 running away over the boulders and into the surf on the approach 

 of any moving object. It is strange how tenaciously it can fasten 

 to the bare surface of the rock so that the heaviest surf has no 

 effect in moving it. They seem to have very low powers of 

 hearing as they cannot be startled by the loudest noise, They 

 make up for this by their powers of sight, as the smallest move- 

 ment makes them start off for the water. They appear to feed 

 upon an algal which grows upon the rocks, and certainly it is most 

 ludicrous to watch them raising their claws alternately to their 

 mouths while feeding, and at the same time standing, as it were, 

 upon tiptoe, so that the sharp points of the rest of the legs may 

 hold well into the inequalities of the rock surface. The species 

 has an immense range, being equally common in the Cape Verde 

 Islands, St. Helena, South Africa, the Mauritius, California, Peru, 

 Georgia, West Indies &c, Miers quotes it as belonging to the 

 New Zealand fauna, but I think the species is different. It is 

 not at all uncommon on the temperate regions of the Australian 



