110 



structureless, imbedded in a dark red pigment, and covered with 

 a thin cornea. The accessory eyes are anterior and lateral from 

 the others, and of the same structure. The young, when excluded, 

 are not fully formed, but remain under the shield of the mother, 

 until developed, and able to crawl away ; but as she may move 

 along during oviposition, the embryos may be found behind or 

 around her. The fact that one side of a leaf is frequently found 

 covered with the scales of males almost exclusively, would seem 

 to favor the idea that they are produced as a distinct brood ; and 

 another fact also, that among a hundred specimens, old and 

 young, examined during the winter, almost all were females; 

 and when, by chance, one male was found, others were certain 

 to be near. 



^Dr. Gould presented the following communication from 

 Mr. William Stimpson : — 



ON SOME REMARKABLE MARINE INVERTEBRATA INHABITING THE 

 SHORES OF SOUTH CAROLINA. BY WILLIAM STIMPSON. 



Actinia producta, Stimpson.; 



The low, sandy, and muddy shores of the Carolinas, are inha- 

 bited, in conjunction with a multitude of other animals of various 

 classes, by a peculiar family of Aclinoid Polyps^ adapted, by 

 their structure, to live in such apparently unfavorable localities. 

 They are, like other species of the genus, attached to some object, 

 such as a stone or shell, but this object is buried in the mud or 

 sand often to considerable depth ; and the cylindrical body of 

 the animal, capable of great elongation, can thus either reach 

 the surface of the mud and expand its tentacula, in search of food, 

 or retire within it for protection. It is usually thus concealed 

 during the retreat of the tide. On our coasts there are many 

 species which have such habits, the most remarkable of which is 

 that here described. It is about three inches long, and three 

 fourths of an inch wide, in a contracted state, when it usually 

 presents constrictions, more or less marked and varying in posi- 

 tion, as in Holothuria. Its base is often attached eight or ten 

 inches below the surface of the mud, and it must therefore have 

 the power of elongation to this extent, when it is of a lengthened 



