THE MUSEUM 



A Monthly Magazine Devoted to Research in Natural Science. 



Vol. I\" 



ALBION, N. Y., MAY 15, 1898. 



No. 7 



The Sea Anemones of the Atlantic 

 Coast. 



To all frequenters of the sea shore 

 during the summer months who take 

 pleasure in seeking and studying the 

 many wonderful and beautiful inhabi- 

 tants of the ocean, the modest and 

 retiring Sea Anemones cannot fail to 

 offer many attractions; and there are 

 few marine creatures that can so easily 

 be reconciled to the narrow limits of 

 an aiiuarium and so readily become 

 permanently established in their new 

 home. Thus they afford us every op- 

 portunity to study their habits and 

 structure, and to watch their ever 

 varying forms and beautiful colors. 

 But to see tiiein in their perfection 

 one must visit them in their native 

 haunts in some cool rock pool over- 

 hung with projecting ledges and droop- 

 ing sea weeds, or in some deep grotto 

 among the shattered cliffs half illumin- 

 ed by the sun beams which struggle 

 for entrance through the Coral sea 

 weeds that hang from the rocky roof 

 dripping with salt dew. In such favor- 

 ite retreats the friiigid Sea Anemone, 

 Mftridium iiiargiiiattim make their 

 home and rear their numerous fami- 

 lies, year after year, until every nook 

 and crevice is fully occupied and e\en 

 I the entire floor is fully carpeted by 

 " their soft, delicate tufts of tentacles. 

 In such localities it is common to see 



^l specimens of every variety of hue 

 ■* from pure white, pink, salmon, chest- 

 nut, orange, yellow and light brown 

 to dark umber: while others will be 

 mottled or variously stripped with two 

 or more colors. These colors, how- 

 ever, are those of the outer wall of the 

 body. But the upper part of the body 

 and the innumerable tentacles have 

 ighter and more delicate tints, and 

 this combined with their translucent 



texture, gives to the summit of the 

 body and its broad crown of fine ten- 

 tacles a peculiarly graceful appear- 

 ance, which is much increased by the 

 numerous deep frills into which the 

 tentacle crowned margin of the disk 

 is always thrown in the large speci- 

 mens. The tentacles are also frequent- 

 ly banded with white. It is always 

 difficult to decide which specimens 

 in one of these numerous colonies is 

 most beautiful when all are so attrac- 

 tive. But the pure white ones most 

 frequently suffer for their beauty, and 

 are borne away in triumph to new 

 hom^, which perchance, prove in the 

 end less happy and pleasant to them 

 than the home of their youth. 



The I'ringed Sea .Anemone is not 

 found exclusively in such places as de- 

 scribed, but may be found on almost 

 any rocky or ledgy shore along the 

 coast of New England, and in fact 

 from New York to Labrador, snugly 

 encounced in the 1 crevices between 

 boulders or on their under surfaces, 

 wherever there issullicent space to ex- 

 tend their tentacles and complete 

 shade from the suns heat. For al- 

 though these lowly organized.creatures 

 have no eyes, or e\en nerves, they are 

 very sensative to strong light, and love 

 the shade. They may also at times 

 be found clinging to the piles of 

 wharves, and on small stones and 

 shells wholly unprotected. Near Mt. 

 Desert Island I once saw during a very . 

 low tide, a large surface of rocky bot- 

 tom so completely covered by them, 

 that the foot could not be put down 

 without crushing many noble speci- 

 mens. A single stone, the size of a 

 mans head, taken from this place, was 

 found to be the residence of si.xty in- 

 dividuals of all sizes. They some- 

 times occur at a greater depth than 25 



